La casa della paura

The Girl in Room 2a doesn't really fit in with a lot of the Giallo films released around their heyday back in the early seventies. The plot, as is the case with many of these films, focuses on murder; but there's very little mystery to it, the cinematography is entirely mundane and the plot just seems to settle as soon as the credits have rolled, which a direct contrast to the sprawling and over complicated story lines that most Giallo's feature. After the opening credits, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you've hit the Giallo jackpot, as we get to watch a screaming young woman skewered with a huge metal spike. From there we watch as her corpse is thrown off a cliff in order to make people believe that she in fact committed suicide. Soon thereafter, a young ex-inmate named Margaret moves into room 2a in a boarding house owned by Mrs Grant, who lives with her weird son Frank. Margaret soon meets a man named Jack, the brother of the girl killed at the start of the film and the two begin investigating the suicide, which he believes has something to do with Mrs Grant's boarding house.

Despite being slow, the film is at least interesting for the most part, and American director William L. Rose seems to have some sense of direction where the story is concerned, as it eventually comes to a point that mostly makes sense. The lack of mystery is a major negative point, however, and while I'm not entirely sure whether you are meant to have guessed the identity of the murderers, it's so blindingly obvious that I find it hard to believe you weren't already supposed to know. The cast features just one name, and that belongs to sexy seductress Rosalba Neri...who is unfortunately wasted with a role that is far too small for illustrious persona. The locations didn't impress me much, as the film doesn't feature a lot of variety in this department, and the cinematography isn't exactly awe-inspiring. There are a couple of grisly murders - one of which is the one that happens before the opening credits. The lack of murders wouldn't have been a big problem for me, however, if the film was more exciting. Overall, Girl in Room 2a isn't the worst Giallo you're ever likely to see; but it certainly isn't the best, and I don't recommend going out of your way to find a copy.

What do you do when you come across somebody tied up in the back of a car with a deadly snake loose inside?

Step 1/ Casually put your hand in the car. Step 2/ Once you grab it, hopefully you're not bitten, simply throw the snake away. Step 3/ Then nonchalantly ask "Hey Man. What's happening"?

This drive-in, occult themed horror (despite its Giallo tag) with an investigative mystery to the plot is just so ludicrously outlandish with its many random moments, jarring visuals, reckless scenarios and unintentional laughs. It's cheaply produced, but there's conviction, a touch of nervy, slow-burn suspense and the locations near or around Rome give it poignant character. The reveal to who's behind the red mask do all I these vicious acts is easy to detect, but a lot fun nonetheless.

This one drags until thankfully the stupidity of it all overwhelms the drudgery. A young girl, just paroled from prison, is sent to a boarding house by parole officer Rosalba Neri. Now we all know that something is wrong with this house, as we've just witnessed a girl being ceremoniously killed by a sadistic cult led by someone who is a big fan of the 1965 Italian film Bloody Pit of Horror. Our girl Margaret isn't too slow on the uptake either, spotting quickly a huge bloodstain on the floor of her room that keeps reappearing, sussing rapidly that the landlady is a bit of a loon, and reckoning that the landlady's son Frank is a nutter. An encounter with a man investigating the apparent suicide of his sister, a previous tenant of Room 2A, further confirms her suspicions. This leads to a long investigation/romance that goes on and on.

However, it's also about this time that the film's daftness begins to rise, what with the terrible acting of the nurse in a loony bin, choppy editing, and a flashback sequence where women are whipped in a Jess Franco fashion. The director also thinks it's a great idea to include upbeat jazz music at the most inappropriate of moments, like when the hero is thrown into the back of a car with a snake in a suitcase (a really crap way to kill someone, seeing how they just murdered everyone else without leaving anything to chance).

The gore increases around this point too, as does the introduction of two muscle men who take on the cult. You also get an explanation as to how that bloodstain keeps appearing on the floor of room 2A, and I use 'how' on purpose because you'll be asking 'why' even after you find out what's happening. There's also the mystery of who is in the red mask if you still care about that by the end of the film.

Not much Rosalba in this one either. This is a hugely stupid film but sometimes we need a bit of that in our lives too.

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.