When art restorer Stefano (Lino Capolicchio, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) is sent to a decaying church in rural Italy to restore a forgotten Saint Sebastian fresco, he becomes entangled in a disturbing mystery tied to the artist’s gruesome death. What starts as routine work soon spirals into obsession and paranoia, as Stefano realises that some works of art were never meant to be revealed. Wrapped in a misty, dreamlike atmosphere and driven by an ominous score, ‘The House with Laughing Windows’ stands apart from the more sensational side of Italian horror. Rather than relying on blood-soaked gore like typical horror slashers, Avati crafts a creeping nightmare, building terror through mood and psychological unease – until the film’s shocking climax lands a jarring, unforgettable blow that lingers long after. A haunting masterwork, ‘The House with Laughing Windows’ is one of Italian horror’s most unsettling achievements.
