The Salamander House is an interesting and spooky tale of witchcraft, the occult and writer’s block all rolled into one. Does that throw you a curve ball right off? Well, settle in dear reader, and lets give this curiously strange movie from director Marco Cerilli a closer look. First, before we get ahead of ourselves, keep in mind this film is Italian language however the English subtitles do their job at keeping the viewer up to speed.
This story is a bit of a slow burn as we meet very popular, if not famous novelist Robert Santana. It seems that Robert is suffering from a bit of a downturn in his writing. Uninspired and well in the grasp of something along the lines of writer’s block, Robert decides to rent a pretty run down ‘estate’ by the ocean. Surprisingly, the setting is basically a big empty house nestled in a seaside neighborhood rather than the typical ‘remote mansion out in the country’ that one might expect at first. There are rumors of a death – or murder(s) – that had happened at the house which the real estate agent plays off as accidental or otherwise no big deal. There are rumors of cults and a strange past that is explained away as nothing to be concerned with.
Robert’s real estate agent comes off a bit pushy and apparently is trying to sell him on the idea of buying the house, but all the novelist needs is some peace and quiet to (hopefully) reignite his writing for his next big novel. Robert’s wife, Sara, is also conveniently his editor but apparently she can shift gears pretty easily between being the loving, caring wife to all business mode when it comes to, well, business. Sara has stayed home for unknown reasons while Robert has made his pilgrimage to find writing inspiration.
Robert and Sara are frequently on the phone discussing routine things, flirting and being a little lovey-dovey. One day during one of their calls, Robert notices a Jesus-like white robed figure outside, walking along the surface of the water just offshore. He is intrigued and confused. A bit later, Robert meets this mysterious man named Vassago on the beach.
Vassago offers a plausible explanation for the water walking then reveals that he is a big fan of Robert’s work. He goes further to let him know that his wife is a fan as well and they would be honored for him to join them for dinner as ‘the girls’ are making a yummy lamb feast. Awkwardly, Robert eventually agrees to come for dinner.
Things start to get really weird at this point. As it turns out, Vassago’s wife isn’t his only one. ‘The girls’ are two lovely younger ladies who, it is revealed, are also Vassago’s other wives. The three ladies are all doing their best to impress and even seduce the handsome writer but he sticks to his guns of being married and declines their advances. He does dive right into the dinner though, and even agrees to consuming the food in a bit of an unusual way at his hosts’ suggestion. “It tastes better this way”.
What follows is the beginning of a series of bizarre hallucination/dreams/paranormal experiences as Vassago goes on to explain that their houses are built to be identical. Located on ‘the other side of the cliff’, the buildings are (for some reason) the same.
Robert finds himself pretty intoxicated and with a massive hangover when waking up the next morning by a call from his wife. We now begin some back and forth with one of the pretty young wives showing up at Robert’s door, again trying the seduction angle to get him to join them again. Eventually he does make it back over to the neighbor’s home to be presented with a mysterious book and now the revelations start pouring out about what has been going on the whole time.
Throw in a surprise “I’m here!” appearance from his wife Sara and Robert is now grappling with what to do and how to manage everything going on. Without going any further into details (no spoilers) we can just say that things continue to get more and more tangled.
The Salamander House is an interesting movie that surely gives the feel of something from the 70’s or early 80’s. Lots of story and character chatter going on, but still some spooky, horrific scenes added in the right places. The cinematography, scenery and the overall tone seem creepily familiar and as mentioned earlier, the Italian dialog adds a degree of separation which oddly enough, seems to draw the viewer into watching the actions and body language of the characters a bit closer. Speaking of the cinematography – there are no really unusual shots or surprises here. The framing, coloring and composition is fairly straightforward but there is some interesting use of lighting here and there that gives the look a nice texture at times.
This is a fun story with a medium pace and a familiar feel that may leave you wondering about a few plot points and pop-up scenes, but is still an interesting watch if you love occult and witchcraft themes.
THE SALAMANDER HOUSE (aka La Casa Del Sabba) is out now on Blu-ray (Region Free) in the USA and Streaming Platforms worldwide from VIPCO and BayView Entertainment.
Terry is founder of Black Dog Filmz based in Florida and creator of the award winning ‘Harlow’s Haunt’ movie. He has been involved with creative filmmaking, movies, music videos and commercial projects for more than 20 years as a tech, drone and specialized small camera systems professional. A lifelong horror fan, Terry combines the behind-the-camera elements with creative and editorial writing to support filmmakers and fans everywhere. Terry has written for such national publications as Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Drone News and hosted the popular Romero Pictures Indie Brigade Drone Cav podcast centered on aerial cinematography and various product and content reviews.