La casa nel tempo

going into this film i didnt expect a whole lot. made for tv movies here in the u.s. usually arent too impressive. the same may not be said for italy apparently. of all of lucio fulci's films i've seen, this one had the tightest plot ..... well... maybe just slightly less than 'the psychic'. there are no points of the movie that drag either. those with limited attention spans will not be searching for the fast forward button. the gore is more plentiful than you'd expect too. never excessive and never lacking. the acting is surprisingly well done too. it might take some poking around but try and dig this one up. it shouldnt let you down.

Two guys and a girl decide they are going to rob an isolated mansion owned by an eccentric old couple. Naturally, things get weird as the house is filled with clocks and the trio become trapped in the place. When it comes to Lucio Fulci's '80s horror films, I've only got a handful left that I haven't seen so I've been doling them out slowly over the years. This was one of his TV films, which is surprising as it is pretty dang gory. The story isn't any great shakes, but it moves at a considerable clip and never drags during its 80 minutes. And the film is well shot and the location is impressive. Look for Al Cliver as the couple's handyman.

Fulci made this for Italian television, however, it still has fair amounts of gore for tv. This one doesn't need gore though because it has a great story. It's about three "seedy" criminals who decide to knock off an old couple in a home invasion. Suddenly the clocks start to go backwards, so does the time, and sooner or later we see them back again... only the couple wasn't a nice old couple to begin with, they were pretty seedy also.

After The New York Ripper in 1982, the quality of Fulci's efforts as a filmmaker drastically declined. The impenetrable dark atmosphere and genuine artistry of his previous films was definitely on the way out, as is evidenced by such unremarkable video fodder as "Daemonia", "The Ghosts of Sodom", and "The New Gladiators".

Not everything the man did after "Ripper" is entirely forgettable, however - 1983's "Conquest" retains a lot of Fulci's hyper-gory, atmospheric sensibilities, and is demented fun in it's own right. "The House of Clocks" is also a fairly accomplished piece of work, and is probably the best of his post-1982 films.

Originally made for Italian television as part of a horror series (ala Tales from the Crypt), but deemed to gory for release, "The House of Clocks" really works fairly well. It has moments of genuine creepiness; hints of the strong, evil atmosphere Fulci was so adept at creating pop up here and there. The film is quite interestingly lit (many of his later pictures have a similar, glowing-like look to them), and contains a few memorable characters - not the least of which being the demented, wizened old couple, who seem kind and hospitable one moment, and are disemboweling you with a large metal spike the next. Also, there are several moments of the kind of gut-spilling gore we've come to expect from Mr. Fulci, which is more than welcome. One of the reasons that many of his films succeed are the over-the-top, positively nightmarish gore scenes. Save for "Cat in the Brain" and "Touch of Death", many of Fulci's later-career efforts shy away from the excessive gore, which turns many of them into colossal bores. This is not the case with "House of Clocks" - while not nearly up to the violence level of "The Beyond" or "New York Ripper", there are enough violent murders and scattered entrails to please the average Fulci fan, and nauseate anyone else.

While many Fulci fans will simply overlook "The House of Clocks", being that not only was it made in Fulci's autumn years but also for television, this would be a mistake - "The House of Clocks" is well-worth seeing for any admirer of the work of Lucio Fulci. Others might wanna beware, though.

The only reason why this film is getting excellent review in most books is the fact that Lucio Fulci made it. If his name wasn't on it, everyone will hate it. The film is boring, flat, and low on any suspense. Don't get me wrong, I love his films, but this one is just plain dull. Two guys and a girl (one of them kills a cat) drives to a old couples home (the couple has their son & wife dead in the basement). The 2 guys and a girl kills the boring couple and their gardener (Al Cliver, who looks very ill in this film). Suddenly, the clock goes backwards and they are terrorized for an hour (more like the audience is terrorized!). Some gore might make some die hard fans happy, but this film is just flat. The photography is dark, and I could see why this film never got U.S. sales. I had to buy a Japanese video print just to see it, and it really wasn't worth the effort. Go and rent ZOMBIE (aka ZOMBIE 2) again!