HOTEL FEAR (1976)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 100 Minutes
Audio: Spanish & Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Francesco Barilli
Cast: Luc Merenda, Leonora Fani, Francisco Rabal, Jole Fiero, Lidia Biondi, José María Prada, Francesco Impeciati
This Spanish/Italian co-production is a giallo tinged psycho-drama set in Italy towards the tail end of World War II inside a dilapidated hotel on the edge of a lake; where teenager Rosa (Leonora Fani, Giallo In Venice) assists her mother Marta (Lidia Biondi, TV's Rome) in running a run down hotel. Her father is away fighting the war and feared dead, but Rosa clings to hope and continues to write letters to him daily, though her mother is less optimistic and carries on an affair with a lover (Francisco Rabal, Sorcerer) who is kept in-hiding in the attic, laying low for reason that are not quite clear.
The hotel is a temporary home to a rather strange assortment of weirdos; there's an widower (José María Prada) who is grieving the loss of his wife and kids who died during the un-ending bombing raids; and who creepily enjoys scaring teen Rosa. The most leering of the guests is an aggressive pencil-mustached gigolo named Rodolfo (Luc Merenda), who when not servicing his aging sugar-mama (Jole Fierro, The Beast) pays too much attention to the teen, plus we have a pair of prostitutes and their tricks, a hotel staffer named Alfonso, and late in the film a violent pair of fascists enter the picture.
When Rosa’s mother dies unexpectedly after mysteriously falling down a flight of stairs the teen suddenly finds herself alone operating the hotel. Without her mother to protect her the increasingly predatory guests begin to prey upon the vulnerable teen, resulting in her being raped by the gigolo after being lulled into a sense of security by his aging lover who is desperate to keep her younger lover satisfied. Rosa's only reprieve from the horrors of the hotel is a budding relationship with a sweet neighborhood boy named Guido (Francesco Impeciati, Kidnap Syndicate) who is sympathetic to her plight.
Soon after the rape a black-gloved avenger emerges from the shadows to protect the teen, murdering the guests one-by-one, but who could it be? Once the bodies start piling up Rosa goes to lengths to hide the bodies, tossing them in a basement tub and covered in what looks like clay or mud. Could she be she the killer or has her father returned from the war to save his daughter from her Hell?
It's a slow-building thriller with some terrific atmosphere, set inside a hotel that's long past it's glory days, having endured bombing raids with the inhabitants often going without electricity, the candlelit interiors and dramatic lighting gives the movie a surreal, nightmarish vibe. The collection of eccentrically vile guests and staff makes for an interesting watch, which offsets the earlier scenes that are not exactly overflowing with action, but are building a nice head of tension all the while. It's not a straight-up giallo but it does have some heavy giallo vibes to it, what with a black-gloved killer sporting a trench coat, but it's really a wartime set psycho-drama, but it's close enough that I wouldn't not call it a giallo. It's so moody and dark, there's sleaze to it but it's not ultra-sleazy, it's got just the right amount that it needed, and the cast is pretty fantastic. It's also very well-shot, though not bursting with color, it's shot with drab earthy colors that convey the dinge and dilapidation of the bombarded hotel quite nicely. It has a strange aurora about it, which is deepened by the terrific score by Adolfo Waitzman that lays over it. The final reel certainly amps things up a bit with the gloved killer mowing down people with a Tommy gun and a weird father/daughter reunion of sorts that will raise some eyebrows.
Audio/Video: This was director Francesco Barilli’s second film, after the after the excellent Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974), but somehow fell onto to distribution problems which made it quite difficult to track down on home video, at least here in the U.S., having previously never been available in the US, but now making it's world premiere on Blu-ray from the fine vault digging. The film is presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.66:1), sourced from a new 2K scan of the original camera negative, sporting the 'Pensione Paura' title card. It looks fantastic, the source is in near flawless condition, the colors and skin tones look natural, blacks levels are string and it looks quite filmic in motion. Audio comes by way of of uncompressed Italian or Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with separate optional English subtitles for both. Either language option is dubbed tracks and sound just fine, though I preferred the Spanish audio which sounded fuller and more dynamic to my ears.
Mondo Macabro afford this gem some solid extras, starting with a brand new Audio Commentary by Rachael Nisbit and Peter Jilmstad of the Fragments of Fear podcast who fill it a ton of info about the director and cast. Being as unfamiliar with the film as I was I appreciate the jam-packed commentary that gets into how it stacks up against it's contemporaries, and what works and doesn't work for them about it. We also get new Interviews with actor Luc Merenda (29 min), director Francesco Barilli (28 min), and
Alternate Scenes (7 min), Trailer (4 min) and the a titillating Mondo Macabro Preview Reel (14 min). The single disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring artwork by artist Gilles Vranchx
Special Features:
- 1080p presentation of a brand new 2K restoration of the original camera negative
- Choice of Spanish and Italian language tracks with separate English subtitles for each
- Brand new interview with director Francesco Barilli (30 min)
- Brand new interview with actor Luc Merenda (29 min)
Archival interview with Francesco Barilli (28 min)
- Brand new audio commentary by Rachael Nisbit and Peter Jilmstad of the Fragments of Fear podcast
- Alternate scenes (7 min)
- Trailer (4 min)
- Mondo Macabro Preview Reel (14 min)
Deep diving lovers of psycho-dramas and giallo tinged thrillers need this surreal slice of whodunit in their lives, a gem worthy of being discovered by the masses now that it's received a gorgeous HD release. This is a perfect example of the the kind of euro-cult goodies Mondo Macabro are so adept at bringing out of the darkness and into the light, and this is surely destined to be one of my favorite discoveries of the year.
Screenshots from the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
