The House With Laughing Windows — The House With Laughing Windows(UHD/ Blu Ray)
From the mid-70s, The House Of Laughing Widows stands as one of the more formally chilling, at points downright unsettling/disturbing examples of the giallo form. It regards a young art restorer going to an isolated village to work on a decidedly macabre fresco in the local church. The film may not feature a particularly high or creatively executed set of murders. However, it takes in some great uneasy settings, a compelling/ strange mystery, and moments of true bone-chilling terror and alarming horror. Here from Arrow US, as either a UHD or Blu-ray, is a recent release of the film. It takes in a new 4k scan, two new commentary tracks, a new feature-length documentary, and more.
The House With Laughing Windows (La casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono) is from the year 1976. It’s an Italian production, which is largely set in the rural northern area of the country.
The film was directed/ co-written by Bologa born Pupi Avati. He has forty-seven features to his name- these include the fantasy horror blend of Blood Relations (1970), musical comedy Bordella (1976), atmospheric take on the living dead genre Zeder (1983), and Bix Beiderbecke biopic Bix (1991).
We open with, I think, some of the most troubling opening credits I can recall seeing. They are shot in a slow-motion monochrome and feature a topless man strung up. Around him are two white hooded/ smocked figures- who are liberally stabbing the man, over the top of this, we get a slightly slowed dialogue track- taking in a man discussing the blood of his body pouring out like the colours of autumn.
When the film starts, we get a rewarding/ unexpected switch in tone, as we see a young bearded man and a woman meeting eyes on a large riverboat, as tuneful/ lush music plays. His name is Stefano(Lino Capolicchio), and he’s an art restorer, and her name is Francesca(Francesca Marciano) she is a school teacher- both are going to work at an isolated rural village on the river- he on a dilapidated fresco in the village's church, and she at the local primary school.
The village has more than a few quirky characters- there’s a short in statue gangster, who's hoping to profit from the fresco when it’s restored. There’s a randy/ slept with half the village mid-aged teacher. A chucking church handyman who enjoys putting live mice in coffins/ cooks them alive.
As the film unfolds, Stefano becomes more fascinated with the fresco & its creator, who had a penchant for painting those dead or near death. The fresco itself is centred around a standing/ semi-sheeted man who has numerous knives stabbed into his body.
As mentioned in my introduction, the film doesn’t have a huge body count or elaborate/stylised murders. Yes, we have one or two quite gory kills- but they are spread thinly over the film's hour & fifty-minute runtime, many of them appearing towards to end of the picture.
The film's focus is all about creating a keen/ fascinating mystery, a highly effective air of eerie disquiet, with some truly horrifying/ troubling moments. And a truly deranged/ you won’t forget in a hurry resolve.
I’ve been aware of The House Of Laughing Widows for around twenty-plus years, but for one reason or another, I’d never seen it until this release. And I must say the film very much lives up to its praise as being one of the most horrifying/ troubling gialli.
Moving on to this recent release, it features a new 4k scan. This looks wonderful- with great depth and clarity throughout, as well as an even balance between dialogue and music.
On the extras side, we get a great selection of all-new extras. First off, we have two commentary tracks. One with critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and one with genre experts/ authors Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth. I played the second of these, and as always, these two-track pros give a most informative/ interesting track. They move from talking about how this & many of the directors' work were filmed around Bologa, where he grew up. They talk about how the lead actor Capolicchio is very good in his role- we find out he nearly got the David Hemings role in Argento’s Deep Red, and that he appeared in one of the director's later films. We find out that the first version of the script was penned in the late 60s/ early 70s- with American involvement- this fell through, and Pupi Avati made a few more films. By the time he returned to make the film, the script had been developed more with a more Italian focus. They point out small role actors, mentioning other notable projects. They discuss the film's release in the US market, and touch on how the film has an authentic 1950s setting. Later on, they discuss the director's filmography, detailing more notable films. They chat about the film's score, which has sadly has not got a full release, and more.
Otherwise, on the extras side, we have: Painted Screams( one hour and thirty-four), a feature-length/ in-depth documentary on the film directed by Federico Caddeo, featuring interviews with co-writer/director Pupi Avati, co-writer Antonio Avati, assistant director Cesare Bastelli, actors Lino Capolicchio, Fancesca Marcia. La Casa e Sola( 9.12) visual essay by critic Chris Alexander. The Art of Suffering(14.58) visual essay by critic Kat Ellinge. And lastly, the original Italian theatrical trailer.
Arrow US have truly done a splendid job with this new release of The House Of Laughing Widows- with a lovely scan, and a great selection of all new extras. If you have even a passing interest in either giallo genre or creepy/ unsettling euro horror- this release is a must!