The House of Clocks

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!

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.

Come on, you can't really say this movie is lame. It has an original story and a surreal atmosphere for a start that give the movie an unsettling feel.

The story goes like this: 3 wannabe burglars break into an isolated villa and kill the occupants. The 2 elderly occupants are really sadistic killers and have quite a shock in store for the burglars. The old man with his collection of clocks turn back time and soon the burglars are running for their lives.

The acting isn't quite up to scratch and there is a cruel scene involving a cat that in my opinion makes the lead teens truly unlikeable.

Apart from that then you can look forward to a great setting and location. (The villa is lovely but appears dark and unsettling as soon as night falls.) Also on show is Fulci style gore. A maid is literally gutted when the elderly folks find out about her snooping around. You can give a hand to the poor teen thats just had hers stabbed! And, about a dozen shotgun blasts end up hitting everyone. I couldn't believe this was made for cable!

The movie doesn't intend to be amazing, yet the surreal story and the twisted ending notches it up considerably. Just give it a watch. You may be pleasantly surprised. 3 out of 5.

More engaging than I expected after watching the earlier Sodoma's Ghost but the whole thing is still a bit ridiculous. It was also made-for-tv and so that's not surprising. I really enjoyed the beginning where the rich, lavish lifestyle of the mansion owners was juxtaposed with the lives of the thieves. However, it began and to drag somewhere in the middle, and the ending just started to go over the top and became ridiculous. Overall not bad as long as you know what Fulci's 80s output is like.

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.