Ghosthouse was originally marketed as a TV sequel to the
Evil Dead films, which were called La Casa in Italy. It contains pretty much
zero similarity to anything in the Evil Dead series, save they are both set
somewhere on Earth and feature humans breathing oxygen… well, at least until
something supernatural kills them. In place of unrelenting horror and over the
top gore, Ghosthouse offers a shocking amount of no holds barred HAM Radio
operation. The director, Lenzi, known
for the infamous “Cannibal Ferrox” (1981) and my personal favorite, “Nightmare City”
(1980), throws everything it can into the mix but never manages to rise above its
extremely silly delivery.
We begin with a
couple of hitchhikers who decide the best possible idea is to stay in a creepy
abandoned house. They are quickly dispatched by a ghostly little girl and what looks like
a slightly larger version of the evil clown from “Poltergeist” (1982). Soon after all this, we
meet Paul (Greg Scott) and his girlfriend Martha (Lara Wendel). Paul is a HAM
radio enthusiast, and has quite the set-up in his cavernous apartment. Late one night he gets a strange signal,
which sounds like a lullaby and then a woman screaming. Through the magic of
1988 computer technology he somehow locates the precise location of the signal.
Naturally it’s the spooky house from the opening, which is now being
investigated by some kids in a Winnebago and by coincidence they have set up a
HAM radio of their own in the attic. On
top of a little girl ghost murdering people
left and right, there is also a crazy groundskeeper to avoid. Can Paul, Martha,
and the band of losers in the Winnebago uncover the mystery of the ghost before
they get killed?
The best I can say for Ghosthouse, is that it isn’t
entirely terrible. There are sequences that capture that peculiar dream like atmosphere featured in many Italian horror movies. The actual moments when
the ghostly girl appears are bizarre and brightly lit. Mirrors wobble and bend
under her power, light bulbs inflate before exploding, and underneath the
house is giant pool of bubbling yogurt. All these together could have added up
to a creepy haunted house story if there weren’t so many other problems.
The acting ranges from tepid (Paul) to inexplicably terrible
(Everybody Else), save Donald O’Brien as
Valkos the groundskeeper, who easily turns in the best performance. There is the bizarre inclusion of a fat guy
who seems to be hitchhiking across the country with a backpack that is filled with practical
joke skeleton arms but no food. The plot has to keep bending over backwards to
get people to go back into the house after there have been a number of deaths.
The police show up at one point to haul bodies away, but apparently don’t care
about investigating anything inside the house and are all too happy to let
people stay out on the front lawn in their Winnebago. The less said about the
annoying repetitive ghost lullaby the better.
If you’re looking for a few minor (very minor) chills and a
few minor (extremely minor) laughs give it a look. Otherwise I’d recommend
you go watch La Casa (aka Evil Dead) again. You’ll get more out of it.
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