Customer Reviews

The Shunned House

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

God, from the first minute I could tell this was going to be a crap movie. I nearly turned it off within 5 minutes. I wish I had. It looks like it was shot on video. There's no use of depth of field or filters of any sort. The lighting is harsh and generally poor. It looks like a made-for-daytime-soaps production. Seriously, it looks like something off Days of Our Lives or one of those other low-production-value shows. The acting is terrible, and about on par with daytime soaps.

Avoid this movie at all cost. It's certainly not worth the MSRP of $30. Hardly worth the $5 I bought it for. Yeah, it's that bad. Just terrible.

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

H.P. Lovecraft was a morose, effective horror writer. Whenever I think of his stories, I recall their thick, dreary atmosphere of encroaching shadows and approaching doom. THE SHUNNED HOUSE takes 3 such tales (mostly their collective mood), blends them, and adds a modern setting in a crumbling mansion. Dueling realities clash, overlap, and bleed together as two investigators experience the cold dread that lurks in this place. Are they going mad? Is there some scientific explanation for the terror within these walls? Or is something truly making its presence known? THE SHUNNED HOUSE is a chilling tale that certainly nails the spirit of Lovecraft's work. The fact that it is a low-budget film only makes me admire it more! Also available on DECREPIT CRYPT OF NIGHTMARES...

Why do I have to stumble upon great films
based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft almost
by accident when they deserve a high place
in the pantheon of horror cinema?
"Dagon" and now this one, "The Shunned House".

This is one all-out freak-out of a haunted
(haunting?) house story.

It is loosely based on several of the stories
of H.P. Lovecraft, and therefore not actually
one at all, but it successfully achieves the
Lovecraftian sensibility. Well done!

It took me a while to return to my own
dimension after viewing it for the first time,
and, oh yes, I will watch it again, and again.

I loved the look and the sound.
Excellent soundtrack, both music and effects.

The cinematography appeared odd at first,
because it stared with a sort of ultra-realism
that I am not accustomed to,
but as the film progressed,
that sense of realism coupled with the other
goings-on heightened the weirdness factor for me.

The set, the rotten old house, is right on,
and the use of lighting and colors is excellent.

The film becomes a relentless assault on reality,
shifting between plot lines, time and dimensions.
Plenty of gross and bloody stuff too.

What, is outside the window
or under the basement?
We never really find out,
but we know that it is so horrible
that we'd rather not know.

Who, where, and when is the witch
and her sadistic partner
and what are they up to?
We never really find out,
but we know that it is so horrible
that we'd rather not know.

If you are a fan of horror films,
this is one that you ought to see.

In this ensanguined rendering of three H. P. Lovecraft's stories, director Ivan Zuccon weaves together a visual of the macabre and madness that Lovecraft is known for.  Adapted by Zuccon and Enrico Saletti, the script integrates The Shunned House, The Music of Erich Zann, and Dreams in Witch-House to fuse together one unnerving cinematic companion piece.  
A writer, played by Giuseppe Lorusso, and his girlfriend (Federica Quaglieri) arrive at a dilapidated former inn to investigate the unusually high number of murders and suicides that had taken place while the hotel was in operation.  Actual time grows a little fuzzy as what begins as a ghost story evolves into the merging of the present with two stories from generations past.
As aberration ensues in each of the film's characters, The Shunned House teeters between conventional spookiness and extreme gore.  One rather disturbing scene in particular depicts a musician gnawing off a chunk of her own wrist so she could "play" upon the exposed veins as if they were the strings of her violin.
Albeit a little confusing, the storyline keeps the audience suspended in anticipation of what's to happen next. 
Though filmed on videotape, the picture quality surprisingly isn't all that lacking. There are even a few scenes where light usage was artistically regulated.  However, sound quality fluctuates making the already thick Italian accents of the actors even more difficult to understand at times. Even so, The Shunned House is to be embraced by horror film lovers and H. P. Lovecraft fans alike. - Melanie Falina

Obviously very low budget which I suspect is why a lot of other reviewers did not like it. I was wary at first but it is so unique that I got interested. It is very gruesome and gory and pretty creepy. 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. Not a waste of time unless you cant handle low budget.

This movie is a grueling exercise in extreme fright on a low budget. I found this to be referred to all that was once strong in the euro scene back in the day, all the atmosphere and low on the story. It jumps around from room to room and back to one part of the past, then shifts to another room where another part of the past happened and so on. All seem to connect in some way since we are grappled with insane and disturbing THE SHINING type mood along with upbeat camera work like the new version of HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. This movie really touches me in a lot of ways meaning how unapologetic it can be. If you can't freak me out in some way whether it be a bloody gross out or ghostly apparitions inflicting as much trauma a la AMITYVILLE 2:The Possession then out the door you go. Hanging bodies, The slicing of many wrists and the playing of arteries which excellently enables a deaf mute violin player to continue to play her instrument since all her strings broke, sewn mouths and staked eyes familiar to Argento`s OPERA, dead children, tilted point of views, bloody mad surgeons, and massive amounts of killer editing. The editing is probably part of the star quality of this directorial debut. Flash here, jiggle jiggle jiggle there, in and out in and out here, man the camera doesn't stop. Even when they are just sitting there talking amongst each other the camera is doing something. I don't find it to be to over the top, more a compliment to the ever increasing suspense the flick gives off. This music is of almost a SESSION 9/ Aphex Twins delectability but tends to monopolize on the only chanting riff amongst the whole movie again and again and again.

Horrorreview.com

Why do I have to stumble upon great films
based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft almost
by accident when they deserve a high place
in the pantheon of horror cinema?
"Dagon" and now this one, "The Shunned House".

This is one all-out freak-out of a haunted
(haunting?) house story.

It is loosely based on several of the stories
of H.P. Lovecraft, and therefore not actually
one at all, but it successfully achieves the
Lovecraftian sensibility. Well done!

It took me a while to return to my own
dimension after viewing it for the first time,
and, oh yes, I will watch it again, and again.

I loved the look and the sound.
Excellent soundtrack, both music and effects.

The cinematography appeared odd at first,
because it stared with a sort of ultra-realism
that I am not accustomed to,
but as the film progressed,
that sense of realism coupled with the other
goings-on heightened the weirdness factor for me.

The set, the rotten old house, is right on,
and the use of lighting and colors is excellent.

The film becomes a relentless assault on reality,
shifting between plot lines, time and dimensions.
Plenty of gross and bloody stuff too.

What, is outside the window
or under the basement?
We never really find out,
but we know that it is so horrible
that we'd rather not know.

Who, where, and when is the witch
and her sadistic partner
and what are they up to?
We never really find out,
but we know that it is so horrible
that we'd rather not know.

If you are a fan of horror films,
this is one that you ought to see.