7/10
The Secret of the Basement
21 April 2013
In New York, Dr. Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco) assumes the research about Dr. Freudstein of his colleague Dr. Petersen, who committed suicide after killing his mistress. Norman heads to Boston with his wife Lucy Boyle (Katherine MacColl) and their son Bobby (Giovanni Frezza) to live in an isolated house in the woods that belonged to Dr. Petersen. Bob befriends the girl Mae (Silvia Collatina) that only he can see and she warns him to leave the house. Soon his parents hire the mysterious babysitter Ann (Ania Pieroni) and creepy things happen in the house, When Bobby goes to the basement, his parents discover the secret of the house.

"Quella villa accanto al cimitero", a.k.a. "The House by the Cemetery", is a sinister horror movie by Lucio Fulci. The screenplay is confused with poor development of the characters, but the supernatural atmosphere is creepy and the camera-work is great. The metaphoric conclusion, with the soul of Bob following Mae and her mother, is excellent. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa do Cemitério" ("The House by the Cemetery")

Note: On 23 March 2016, I saw this movie again on DVD with the original language (Italian) and subtitles in Portuguese.
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