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Reviews
La casa dalle finestre che ridono (1976)
Not your typical Giallo film
Pupi Avati's 'The House With Laughing Windows' follows the character of Stefano, a painter who travels to a remote Italian village on a job to restore an unfinished painting depicting the persecution of St. Sebastian (who was a real Saint, by the way, only he was actually killed by arrows being shot into him, not by being stabbed with knives like the painting in the movie portrays). Upon arriving in the village, Stefano discovers that there is a lot more behind the mystery of the painting than he originally thought, and that someone will stop at nothing to make sure that Stefano does not complete the painting, further revealing the true mystery behind the town's bizarre secrets.
The movie opens with graphic, sepia toned imagery of a man being tortured in the exact same way as St. Sebastian is depicted in the painting. The genuinely creepy piano music that plays during the opening just further sets the unsettling mood for the mystery that lies ahead. The opening credits lead one to believe that the film is an all out blood bath, however, this is not the case. In fact, the most violently unsettling part of the film is the opening, that's not to say that the rest of the film doesn't contain violence, it just doesn't exist on the same level or extreme as the opening.
The rest of the film is a rather competent mystery done in true giallo fashion, and will keep you wondering what's going to happen next until the climactic finale. There are a few story elements in this movie that were either unexplained or not elaborated on, but I don't know if going as far as to call these incidents 'plot holes' would be completely correct. For instance, there is a girl Stefano is seeing at the beginning who just leaves town (disappears?) without a word. This had me thinking the whole movie that she was murdered and that her body would turn up at some point, when in fact you find out later in the film that she just simply left town, and was replaced by Stefano's next love interest, Francesca.
The movie is pretty tame in comparison to many giallo flicks like 'Tenebrae' or 'The New York Ripper', but the twists and turns should interest most fans of this sub-genre. Also, unlike most giallos, the film contains only a brief bit of nudity, but there is a scene where a woman is being forcefully molested that seems more exploitative than most scenes depicting nudity.
All in all I must say I was surprised at the quality of movie I saw. Not only was it a surprise that I haven't heard of this movie sooner, but it was also amongst some of the better plot driven giallo films I have personally seen. This movie was well paced, consisted of great camera-work and scenery, had great acting (to a non-speaker of Italian, anyway), and had a truly creepy and original plot. I recommend this film to anyone that is really into the Italian giallo sub-genre, as it may not hold the interest of the casual horror movie fan.
Dark Waters (1993)
Not a sleeper hit, but it will put you to sleep...
I've had this movie collecting dust in my VHS stack for about 8 years now. I decided to give it a whirl after first purchasing it back in '99 or '00, and I recall it put me to sleep not more than half way through. I didn't give it another shot for another 3 years or so, and I fell asleep again, no lie. OK, so it's been about 8 years and I finally decided to watch the movie ALL the way through to decide if it is in fact a hidden gem or just a buried turd.
So last night I put it in and watched 3/4ths of the movie and, guess what, I fell asleep again. I woke up this morning and finished the rest, and here's what I think of this movie:
This movie is godawful horrible! And I don't mean that in a good, creepy, Excorcist type of way, I mean the movie is literally terrible. The character development is virtually non-existent, the plot is weak, and the blood and gore is pretty lame. There were a few parts that were almost OK, but almost OK doesn't cut it for me. The movie moves at such a slow pace and has virtually no dialogue. Heck, the dialogue that exists in the movie can't be understood...and it's in English!
If there is one redeeming factor about this movie, it's the music. Yes, the music was pretty creepy, and I liked it. Too bad such a great horror soundtrack was wasted on this steaming pile of a movie.
Don't believe the hype (at least on this board, as I doubt too many people past this board would be desperate enough to defend this garbage), this movie is absolute junk. It fails to scare, intrigue, or even moderately interest. The only thing it succeeds in doing is putting me to sleep, and I didn't even have nightmares. Now that's weak.
I've given the movie a 3/10 for the soundtrack alone.
Saw II (2005)
What a letdown...
Saw 2 sucks compared to the first. About a dozen plot holes, and characters that basically scream: "Please kill me I'm a complete moron" round out this stinker. It's obvious this was neither directed nor written by the person behind the brilliant original.
The movie contains enough bloodshed to entertain, and if that's all you care to see in the movie, then you may enjoy it. But for everyone else out there who wants a convincing, clever storyline like the original, prepare to be disappointed. This is a fine example of what 99% of all horror sequels end up becoming....no substance garbage.
Avoid like the plague, unless you can watch it for free.