In "The House By The Cemetery" a young family moves from their cramped New York City apartment to a spacious new home in New England. But this is no ordinary house in the country: the previous owner was the deranged Dr. Freudstein, whose monstrous human experiments have left a legacy of bloody mayhem. Now, someone––or something––is alive in the basement and home is about to become a horrific hell on earth. (Gary Reber)
Special features include commentary with Troy Howarth, Author of "Splintered Visions: Lucio Fulci and His Films"; a deleted scene (HD 01:00); theatrical trailers; a TV spot and poster and still galleries. On the bonus Blu-ray Disc the special features include eight interview featurettes: "Meet The Boyles" (HD 14:17), "Children Of The Night" (HD 12:18), "Tales Of Laura Gittleson" (HD 08:56), "My Time With Terror" (HD 09:21), "A Haunted House Story" (HD 14:17), "To Build A Better Death Trap" (HD 21:32), "House Quake" (HD 14:46) and "Calling Dr. Freudstein" (HD 19:34) plus a Q&A with Catriona MacColl (HD 29:37).
The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed on Kodak 35 mm film stock in anamorphic Techniscope and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. This is a 4K restoration with well-balanced lighting, both daylight and effects and spot lighting. The flashlight beams are intense with white light. Contrast is revealing of excellent shadow delineation and deep black levels. Colors are warm and essentially natural in appearance. Resolution is excellent with very fine detail evident throughout, including object textures. Facial features are nicely defined. Fine film grain is never a distraction. This is probably the best that can be expected from the original 35 mm elements. (Gary Reber)
The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack has been repurposed from the original elements but still sounds monaural just with sound emanating from every channel, including the height layer. Fidelity is harsh throughout. Dialogue is at times out-of-sync or ADR. While the music delivered the best response, still this is a mediocre and unimpressive Immersive Sound experience. (Gary Reber)