The House 4 (Italy - 1988), a Filmirage production by Aristide Massaccesi (better known by his pseudonym Joe D'Amato), is signed as director by Martin Newlin (pseudonym of Fabrizio Laurenti), who would later also direct The Room Neighbor and Night voices, the TV miniseries scripted by Pupi Avati.
This is certainly not a masterpiece, and already the apocryphal title (which is along the lines of Raimi's cycle) denounces the intentions of the production.
Overall, however, the film has aspects of certain interest. Starting with rather successful splatter effects that were definitely out of time for the time (the Italian horror season had been over for a few years), to continue with the presence of the "diabolical" Linda Blair who, as before, here plays the role of a possessed woman.
Note should also be made of the successful and decidedly intriguing musical motif (by Carlo Maria Cordio), also used in the next chapter and in the contemporary Killing Birds- Raptors also produced by Aristide Massaccesi.
The House 4 is a pure escapist film that gives 90 honest minutes of entertainment, as was the case with the previous The House 3 - Ghosthouse and as will happen in the sequel i.e. in the The House 5...
Plot: a family travels to an island off the coast of Boston to purchase a house to renovate and turn into a hotel, but the presence of a witch, who committed suicide while pregnant, manifests itself first to little Tommy, then to his father Freddie, his wife and real estate agent Jane.
Following a rather "Dantesque" logic, the various deadly sins committed by those present will be given appropriate torment.
In the cast of The House 4 (aka Witchcraft, Witchery): Linda Blair (The Exorcist), David Hasselhoff (Piranha 3DD), Catherine Hickland (The Cursed City), Annie Ross (Four Butterflies for a Murderer), Hildegard Knef (The Killers are Among Us), Leslie Cumming, Rick Farnsworth, Robert Champagne, Michael Manchester, and Frank Cammarata.
The House 4 is produced by Joe D'Amato while the screenplay is by Harry Spalding and Daniele Stroppa.
Review by Undying1
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Distributed by Mustang Entertainment, The House 4Â is also available on DVD from January 21, 2020 on the official website of CG Entertainment.
House 4Â Is the second apocryphal sequel in the series Evil Dead by Sam Raimi, subsequent to House 3 - Ghosthouse by Umberto Lenzi.
DVD EDITION.:
VIDEO: 16/9 1.78:1
LENGTH: 93′
AUDIO: Dolby Digital 2.0 | Italian
N. DISKS: 1
OVERVIEW: Italian for the Deaf.
EXTRA: Trailer
