There are only five movies I've ever seen that have mesmerized me that happen to be a slow burn until the last few minutes of the movie. Session 9, Dark Water, Audition, House of the Devil, and the House with Laughing Windows. All five of these movies have something in common. Something just feels wrong the whole movie. You're never comfortable while watching them. They keep you on the edge just with location, music, mystery, and in some ways their use or non-use of sound at the right times. Set new world record for the tallest drop of a roller coaster. The first hour and half or so of this movie is the time you spend going up, the final two reveals are the biggest drops and loops ever. That is how rewarding the end of this movie feels.
The movie starts with an opening in sepia tone showing a man getting stabbed and tortured to death with a harrowing voice talking about, "colors," in the background. The movie then transitions to a restorer going to a church in small Italian village to restore a fresco. Stefano (Lino Capolicchio, the restorer, is hired by the mayor to restore the fresco because the painter was famous in the town and he thinks it will attract tourists. At first things seem pretty normal. Stefano sleeps with the town tramp just by asking her questions about her teaching job. He meets a man named Antonio at the town's restaurant who claims to have something to tell him. He talks about taking him to a, "house with laughing windows." One night after Antonio phones Stefano saying he wants to tell him something he commits suicide by falling out of a window. Though we do see a shadow past the white curtains of the window. That starts the feeling of dread and mystery throughout this movie. Earlier on Stefano had gotten a phone call saying to leave and not mess with the fresco. Just like other giallo movies it was a whispering voice. Everyone Stefano talks to seems die, or disappear.
There are so many great scenes of doors opening at random times or windows crashing, just shots of shadows or near doors or first person views in the backgrounds of scenes to imply that something is always around. You never know who, how, or why. There is one incredible scene where the only light across the room is the small crack in the bottom of the door and when Stefano opens the door just the light in the opening. He then finds the light switch and sees this giant sack moving back and forth. Was it the wind or was someone there? Stefano eventually moves into a new building with a senile old woman who lives in the attic. Stefano and the new teacher of the town, Francesca (Francesca Marciano) fall in love and she moves into the house with him. This all happens after one date where he reads to her during dinner and they have sex afterwards. I wish it were that easy. Same thing with how he banged the teacher after just talking to her about her job. Maybe he's better game than anyone else in that small, cutoff town. There is also a theme of post WW2 decay as the nazis apparently went through the village during WW2 and several of the characters served in the war. The village seems to stand at it's own point and time because due to the age of some of the characters and events within the story it has to take place before it was actually filmed. It seems water locked and gives the movie the feel of a place where someone is just doomed because they have no place to go or no one to turn to. A feeling like The Wicker Man.
As the movie goes on more and more is found out about the mystery surrounding the painter Legnani. Apparently with his sisters he tortured and killed people for his art. He finds a diary with some entries and picture of the sisters proving that. There are small reveals along the way like the church's alter boy Lidio, (Pietro Brambilla) passing something in a gas can to an unknown someone in the top room of Stefano's new place. Like other gialli a plot point is a picture in this case the fresco, but also an image as the title, the actual house with the laughing windows Stefano finds later. This is one of the few giallo movies where a character could probably drop an investigation and they would be safe but Stefano's curiosity gets the better of him. At one point he finds some very disturbing recordings on speaker that tie back to the film's intro. Maybe even more disturbing voice recordings than Marlon Brando's in Apocalypse Now. After finding out more info from the town drunk and the mayor's assistant Coppola (Gianni Cavina) Stefano decides to leave with Francesca. The morning before they go on the train however, he decides to venture out with Coppola one last time, leading to tragedy and a harrowing conclusion. The Score is just incredible. Amedeo Tommassi does a great job with an organ sounding piece that keeps the feeling of dread and uncertainty at all times. The love theme sounds happy but also sounds like a mourning theme as well. The opening theme is one that sets the tone for the building feeling of dread.
Rating: 9/10- While I love this movie you do have to commit to such a slow burn. It's a great film but not necessarily the most fun giallo to watch. So that is why a 9.
Note: Since this movie isn't easy to find conventionally you can find a print on Youtube or on the Giallo Realm channel on Odysee. There hasn't ever been a blu-ray release of this to my knowledge, so the best print you can find is the Shameless Films release.
Trivia: Apparently once at a film festival Phil Anselmo, the lead singer of bands such as Pantera and Down jokingly assaulted someone after they had said they hadn't seen this movie. Phil grabbed the person and shook them and said "The House with the Laughing Windows," over and over again.
Trailer:
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