Amazing and slow-moving Spanish/Italian Sci-Fi , crammed with thrills , chills and some unsettling scenes . This very ¨damned film¨ being set in the near future , packing naive special effects and functional maquettes by prestigious FX expert Emilio Ruiz Del Rio , being middlingly directed by Angelino Fons . The world has been devastated by a nuclear war and the hopeless group waits for the radioactivity to disappear. The explosion of atomic bombs in the earth causes unexpected and fateful consequences . Various couples live in a rather sophisticated , luxurious house that is actually a space aircraft. The starting point of the story, a nuclear catastrophe that occurred on Earth, of which hardly anything is clarified and it is not known if it was an accident or rather a war, here becomes the perfect excuse for a confinement of bourgeois characters who thought they were in their host's house just for an evening, and discover that they are in a spaceship, off planet, in orbit, waiting for the radioactivity on Earth to drop. As the disturbed millionaire Paul Stone- Carlos Estrada- constructed a space capsule in which, besides him, five people will travel, all of them deceived and without knowing what is really happening on the planet. They cannot leave the complex and they live in an usual state of vigilance . The misfit bunch is constantly in situation of control , as they are besieged by the perilous outer space while Earth holds a contaminated environment . The sextet uses to entertain themselves talking or making love each other , while eventually succumbing to panic . But the food supplies are running out and they are physically suffering and urgently need freedom . Time... The not too distant future. Place... The USA. Problem... Nuclear war. Effect... A society with no rules
So-so Spanish/Italian Science Fiction film set after a destroyed world with full of thrills , suspense , chills and creepy plot with twists and turns . Dealing with a group of distressed people , formed by six survivors of an apocalyptical catastrophe, all of them are living into a lush place that results to be a space capsule . There's excessive overtalking and a deep character studio from a desperate group of people , all of them find themselves unfortunately stuck in the outer space later a nuclear disaster , then tension , treason, disputes and violence begin bursting here and there . This film has been compared, and for a good reason, to "The Exterminating Angel" (1962), by Luis Buñuel, and also ¨La caza¨or "The Hunt" (1966) by Carlos Saura, a Spanish film in which, don't forget, Angelino Fons was co-author of the script along with Saura himself and especially to "El refugio del miedo (1974)" or ¨Refuge of Fear" , as we can realize that these two films are very similar in plot. Writer/director Ulloa passed the script of his film to Pedro Mari Sánchez , the latter recycled it, or rewrote it, and passed it off as his own , selling it to another production company , believing that Ulloa's film was not going to be made , resulting in a movie that was subsequently played by Pedro Mari Sánchez himself in a leading role . Plagiarism aside, Fons's film also resembles an apocalyptic-themed US-Mexican co-production titled Chosen Survivors (1974) , directed by Sutton Roley .¨La Casa¨ weaves a fantastic story , about a motley group of six people searching for whatever thing necessary for his survival , this catastrophic or dystopian science fiction film is rather a backdrop on which to establish a portrait of characters and a criticism of a certain social class . It turns out to be stimulating , disappointing and very irregular in any case , and highlights the fantastic soundtrack by the Italian Enrico Simonetti giving the images a remarkable sensation of restlessness, mystery and danger . Starred by an unfortunate group living desperately isolated at a space installation , the sextet being finely performed by a fine cast . This scary , bizarre film contains thriller , tense , intense drama , mystery , plot twists and shocks , including decent scares with tense sequences especially in its final part , in a creepy as well as surprising denouement . A medium budget Spanish production with a timeline that spans through a few days , it is a Sci-fi-thriller that begins introducing the varied characters and goes on throughout until an unexpected final . Suffers from some sputtering about a quarter of the way in , the sputtering came from an unique scenario , away from atmospheric set pieces and toward a very sad story line , one which suffers from some slow-moving scenes and claustrophobic environment . Interesting screenplay by director José Ulloa himself revolving the mental disintegration of a diverse group and the various amazing surprises they find . The motion picture is acceptable , although sometimes containing deliberate pacing ; however , being entertaining for continuous suspense and intrigue , as well as shady atmosphere . This average picture is exciting and some moment brilliant, and the players are quite reliable . The whole Spanish/Italian cast giving decent nterpretations , such as : Carlos Estrada , José María Prada, Magda Konopka , Helga Liné , Antonio Cantafora , Franca Gonella. Thrilling movie builds taut by showing virtually well staged set pieces , appropriate settings , enjoyable soundtrack and atmospheric cinematography , though a perfect remastering is necessary . Few disagree that the film is professionally mounted , the performances solid enough , and that it respectfully carries on the tradition and borrowing several elements of Spanish "terror" films . This film belongs to Scifi sub-genre about the dystopian existence of people after a nuclear or viral disaster , such as : ¨The Last Man on Earth¨, ¨Omega man¨, ¨La Hora Fria¨ or ¨The Dark Hour¨ , ¨28 Days Later¨ , ¨28 weeks later¨ , ¨I am Legend¨, among others .
The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Angelino Fons . This craftsman Fons was an acceptable writer and filmmaker who directed some nice movies . He was a director and writer, known for Mar Brava (1983) , Esposa y amante (1977) , Emilia... parada y fonda (1976) , La casa (1976) , Fortunata y Jacinta (1970), Cantando a la vida (1969) , La busca (1966) and Peppermint Frappé (1967). He was married to actress Coral Pellicer. He died on June 7, 2011 in Madrid. Rating , La Casa (1976) : 5.5/10 , average but passable and acceptable .
