Long sought after by fans of Euro Horror, La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono AKA House With The Windows That Laugh has finally arrived on Region 2 PAL DVD in an impressive 25th Anniversary Edition (from 20th Century Fox of all people). Image Entertainment was slated to put out an edition on DVD in the US which never surfaced (lack of acceptable source materials they claim). Until someone in the US gets on the ball, we'll have to stick with the import (which may not be such a bad thing).

Stefano (Lino Capolicchio), a young painter is called into a small town to finish and restore the unfinished work of another painter who went mad (and subsequently dies) Legnani Bond. Stefano is constantly poked and prodded by the townsfolk who have a secret they're itching to tell, but never do (many are about to spill the beans but something prevents them from going any further each time, including death). It's up to Stefano to find out the truth behind the town and the legacy of Legnani on his own (although he does receive some "help" from time to time). Along the way Stefano receives some threatening phone calls, mysterious leads (from people even he knows he can't trust) and a strange recording he suspects was made by Legnani himself. Part of the appeal of House With The Windows That Laugh is how the story unravels, so to say much more than this would be a crime.

This was my first time viewing House With the Windows That Laugh, although a virgin to Avati's work I am not (Zeder being one of my favorites). The hype surrounding this film in particular has been nuts, it seems that people can't praise it enough. While it was an enjoyable film (and a solid Italian thriller), it did not blow me away and this fact I blame on the hype as my expectations were through the roof. The film is slow yet deliberately paced and there is absolutely no shortage of the usual cliche's (and by cliche's I mean plotholes) one would expect to find in a film of this stature. There is a lot to like in this film (acting and directing for starters) and I am actually looking forward to sitting down with it for yet another viewing in the near future. Unfortunately you're not going to hear me praise this film for the true masterpiece people claim it to be. Is it worth a watch? Yes, but you'd better think long and hard about the $30 price tag you'll have to pay if you live in the US.

FOX has done an outstanding job in bringing this lost classic to DVD. The film itself has been painstakingly restored and I really can't say a bad word about this presentation. There is some minor (and I do mean minor) print damage that creeps up occasionally but it never amounts to more than a speckle here or there. Colors are extremely sharp and vibrant and just leap off the screen. This is a film from 1976? You could have fooled me, outstanding!

Sound is presented in either the original Mono or a brand new 5.1 Digital Surround mix. Both are incredible with no distortion and nice separations (I still prefer the mono) with the 5.1 track having some subtle yet effective surround moments. Once again it's nice to see the Mono track included, the original mix should always be included, especially when the soundtrack has been reworked.

Extras include a short featurette on the restoration of the film, only in Italian but easy to follow (it runs just under 3 minutes). Also included is a 16 minute behind the scenes documentary also only in Italian and very difficult to follow if you only speak English. Where's the trailer?

Overall, this is a solid presentation of a film that fans will want to rejoice over. I enjoyed the film, but not on the same level as many others (damn all that hype!). The end result is a solid Italian 70's thriller, and if you need your fix, then you've found it. Fans of the Giallo or Italian thrillers in general will most likely want to snatch copies of this film right up. House With the Windows that Laugh is a welcome edition to my collection that I'm sure will only get better with repeat viewings. Keep in mind that you will need a PAL/Multi Region compatible DVD player in order to enjoy this film in the US.