The House by the Edge of the Lake

The House by the Edge of the Lake (Italian: Sensitività) is a horror film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.

The House by the Edge of the Lake
Directed by	Enzo G. Castellari
Produced by	Rodolfo Putignani[1]
Screenplay by	José María Nunes Leila Buongiorno[1]
Story by	José María Nunes[1]
Starring	Vincent Gardenia
Music by	Guido & Maurizio De Angelis[1]
Cinematography	Alejandro Ulloa[1]
Edited by	Gianfranco Amicucci[1]
Production companies	Cinezeta Este Films[1]
Distributed by	Alpherat
Release date	28 September 1979 (1979-09-28) (Italy) 11 July 1980 (1980-07-11) (Spain)
Running time	96 minutes[1]
Country	Italy Spain

The film was re-edited several years after, with the title Kyra, La signora del lago (Kyra, the Lady of the Lake).[2] The director Castellari defined that film as an "awful horror film with a very low cost budget".[3]

Cast

• Vincent Gardenia as Old painter
• Leonora Fani as Lilian
• Wolfango Soldati as Edoardo
• Patricia Adriani as Lilith
• Caterina Boratto as Kira
• Massimo Vanni as Manuel

Production

Director Enzo G. Castellari explained that the film was developed between his friendship with an aspiring film maker named Jose Sanchez.[1] Castellari met him through his doctor and started teaching him how to write a script and took him on as an assistant.[1] Castellari stated that his script was being finished for a Spanish producer to be shot in Costa Brava which led to Castellari taking charge in directing the film.[1][4] Castellari's recollections are at odds with the film's credits which credit the film to Jose Maria Nunes a writer and director who was active in the film business since the 1950s with Sanchez only being credited as an actor in a small role.[4]

Filming began in August 1978 in Costa Brava but halted shortly after as the money for the film ran out.[4] Castellari did not initially want his named attached to the film, but in order to gain more funds he obliged to having his name attached to the project.[4]

Release

The House by the Edge of the Lake was released in Italy on 28 September 1979.[1] It was released in Spain as Diabla on 11 July 1980.[1] Distributor Rodolfo Putignani invested money his company Cinezeta created the Italian title for the film Sensivita, a word that does not exist in Italian.[4] Castellari found that as soon as editing the film, problems with distribution began which led to further interruptions in filming.[4] Castellari stated that "[Distributor Rodolfo]Putignani and his associate Curti finished it their own way. But my name as director stayed."[4]

The film was re-released in 1986 with additional scenes shot by Alfonso Brescia with editing credited to "Jeffrey Bogart".[1] Castellari did not like the re-edit of the film, recalling he was invited to a horror convention where the film was screened and that "after six minutes I walked [out of] the theater, horrified."[5]

References

Footnotes

1. Curti 2017, p. 211.
2. Louis Paul. Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland, 2005.
3. Luca M. Palmerini, Gaetano Mistretta. Spaghetti nightmares. M&P, 1996.
4. Curti 2017, p. 212.
5. Curti 2017, p. 214.

Sources

• Celli, C.; Cottino-Jones, M. C (2007). A New Guide to Italian Cinema. Springer. ISBN 0-230-60182-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 1476629609.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• The House by the Edge of the Lake on IMDb