House With Windows That Laugh
(Original title: La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono)
1976, Italy, Directed by Pupi Avati
Colour, Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD, Region 2 (Italy), Fox, Video: Anamorphic 1.83:1, Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Stefano is called in for his expertise to restore a fresco in a rurally-based church to help boost village tourism. Booking into a local bed and breakfast he immediately receives a threatening phone call, the whispered voice telling him to abandon the fresco and leave the village. Not entirely perturbed he continues with his work but then runs into an old friend who begins to warn him, something horrible about the past, but before he can complete the story he ‘falls’ from a second storey window. Stefano’s landlady begins to get itchy feet about his presence when she overhears another threatening phone call to him, and kicks him out. Desperate for somewhere to stay, he moves into the dilapidated and downright creepy home of a withering old lady (and later, cheekily moving his new girlfriend in with him), and starts investigating more about the history of the disturbed artist behind the fresco, finding a morbid tape recording made by him years earlier and also discovering that the artist had two sisters that don’t appear to be accounted for.
A mystery horror film exhibiting the tone of a Giallo, La Casa… is a stylish and haunting story that builds up slowly but rewards viewer attention. Because of the control that Avati exerts over the build-up an uncanny quality is created around the proceedings. The story is well structured, taking viewers along for the ride as bits of the jigsaw are gradually pieced together, and imagery is rich and evocative. Quite unusual it bears the same intellectual hallmarks of Avati’s later piece, Zeder (though La Casa… is a little more comprehensible), and is testament to a director who contributed much to the genre among only a small number of offerings.
Fox thankfully restored this for a 25th anniversary Italian DVD release producing a marvellous transfer that’s far better than what anyone would have expected for what was a fairly obscure movie up to that point - the detail is extensive while colours are both natural and striking. While the music score isn’t as strong as that on Zeder the new 5.1 track itself works wonders with environmental effects, though the original Italian mono is also included for purists. There is no English dub but the English subtitles are coherent enough. Alas, the featurettes on the disc are not subtitled. There was a similar US release that followed from Image that collectors may prefer for the English-friendly extras, but either way the film is a must-see.