Lucio Fulci, who?s been branded ?The Godfather of Gore?, brings us this unnerving yet uneven tale.

Dr. Norman Boyle (Paolo Malco), of the New York Historical Society, accepts a research assignment abandoned by a colleague who has committed suicide. The project requires the researcher to temporarily take up residence in a New England mansion along with his wife, Lucy (Katherine MacColl) and their son, Bob (Giovanni Frezza). Norman discovers his colleague had become consumed with the history of the home's original owner, a turn-of-the-Century surgeon named Dr. Freudstein who possessed a fondness for illegal experiments. Further investigation reveals Freudstein had found a way to stay alive by using cells derived from fresh human blood. The Boyles find out the hard way that the maggot-stuffed, undead doctor remains lurking in the shadows of the house, killing anybody who crosses his path.

Sound interesting? Well, for the most part it is. The house itself is a weird little place. The family comes across a locked and bolted cellar door where the previous owner, a Dr. Freudstein, performed illegal experiments which ultimately cost him his medical license. It?s the kind of door that?s been locked for a reason. Like maybe something?s down there that shouldn?t be messed with. Even weirder is that a concrete tomb is found in one of the rooms, underneath the floorboard. Even so, the family stays.

The way the scenes are edited together is distracting. It?s almost too jarring and is interrupting what the viewer was intended to see. The film does have some good tracking shots near the cemetery and around the house, which gives it that sort of gloomy gothic feel. It is shot well but the jarring edits put it off balance. Fulci throws in a bunch of reaction shots as well. Something will happen and then he?ll go over to a close up of the character?s eyes. He does this back and forth and it?s overused.

Some of the death scenes are very gruesome. Fulci does a great job of making that cellar a place of death. Every time the door opens you get this feeling of dread come across your body. With most Italian horror films you can?t tell if someone?s going to die. There?s a child in this and throughout the entire film I couldn?t tell if he was going to die or not. When watching an American horror film, and there?s a child involved, you know he/she is going to be ok. One of the scenes in particular is very intense involving the child. He gets himself locked down in the cellar and the entire time he?s down there you?re biting your nails wondering if he?s going to be ok. That?s what makes this a little more intense and entertaining.

If the script had been more logical then what it was, this would have been a much better film. Still, at times this is a truly frightening horror film, despite its numerous flaws, and any fan of Italian horror should see it. Even if you?re not a fan of the ?Italians?, give it a try. You may be shocked!