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[IMAGE: Vipco's 'Ghosthouse' sleeve] GHOSTHOUSE (1988)

Director: Umberto Lenzi, masquerading as Humphrey Hubert. The man's fooling no-one.

Hacktors: Lara Wendel, Greg Scott, Mary Sellers.

Rating: Rating: three out of five

Tag-line: None on the UK Vipco release. In the past, though, the movie has borne the tag-line, 'Death holds the mortgage, and if you move in... there'll be Hell to pay'. Clever.

Death Toll: A reasonably 'healthy' nine.

Cutting Remarks: This one was first released in the UK in a cut version by Colourbox, who also released the snipped print of Intruder. Now, on Vipco, it's not only uncut but it's out at the budget price of £5.99, which makes it a must for slasher movie collectors.
         No, it's not a great movie, but it has plenty of incompetent charm and offers up some nice gore. The opening scene is particularly effective, as an elderly couple are gruesomely slain by an unseen force. Meanwhile, their scared daughter Henriette is locked in the basement, where she eventually dies. Before you know it, she's back in supernatural form looking decidedly evil, clutching an oversized, Poltergeist-style clown doll. The big plus point here is the music, which the movie's characters can often actually hear - very creepy indeed, in a Suspiria kind of way.
         Sadly, the accompanying mayhem is scary mainly for the low quality of the acting and the ludicrous script. The supernatural elements are not played upon nearly as much as they might have been, leaving a slasher movie with a great soundtrack and a relatively low body count. Good, but not as great as you might have hoped. Still, for £5.99, it's quite literally one to watch.

Most Memorable Demise: Either Tina being sliced in half by a conveniently-placed falling guillotine, or Jim getting his throat sliced open by a flying propeller blade.

Look Out For: Cliches. Blood out of a tap, anyone? What a crazy notion...

Killer Quote: "It's like she's under a spell, or a curse" - Henriette's own father hits the nail on the head. Who said he was just a deranged old fucknut?

DVD Details: As with most Vipco discs, the movie looks good enough, but comes with few extras, besides a few onscreen filmographies, a picture gallery and trailers for other flicks. Fair enough, at budget level.

Release Date: Out now in the UK.

[Check it out at Amazon UK]

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