The House with Laughing Windows

Original title: La casa dalle finestre che ridono

1976
1h 50m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

6.3K

YOUR RATING

Often mentioned yet rarely seen, director Pupi Avatis legendary cult horror masterpiece finally gets the release it deserves: restored and remastered under the directors supervision, it is presented with new audio, new improved subtitles plus a new excluslusive interview with the director.

Released by Shameless Films.

Play trailer1:11

1 Video

30 Photos

Giallo Supernatural Horror Horror Mystery Thriller

Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

6.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Trivia
The house used as the laughing windows one was located in a small village called Malalbergo, close to Bologna. Already at the time of filming the house was crumbling so it was demolished not longer after filming had wrapped. However, for years people believed it still stood and often went looking for it.

Goofs
When Stefano leaves Copppola, mid-conversation, to check on Francesca, when he finds her sleeping, he returns momentarily to find Coppola gone without warning or trace. He then goes outside to look for him, and hears the front gate slam, assuming most likely that Coppola had left without saying good-bye. End of scene. Next time Coppola appears, he offers no explanation or apology and Stefano doesn't bring it up.

Quotes
Coppola: Nobody puts it to me, understood?

Connections
Featured in Fear at 400 Degrees: The Cine-Excess of 'Suspiria' (2009)

User reviews75

Review

Featured review

An excellent, truly unsettling horror film

This is a great film. A slow-moving, ultimately very scary experience. It is the 1950s and our protagonist has come to an isolated Italian village to refurbish a fresco of St. Sebastian, painted with a creepy realism by a local artist, dubbed the "painter of agony" due to his fascination with painting the dead and the dying. This is a real backwater of a place, with little to do and little in the way of culture. When a friend of our protagonist's is mysteriously killed, before he could share what he knew about the mystery of the fresco, events are set in motion that ultimately lead to a very shocking climax.

This is a rather slow-moving film, but be patient and you'll be rewarded. It builds to a frightening conclusion and is a pretty nihilistic experience when all is said and done, not too far different from Avati's other masterpiece, _Zeder_ in tone. Now available in an Italian-language DVD with removable English subtitles!