The Shunned House [DVD]

Because "The Shunned House" is attributed to H.P. Lovecraft, I gave it one star. H.P. Lovecraft awesome, this movie, uhh, dung.

Shot on video, "The Shunned House" made me immediately think low-budget and under-propped. The acting "kinda", (ahem!), sucks, and the dialogue, while a minor flaw for the most part, is not always audible or discernable.

I thought it was a total cheeseball maneouver in a "Lovecraft movie" that the main actresses boobies were, albeit subtly, used as an enticement to keep the viewer interested.

"The Shunned House" starts off very slowly, but does not waste any time getting the idea across that something sinister is in the house, and then entirely bored, I turned it off and took a nap.

I awoke about an hour later and turned it back on from where I had left off, hoping that it would get better, and then seemingly quite suddenly in contrast to the, shall we say slow and unsuccessful attempt at developing a mystery in the beginning, and for the rest of the movie, blood is there, and there, and there, and the whole big mystery turns out to be nothing more than, and shall we have the drum-roll please, fwa-ba-doobledy-boop-de-doop and (ta da!),...a woman designed the house to make her guests insane and "forever" so they would kill each other over and over again or something and never leave the house. I guess it is supposed to take place in Spain, which did not feel Lovecraftian (for lack for a better word) at all.

As far as my experience with Lovecraft goes, and although I admittedly can't remember the details of "The Shunned House", this movie is not typical of Lovecraft, who addictively, and necessarily, made a point of making smooth and subtle transitions from the ordinary world of humans towards the hidden mysteriousnessess of other intelligences somewhere within reach of mortal man and vice versa, that sometimes encounter one another, and with contact with the otherness from beyond usually producing major and irrevocable and disturbing changes in the appearance and behavior of the mere human(s) involved, usually involving a single item or room to convey a portal or preoccupation of some kind, but this movie clumsily uses the whole house, I guess in an attempt to overwhelm, but certainly not to bedazzle, which would have been possible if more money was spent on some period furnishings or other prop pieces.

The immense and strange unknown that lurks just beyond the threshold of our feeble grasp of our own human reality that is expected of any work having anything to do with Lovecraft is replaced instead by a fascination with blood and unmotivated, dispassionate murder and, ooh, scary shadows and dumb people with black hair walking around and bumping into each other in their white but blood-stained nightshirts.

I think that Lovecraft's name was used in the title appropriately to some small degree in theme, with regards to "The Music of Eric Zann" or whatever the name of that story is (it has been awhile), but overall this movie is a disgrace to Lovecraft.

The special fear that Lovecraft invokes is that of the growing knowledge that there is "something" overwhemingly otherworldly, and not even necessarily malign or malignant, but most importantly alien (not little green) or just "different" from what we call normal or sane or mundane (come on, it is supposed to be hard to explain, unless you're H.P. Lovecraft), in the darkness, but quite frankly, this weirdo movie only makes me afraid of people with knives.

If you are considering buying this movie in search of a Lovecraftian experience, do not, as there is little for you in it, but as I tried to state earlier, there is some, although...it...is...very...little.

Obviously very low budget which I suspect is why the other reviewer did not like it. I was wary at first but it is so unique I got interested. It is very gruesome and gory. Much more than I would have expected. The fact that it is in Italy and all the actors are Italian make it unique also. I bought it in a 10 dollar movie pack with 5 other movies and I think it will be the best one. I dont think I will regret the purchase. It is sort of creepy. Not a waste of time unless you cant handle low budget.

You all can hear a lot of bad reviews about this movie. How many reasons do those wise critics have to write such reviews??? Hundreds and hundreds more every day... The truth is that Shunned House is someway disturbing, due not to the splatter contents (which are, truly, a few) but to the sick and stunning feeling created by the director, Ivan Zuccon.

The tissue made by soundtrack, images, colours, interpretations and plots (the film is inspired, I mean ONLY INSPIRED, by 3 Lovecraft's stories!) that mix one into each other is hard to digest. Besides we must consider the low-budget realization, testified by the absence of GREAT MODERN CHILDRENandWOMEN-SCARING special effects (just like FROM BEYOND's and DAGON's ones).

The truth is that this movie provides TRUE horror, TRUE sadness and TRUE vertigo; you can taste the ground and the dust of an old abandoned house, a special house where took place horrors of distant time and space.

Remember when you were a kid, entering an old abandoned house in the country side. When you cross those old rooms you can read all its dark stories on the walls and you can feel like that house moves, breathes, wishpers... shuns...

Do you get the clue now???

By the way: The Shunned House is directed very well and has a very good casting!!!

Believe me and check it out