According to my utmost reliable sources, which basically are a few websites and a handful of other reviewers on this site whom I blindly trust, "The House of Blue Shadows" was one of the last worthwhile Gialli I still needed to check out. So, I searched quite intensely for this film and found a poor-quality DVD-R from a clearly ancient VHS transfer. My hopes and expectations were tempered immediately, because - let's face it - all Italian horror movies from the 1980s that are worth discovering have already been transferred to classy and restored DVD/BluRay.
Despite an absorbingly moody atmosphere and an excellent ominous musical score, "House of Blue Shadows" is a disappointing and tame Giallo. In fact, I'm not so sure it even qualifies as a Giallo because I didn't spot many trademarks of this wondrous Italian sub-genre. Admittedly, towards the end, there's a killer dressed in black and hiding his/her face behind an Onibaba mask, but he/she causes very little mayhem or bloodshed. The script unfolds more as a mystery and melodrama, about a man in his late twenties - Luca - who, together with his fiancé Margit, returns to his parental house in a remote and quiet community. Luca's mind is still troubled, because he accidentally (?) pushed a girl from the roof to her death during a game of hide and seek. Soon after he has visions of the adult version of the girl who died, and he becomes obsessed with a mannequin doll.
A very personal indicator of mine that a movie isn't good or living up to its expectations, is when my mind wanders off and starts making up its own storylines based on the characters and the information shared until then. I won't bother anyone with my version of "House of Blue Shadows", but let's just say the actual film couldn't hold my focus or attention. As mentioned, I admire the grim atmosphere of the first half, the music, and Amanda Sandrelli's performance, but the pacing is too slow, and the plot is too thin. It did make me desire to rewatch "Onibaba" (1964), though.
