Il nascondiglio

Pupi Avati is a master of world cinema, a living legend. I wondered how he could cope with a genre which I thought was alien to him. Well I was twice wrong. First he makes the most stylish and efficient thriller I have seen since the Others confirming that European directors are genius at shooting edgy American films (The Hideout is shot in the US in a small town). Second the genre is not alien to him as he wrote several thrillers and horror films in the 70s when Italian suspense and thriller was at its best. His mind has the edge and the wit to create images which scare without revealing too much, playing with the audience nerves, building slowly the feeling of uneasiness until the grand finale where hell breaks loose. Music by master of suspense Riz Ortolani (Cannibal Holocaust) adds a lot to the tension; Photography is sublime. Among the actors Laura Morante stands out as the stubborn ambitious little Italian immigrant, camera angles are a work of art every shot could be framed on a wall and the edit is fast paced. The amount of work put inside the film is outstanding. The screenplay is excellent: expect the unexpected. The ghost story ends with an unpredictable twist as we find out that there is an evil much worse than the evil we were fearing.

Some of you may remember "La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono", Pupi Avati's first outing in the horror genre, that took place in a truly terrifying Italian province, and with a plot reminiscent of the best early Dario Argento movies. But like Argento's recent movies, Avati's return to horror after the disappointing "Zeder" is everything but scary. Avati had a good idea (somehow reminiscent of his first horror) and a great cast including some fine American actors: yet the execution is that of a B movie. Or worse. A missed opportunity, for sure, given that the movie is beautifully photographed and had a rather strong premise. At least, however, it is an attempt on the part of Italian movie makers, always so entangled in the comedy genre, to attempt something different. It is a pity that Avati's long awaited return to horror turns out to be a rather boring and insignificant experiment.

Laura Morante is great in the lead, and she carries the film. Yvonne Sciò has a small role, but she really looks like she could be a movie star. She has one of those faces!

Pupi Avati directs well here. There are some truly creepy sequences here that are really helped by the camera work and a standout score with some screaming violins.

However, the weakest part of the film is the script. There are parts that just don't make sense or are just not believable. There are a number of characters that never get to have an ending to their story. Threads are just left unraveled. It doesn't feel like much of a resolution.

Laura Morante's slightly hysterical and whispery acting, combined with the slow pacing and the classic plot, made the vision of this movie quite annoying. Pupi Avati clearly knows how to get the job done and the general vibe is adequately gloomy, but I felt like something was amiss.

Quentin Tarantino was 100% right when he said the nowadays Italian movies suck! After having seen "La Terza Madre" by Dario Argento i though that was impossible to find another movie with so much nonsense on it. The Hideout seems to be a movie shot by an amateur Avati long time ago made a movie called "La casa dalle finestre che ridono" which is an Italian horror masterpiece...the Hideout is suppose to be a sort of sequel but it is nothing else that a vacation director Pupi Avati decided to do with his own family... no acting because Laura Morante plays her self as usual, hysterical and confused...no story because the story is just a way to break people ears with loud scary noises and dumb voices, no suspense and a lot of foreseen things. Avoid this movie and pray for Italian movies resurrection