O Mistério do Quarto 2A

If you can make it through the slow first hour of Girl in Room 2A, you'll be rewarded with a somewhat insane final act that almost makes it worth the wait. It's still far off the mark in many ways and most of it feels really pedestrian and predictable.

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.

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.

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.