Its so satisfying to see a film like Pensione Paura, a rarity that really excels. Never released in English speaking territories and hence best seen on fan subtitled rips, its as worthy an outing of Italian horror as any others from the same period, indeed is actually superior to many. Best to know as little as possible about the plot before viewing as the film is slow in its revelations and hardly conventional, but essentially Pensione Paura is the tale of Rosa, daughter to hotel owners at the tail end of WW2 and awaiting her fathers return from fighting, who finds herself at the mercy of her assorted and somewhat dubious patrons. Its not really a plot focused film, more a matter of mood, slow accumulation of uneasy events, of aberrant characters, creating a mounting doom-like weight till all gives way. Little is fully explained, there are a variety of intrigues that move the characters along without ever becoming fully clear. Like Rosa we make our way through the fog of mystery, through the hotel with its colors, its peepholes, all decaying in isolation, fluid camera work and rich reds, blues and yellows compelling us in the journey. And the beautiful Leonora Fani as Rosa (one of her classier roles, she was also in Giallo A Venezia and Bestialita) makes for a perfect centre, pushed to the edge of her resources with innocence rubbing raw its almost impossible not to care for her and feel increasingly afraid. A shame she never achieved all that much fame as she really is terrific, highly watchable even in the quietest moments. Luca Merenda is the other big hitter of the film, in a bolder role as a scuzzy ageing playboy, he makes for a splendid arrogant brute, while Spanish veteran Francisco Rabal (Dagon) is warm yet frayed as one of the more sympathetic figures of the piece. Even the smaller roles convince, everyone coming together to make the film a smooth journey so as affairs turn darker and darker into a freaky and uncompromising finale it packs all the more ultimate punch. There is a small sense in which the film is too traditional, there are assorted moments, though variously suspenseful that remind us we are watching a giallo of sorts, and so the ultimate potential is never quite fulfilled. The relationship of characters and location is there, social and geographical isolation feeding the base and craven in man, decaying environment fuelling moral downward spiral, but the these themes aren't all that developed for all that they intrigue. Also the tension and fear of the piece stems more from events than themes, so instead of the truly exploratory, revelatory piece that lurks under the surface we have a top notch genre film that merely shines a searchlight. Yep, its still top notch. Could have done with a bit more blood, but for all that I've been jabbering you should know there are still some shocking jolts and a bit of sleaze and nudity. Its an arty film but it ain't yanking your chain, its still accessible. Those who shun slow burns should stay far away as for much of the first two thirds this only just about feels like horror, but if you can dig the suspense this is highly recommended. 9/10
Review of Hotel Fear
