Final Rating: 4/5
Giallo is a traditional Italian sub-genre of the slasher. In the 1970s, the gialli became a popular expression of horror filmmaking through the exploration of a broader and more violent manifestation of the genre. In this sense, authors such as Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Sergio Martino, Duccio Tessari, and Pupi Avati created a remarkable movement of cinematographic expression.
The directors utilized the sub-genre to imprint a timeless aesthetic, which organized the brutality and cruelty of death through the vivid red color of the blood dripping from each murder. Furthermore, the score had a crucial element adding to the creation of an atmosphere of fear and dread; hence, Goblin and Ennio Morricone delivered some of the most iconic music ever in the giallo productions.
In 1976, Pupi Avati released his classic giallo, The House with Laughing Windows (La casa dalle finestre che ridono). The film narrates the story of Stefano (Lino Capolicchio), a young restorer who receives a commission to repair a fresco of the suffering of St. Sebastian, who died tied to a tree and shot with arrows.
Stefano travels to this village in the Italian countryside, where he is staying in a mysterious building, and everyone around him seems suspicious. Similar to other films of the sub-genre, ‘The House’ relies on suspense and the construction of an ambiance to subvert its narrative. Avati cautiously constructs the atmosphere for this odd village, where people mention the death of the fresco’s painter, as he is still guarding his precious work.
The director introduces a sense of discomfort to the lead character, who is a stranger to the small village he is moving into to work on the church’s fresco. Consequently, Stefano is a novelty in the community; he is a new member whom everyone is eager to meet. Avati carefully introduces horror elements to the story, especially during Stefano’s work time inside the church.
He observes the strangeness of a church worker, who mentions the death of the painter and the mysterious events that happened in that rural area. Nonetheless, the first hour assumes a folk horror mythology, the danger comes from the unknown nature of the pastoral reality, and a countryside essence echoes the brutality and violence of the sudden deaths.
Furthermore, the director uses the Catholic symbols to represent the suffering of St. Sebastian, especially in the methods of the killings of each victim. Avati develops the lead character’s relationship with other locals, such as Francesca (Francesca Marciano), an enchanting and beautiful woman he falls in love with and decides to start a relationship with.
Furthermore, it is a crucial relationship to the unfolding of the film, particularly because the script uses their proximity as a dramatic point, especially in the last act. In this sense, the film uses the passages and the architecture to imply danger to the characters’ actions. Thus, the symbols, venues, and passages contribute to empowering the mysterious aspect of the murders, in which the murderers tie their victims to columns, exactly like Saint Sebastian, and stab them to death. Avati utilizes the imagery from the paintings, traditional of the Catholic artistry, notably in the context of the Renaissance, to portray the grotesque and violent.
Ultimately, Avati delivers a brutal and remarkable final thirty minutes after a tepid second act. When the director relies on the symbolism from the fresco and the painting, the film bleeds with the most fascinating codes of giallo, especially the beautiful color grading and composition, which exhale the violence and style characteristic of the sub-genre. Finally, it slowly develops as a horror that peaks when it embraces the weirdness and the symbolic terror of Catholicism.
The House With The Laughing Windows was seen during the 2025 Fantasia Festival. Thank you to Fantasia for the screener.
