The House with Laughing Windows
Stefano, a young restorer, is commissioned to save a controversial mural located in the church of a small, isolated village.
Critics Sentiment
Sepia-toned stabbing of a manacled victim opens the film
Doctor Mazza is murdered and the police rule it a suicide
The biggest swing is the leap from the sluggish mid-film trough around the Mazza murder (score 6.1) to the electrifying final twenty minutes in the house with laughing windows (score 9.0), a shift reviewers almost universally describe as a cathartic payoff for the film's demanding patience.
The film opens at a near-peak with its iconic, unsettling prologue, then settles into a long, deliberately paced middle act that tests viewer patience but sustains a creeping atmosphere of dread. The final twenty minutes deliver a shocking, celebrated climax that redeems the slow burn and anchors the film's strong overall reputation among fans of Italian horror.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 24
Lino Capolicchio
Stefano
Francesca Marciano
Francesca
Gianni Cavina
Coppola
Giulio Pizzirani
Antonio Mazza
Bob Tonelli
Mayor Solmi
Vanna Busoni
Teacher
Pietro Brambilla
Lidio
Ferdinando Orlandi
Police Marshall
Andrea Matteuzzi
Poppi
Ines Ciaschetti
Concierge
Pina Borione
Paraplegic Woman
Flavia Giorgi
Poppi's Wife
Arrigo Lucchini
Grocer
Carla Astolfi
Chambermaid at Boarding House
Luciano Bianchi
Franchini the Librarian
Tonino Corazzari
Buono Legnani
Libero Grandi
Cesare Bastelli
Car Driver (uncredited)
Gina Bonacquisti
Woman Eating Pasta (uncredited)
Pietro Bona
Man at Restaurant (uncredited)
Crew
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