It seems to me that Fulci succeeds best when he doesn't hold back and just goes for the throat, and that's what happens here. The story is silly, even ludicrous, but told with complete conviction, and that makes for a nice funhouse ride.
Also in its favor - the pacing of the movie and its most important scenes is almost perfect, no easy task when the whole idea is to build dread and suspense and then explode into shock. Fulci and his crew aren't always good at this, but they succeed here.
Add some strikingly nuanced performances (I don't really know how good Magee, Warbeck, and Mimsy Farmer actually are, but this kind of material seems to play to their strengths), some cinematography that is so good that you don't even realize how good it is, and an excellent soundtrack...and you've got something worth watching.
So: try not to think too hard about the plot (even Poe came a cropper now and then) and just enjoy the experience.
Also in its favor - the pacing of the movie and its most important scenes is almost perfect, no easy task when the whole idea is to build dread and suspense and then explode into shock. Fulci and his crew aren't always good at this, but they succeed here.
Add some strikingly nuanced performances (I don't really know how good Magee, Warbeck, and Mimsy Farmer actually are, but this kind of material seems to play to their strengths), some cinematography that is so good that you don't even realize how good it is, and an excellent soundtrack...and you've got something worth watching.
So: try not to think too hard about the plot (even Poe came a cropper now and then) and just enjoy the experience.