La casa della paura

I thought I have seen most of giallos (Yes, I am big time giallo fan & watching them for last 5 years) but every once a while, I get a little surprise. This was one of them. Its about a secret cult & how they kidnap & torture pretty young woman. This is not of the class of Suspiria - but its pretty decent. Girls are pretty, atmosphere/setup was good & plot had some suspense. Murders are little tamed in comparison to typical giallos, but not half bad. Overall, a pretty enjoyable movie.

Margaret Bradley (Daniela Giordano) is released from a two week stay in jail, moves into the titular apartment, and discovers a very disturbing stain on the carpet. She also experiences strange goings-on and nightmares about a group of cultists in red masks.

Margaret seeks help in getting out of her new apartment from her friend Alicia (Rosalba Neri), but winds up caught in a murder mystery with supernatural overtones.

THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A is a macabre occult thriller. The plot tends to meander in a disjointed way that somehow works. It's suspenseful, and the creepy characters and paranoiac atmosphere add a lot. Of course, the gratuitous nudity doesn't hurt.

For giallo fans looking for something different...

Girl in Room 2A (1974) is an Italian giallo picture that I recently watched on Shudder (and is also available on Tubi). The storyline follows an apartment building that has a woman recently released from jail move in. She starts hearing and seeing weird things around the building. Meanwhile, a man arrives at her apartment and says his recently murdered sister lived in the same room as her. The two of them work together to try and uncover what happened to the man's sisters and what's behind the spooky building.

This movie is directed by William Rose (Rent-a-Girl) and stars Daniela Giordano (Violent Rome), Rosalba Neri (The Arena), Brad Harris (Goliath against the Giants), Frank Latimore (All the Presidents Men) and Giovanna Galletti (Last Tango in Paris).

This is one of those movies with a worthwhile storyline, unpredictable circumstances but inconsistent dialogue and acting. There's scenes in this movie that feel stiff. However, the opening stab sequence was entertaining. The background music provides a classic 70s giallo feel and there's some classic Italian hot ladies and the nudity that goes with it in this genre. Mrs. Craig was a smoke show in this. The fireplace scene followed by the car off the cliff was fun, the cult aspects were well delivered and the last 15-30 minutes was really good with some worthwhile kills.

Overall, this is a worthwhile addition to the Italian giallo genre that I would consider a must see for fans of these pictures. I would score this a 6.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

A young girl named Edie is mysteriously kidnapped and taken to a country house where she is tied up,stripped and hung from the ceiling by her wrists.She is then tortured and finally killed by a long spear that penetrates her soft flesh Meanwhile the beautiful Margaret just released from a women's prison takes a room at Mrs. Grant's remote country mansion.Soon the strange things begin to happen...This sleazy and rather perverse giallo from Ramiro Oliveros is quite similar to Massimo Pupillo's "The Bloody Pit of Horror".The action is slow and the mystery elements aren't well-handled,but there is enough nudity and misogynistic violence to keep fans of Euroexploitation happy.Give this one a chance.7 out of 10.

Girls who stay in room 2A at a mysterious boarding house are being abducted, tortured and killed by masked assailants. The latest female tenant and the brother of the last victim begin investigating the mystery.

Perhaps the most defining thing about this giallo is the fact that it was directed by an American. When I saw the name William Rose in the opening credits, I automatically assumed that this must be an Americanised Italian name for a director wishing to sell his product in the States. But no, it was in fact an American B-movie director working in Italy. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that The Girl in Room 2A is not exactly the most stylish giallo out there. Visually it is pretty pedestrian when set alongside other similar Italian productions, although, in fairness, this may be due to the quite limited settings. Quite a lot of the movie takes place within the confines of the boarding house and this may also account for the lack of good lighting. It's certainly a relatively restrained effort in terms of violence, except for the pre-credit sequence of course, which is very salacious. In fairness, the beginning promises more than the movie ultimately delivers. I wouldn't say it ever gets dull but it just doesn't necessarily live up to its potential.

There are a few strange details such as the mysterious villain who looks very similar to the Crimson Executioner from Bloody Pit of Horror (1965). This one doesn't possess the sheer delirium of that crazy film though, this one is much more down-beat, while still being far from realistic. The casting is notable for a couple of the actresses. The lead girl is Daniela Giordano who made a very memorable and sexy turn in Mario Bava's comedy Four Times That Night. She isn't quite as well utilised in this feature, as Bava's playful movie was better suited to her. The other actress of note is Rosalba Neri who starred in many Italian genre pictures in the 70's, such as the excellent Amuck! Sadly she is very under-utilised in this film which is somewhat careless of the film-makers.

This isn't a prime example of the genre. It isn't quite stylish enough, nor is the mystery interesting enough. Nevertheless, it does have enough strangeness to be worth a watch if you are a fan of Italian thrillers.