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.
