The House of Clocks — The House of Clocks( Blu Ray)
From the tail end of the 1980s, The House of Clocks was one of the later films made by Italian gore meister Lucio Fulci. It was a TV film that was too bloody/extreme for the Italian network, so it ended up being released on the VHS market. The picture blends house invasion thriller, creepy old folks chiller, and supernatural/time-related horror. Here from Cauldron Films is a recent region-free Blu-ray of the film, taking in a new 2K/ totally uncut print of the film, with a new commentary track by genre experts, and a mix of new and archive extras.
The House Of Clocks ( aka La Casa Nel Tempo) was made in 1989. It was originally meant to be part of La Case Maledette ( The Houses Of Doom) series, which saw infamous Italian horror directors making TV films- in total, there were four made. The other three are The House Of Witchcraft directed by Umberto Lenzi( Eyeball, Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare Beach), The House of Lost Souls also by Lenzi, and lastly The Sweet House Of Horrors also by Fulci (all of these have now been reissued by Cauldron Films )- for one reason or another non of the films where ever shown on TV, but landed up been released on the VHS market.
The film focuses on a grand but isolated house- residing there are an elderly/ elegantly dressed couple, bearded, balding & bespectacled Vittorio Corsini(Paolo Paoloni), and tightly permed-haired Sara Corsini ( Bettina Milne). As per the film's title, the house is full of clocks- be they large stand-alones, pocket watches, and every type of clock in between. Vittorio spends his time winding up, caring for, and looking at his clocks. Also in the house are greased back-haried & bespeckled maid Maria(Carla Cassola), and one-eyed sewn-up/ yellow scarf wearing handyman Peter- played by Italian cult film regular Al Cliver( Zombie, The Beyond, 2020 Texas Gladiators). On the surface/initially, the Corsini seem like a normal elderly couple- but fairly soon we’re shown that they are keeping a rotting husband & wife in their wedding attire, they don’t mind killing birds to feed their cat, and they also don’t mind taking human life either.
The other set of characters are twenty-something crims- quaffed-haired/ grey tank top wearing Tony(Keith Van Hoven), camouflaged puffer jacket wearing (Tony), and his red-coated/ white scarf/ one upside-down curifix ear ring wearing Sandar( Karin Huff). We first meet them stealing things from a grocery shop, and we find out the most unbalanced/ unpredictable of the three is Tony, as he steals a toy gun pretending it’s real, and puts a kitten in a plastic bag, to see how long it takes to die.
As misty nighttime is rolling in, the gang have got to the Corsini house- ready break-in, and here I'll stop the plot rundown. As the film unfolds, we get a blend of thriller and horror tropes. And yes, as expected, we do get gore, though it’s not as creative/ impressive as some of Fulci's classic set-ups. We get a stake pushed all the way through a body/ then removed kill, a few shotgun-related deaths, and a hand stabbing.
The acting is well, what you expect from an Italian genre film of this time- not great, to ok. The film comes in at one hour and twenty-three minutes mark, and as a late 80’s thriller/ horror blend- it’s fine, of course it’s not a memorable/ impactful as Fulci’s classic work, be it in horror, or other genres. But it’s certainly a lot better than I expected, compared to the decidedly negative/ don’t bother reviews I read over the years.
This new region-free Blu-ray disc features a 2k scan. This looks well defined, with good depth and clarity throughout. The disc features a good selection of both new and archive extras.
On the new side, we have a commentary track from genre experts/ authors Eugenio Ercolani, Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth. As always, these three do a wonderful job on the track- blending research, worthy observation, and banter. They begin by talking about how the film at hand is the most polished film in this period of Fulci's career. We find out it was filmed over three weeks between late January and February 1989. They point out actors as they appear, giving brief bios and mentioning other noteworthy credits in their careers. They talk about the bad state of the director's health at this point, though he tried to hide it, so as to get insurance coverage. They discuss the film's theme of time, and how it’s used, commenting on the melancholy yet playful quality of the whole thing. They chat about the relationship between Fulci and actor Al Cliver, which was compared to that of Tom & Jerry, as the director was always getting at him on set- the pair did nine films together. They discuss the director's earlier work in comedy, and touch on the use of cats in the film at hand. Later on, they talk about the film's soundtrack by Vince Tempera, mentioning other worthy scores by the composer, and of course, much more. A track I’m sure I’ll return to.
Otherwise, on the new side we have: Lighting the House of Time (25.45) interview with cinematographer Nino Celeste. Time and music ( 28.26) interview with composer Vince Tempera. Working with a Master ( 23.56) interview with 1st AD Michele De Angelis. Time with Fulci (19.18) interview with FX artist Elio Terribili
On the archive side, we have the following: interview with actor Paolo Paoloni(5.28). interview with actress Carla Cassola (9.32). Interview with Al Cliver(1.32), and trailer.
After being aware of The House Of Clocks for some twenty years, it was great to finally see it, and it’s most certainly not a bad as I was led to believe- been a decent late 80’s euro horror film. This new Blu-ray from Cauldron Films takes in a classy 2k print and a good selection of worthwhile extras.