The House with Laughing Windows 4K 1976 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Stefano, a young restorer, arrives in an Italian town at the invitation of the mayor, where he is to restore a fresco by a mad local artist depicting the sufferings of St. Sebastian. Struck by the naturalistic nature of the image, Stefano becomes acquainted with other works by a local celebrity, on which he finds nothing but suffering and death. The villagers treat him with restraint, and soon Stefano begins to receive phone calls in which an ominous voice advises him not to touch the mural and to get the hell out.

Review 4K Movie

One of the most bizarre jallos ever made. The story it contains is fascinating despite the long running time. What's more, it's breathtaking to watch. After all, this atmospheric jalloh is woven from elements of creepy gothic horror. It has everything that makes for great footage: intriguing camera shots and compelling acting; a plot that coalesces again in the last few minutes; crumbling buildings, swamps and canals shrouded in fog in a provincial town that holds deadly secrets; physically repulsive, emotionally twisted characters; disappearing corpses and a secret burial ground. Perhaps the movie should have been called “The House with the Screaming Windows,” since all the victims screamed heavily before they died. As with many Italian giallos, the resolving entanglement in the finale looks perversely bizarre, which has a shocking effect.

And yet the plot begins so innocently: restorer Stefano is hired to restore a church fresco depicting St. Sebastian's agonizing death by stabbing. Only soon he discovers that the inhabitants of this small island town are a strange bunch. It doesn't take long before unpleasant phone calls with a macabre flavor and the first grim incident: the friend who recommended him for the job falls out of Stefano's hotel room window. Although Stefano claims it was murder, the police think it was suicide. Stefano has no choice but to get to work. He takes on the task of researching the work of the deceased artist, Legnani, known as the Painter of Agony. His twisted works of art depicted suffering people, and rumor has it that he was painting reality. As Stefano unravels Lenyani's secrets, more and more of his friends and those close to him are killed.

Much of what seems fantastic in the plot can be explained by the enthusiasm and mutual understanding of mentally unhealthy people, who are too much concentrated per meter of a provincial town literally forgotten by God, even though it has a Catholic Church. In fact, every frame, showing not to say very ancient, but very dilapidated buildings and frescoes, literally screams about the continuity of the cultural heritage of ancient Italy. After all, the core of culture is always a cult. And even if the local pagan traditions had long ago died out, they can always be revived if there is a strong spiritual or organic need to do so.

The movie excels at creating a realistic sense of doom from the contamination of so many lives with the evil that the townspeople have put up with for decades. If you like dark deep mysteries, and you don't expect a happy ending like those often attached to Hollywood movies when they shouldn't be there, then you will enjoy this cult classic of Italian detective work.