In some ways, you get a sense Fulci was trying hard to make this more "respectable" than some of his other movies. The camerawork is careful, creating atmosphere as well as a sense of polish. The makeup and gore effects (except for the ridiculous bat scene) are also well-crafted, and the Dr. Freudstein character is fairly creepy to see. Also, there are fewer splatter scenes, and they come more out of the story than any gratuitous attempts to add gore. However, the story (which has shades of THE SHINING) is pretty slow-moving, so after a while you wish Fulci *would* throw in some gratuitous splatter! And like many of Fulci's other movies, a lot of things are simply not explained. (I will admit I got a good laugh at the sudden burst of "explanation" by one character at the end, which comes out of nowhere!) Quite frankly, viewers who have heard about Fulci but not seen any of his other movies will be wondering at the end of the movie why he's received so much fuss. So only for Fulci fans, or people with more than a passing interest in Italian horror movies.
Review of The House by the Cemetery
