Director: Pupi Avati
Year: 1976
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: La Casa dalle finestre che ridono
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
Arriving in a small Italian town, a famous art restorer begins his job looking into a damaged painting inside a local church, but as he begins looking into the history of the painting and why he was called out to the village finds himself threatened by a killer determined to keep a deadly secret.
Review:
This one wasn’t all that bad for a 70s giallo effort. One of the better features here is that this one derives most of its suspense from the town’s secret and the ensuing quest to solve it which is a real high point. As is quite rarely the case, the mystery here is intriguing and plays out that way all throughout the film with the way it comes about due to the connection with the residents in the town. The way this builds the background of the town with the rural landscape insulated from the outside world and steeped in tradition and ritual that is at play here. With his outsider methods conflicting with their need to keep the past buried and going to the lengths to make sure it stays buried adds a fantastic touch here that’s ably supported by the way it comes about since this is handled about as real as can be expected rather than merely stumbled upon something without anything realistic happening and that adds untold amounts of suspense to the film because the scenario is believable.
The other enjoyable factor here is the way this one builds to a rather ferocious final half due to this strong build-up. The ending is just outstanding as there are a lot of great things happening in this section. The body count picks up considerably with some shocking figures knocked off in a surprising order, the creepiness is amplified and it gets all the more watchable and creative. There are some deaths to be had, including a whopping four within fifteen minutes that features a real standout as one is set on fire and sent off screaming off into the darkness still ablaze. That is an impressive sight, as is the location where the title comes from as it’s hard not to be impressed by that, and its adjacent grounds provide one of the creepiest scenes in the film. From the discovery of what’s going on to the identity of the killer and the sharing of the town’s secret. It all happens in a short time of one another, giving this a real standout feeling that the rest of the film really lacks being creative, realistic, and believable. These here are all that hold this one up.
There isn’t a lot wrong with this one but they’re all big factors. The main issue here is that, for a giallo, it’s missing a lot of the main qualities expected since there’s really no blood or even sleaze in this one, which is both hard to believe. The blood is the result of the body count being well under double-digits, and with several occurring off-screen or unconfirmed the ones that are needed to provide the goods. Having after-affects as the main source of gore isn’t a wise move, while the sleaze is a little harder to forgive. There are several opportunities to cash in yet nothing is taken beyond disrobing for sex scenes so it’s quite disappointing. The film’s other problem is that there’s so much talking in the middle that drags the film out. This is easily ten minutes too long, and as a result, this has a really slow and drawn-out pace to accommodate all the talking. The strange part is that it’s all necessary to the film, but it’s just way too long at times and could've used some tightening up to speed it along. This is the main thing wrong, and the one flaw that keeps it down.
Overview: ****/5
While still fun and enjoyable, this one does have a few flaws to it that drag this one down over the wealth of positives on display here. This is easily recommended viewing for all giallo or Italian horror film fans, while those who don't really enjoy those kinds of films or are turned off by the issues might be put off by this one.
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