I like this movie a lot, and don't regret the effort it took to track down a copy. It's different enough from the Romero/Fulci sort of zombie movie that you don't feel as if you are watching the "same old, same old". In fact, it's actually more of a ghost story, with a bunch of "Old, Dark House" elements expertly integrated. Tons of atmosphere, lots of creepy and unsettling passages, great use of color and sets, and just enough actual mayhem and gore to stun and shock. (The off camera screaming we hear at several points in the story is in some ways the most upsetting part of the film.
Still, the movie is a little too slow for my American tastes. And the dubbing for the lead protagonist doesn't do the actor any favors. And my sensibilities (again) bridle at the way the script treats the conspirators - they're just a bunch of normal sociopathis jerks with insane ideas, and the only serious threat they have is Zeder. We never see what happens to most of them because the movie is concentrating on the "Monkey's Paw" ending. And the movie is perfectly OK with torturing and maiming and killing women and little girls. (It is Italian, after all).
But if you are a fan of horror and want to see something different from your run of the mill zombie/ghost story, you owe it to yourself to see this.
Still, the movie is a little too slow for my American tastes. And the dubbing for the lead protagonist doesn't do the actor any favors. And my sensibilities (again) bridle at the way the script treats the conspirators - they're just a bunch of normal sociopathis jerks with insane ideas, and the only serious threat they have is Zeder. We never see what happens to most of them because the movie is concentrating on the "Monkey's Paw" ending. And the movie is perfectly OK with torturing and maiming and killing women and little girls. (It is Italian, after all).
But if you are a fan of horror and want to see something different from your run of the mill zombie/ghost story, you owe it to yourself to see this.