This is the second film I've watched from little-known director Barilli; like the first the slightly superior THE PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK (1974) it can be labeled an arty horror film
though, frankly, there's much more of the former than the latter this time around! In fact, it's set during World War II in a downtrodden Italian hotel run by a woman (whose husband is a flyer) and her innocent young daughter.
Apart from the somewhat wasted Francisco Rabal (as a partisan informer hiding out in the titular hotel and a paramour of its owner), the casting looks rather unimpressive on paper but, surprisingly, we get a couple of excellent performances from the two nominal leads 23-year-old Leonora Fani (as the harassed daughter who is an object of desire to several of the hotel's guests!) and an unheralded sleazy turn from usual 'good guy' Luc Merenda (as a shady stud living off a rich mature keeper). Both Merenda and Fani are involved in several nude scenes and, in the latter's case, looking much younger than her true age makes for some disturbing viewing (particularly her rape by Merenda himself witnessed by the latter's mistress and by which she's visibly aroused!).
The film has a memorably sinister soundtrack by one Adolfo Waitzman which may best be suited to accompany a bona-fide giallo, but it certainly elevates the end product considerably; the composer's name didn't register with me at first, but a quick check on his IMDb resume' soon revealed him to also be the man behind the music for (at least) two other significant "Euro-Cult" efforts Jess Franco's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR (1973) and Claudio Guerin Hill's A BELL FORM HELL (1973). Also notable in PENSIONE PAURA, the film's original title, is the atmospheric lighting where the adoption of various color gels for disquieting effect was, in all probability, directly influenced by Dario Argento' contemporaneous classic of supernatural horror SUSPIRIA (1977).
As with most efforts from this genre, the major liability would have to be its deliberate pacing however, since the film is a mood-piece first and foremost, I guess it was to be expected and, well, unavoidable. Still, the shock moments (when they come) certainly deliver the goods with the most effective being the double axe-murder of Merenda and his lover (with its slimy aftermath), and the last-minute rescue of the heroine (about to be victimized yet again) which turns into a machine-gun massacre of the hotel's entire guest list by an as-yet unidentified character (soon revealed to be a partisan companion of Fani's reportedly deceased father). The latter scene actually leads immediately into the unexpected and ambiguous conclusion which seems to be a particular thorn with most viewers discussing the film on an Italian forum; then again, a happy ending would have been highly unlikely for an essentially somber piece such as this!
Until the fairly recent Italian DVD release, this was considered a very rare item even on its home turf; hopefully, the film's reputation will soar in future
even though it's one the director himself seems not to like much at all (undeservedly, if you ask me)!
