This film is centered around a man who is restoring a church mural. It may not appeal to fans who want to see a gory death every 15 minutes as the body count here is relatively low and spread over 106 minutes. Some have called the film slow but that's part of it's beauty. It's a gradual, creepy & enthralling build up to it's shocking finale. The camera-work work & rural settings are amazing, the whole film is a beautifully crafted work of art. * Spoiler * - the end revelation, without giving too much away, is not entirely convincing, my only gripe, but then that's not uncommon with giallo movies, of which this is one of the best.

Not quite a pure giallo (it has giallo influences all over it, but strays into Don't Look Now and The Wicker Man territory too in terms of themes and structure), The House With Laughing Windows is a generally absorbing thriller directed by Pupi Avati which builds slowly and tensely to a stunning climactic twist.In a small and secretive Italian community, artist Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) arrives to restore a damaged fresco on a church wall. The fresco shows the gruesome slaughter of Saint Sebastian by two women, maniacally grinning as they plunge knives into his naked torso. The artist who originally began working on the fresco was called Buono Legnani, and Stefano soon discovers that the long-deceased Legnani was a very unstable and twisted individual. His speciality was producing paintings about pain and death – it was his obsession, the thing that excited him above everything else. Bit by bit, Stefano pieces together the shameful secrets of the community, uncovering disturbing rumours about Legnani and his two diabolical sisters. Among the rumours are reports that they used real-life sacrificial victims as 'models' to make Legnani's paintings more authentic-looking. Stefano ends up staying at a creepy mansion on the edge of the village where the only permanent inhabitant is a bed-bound old lady. Here, he is joined by a beautiful young teacher, Francesca (Francesca Marciano), another newcomer to the village with whom he soon falls in love. Events become increasingly terrifying and mysterious for the lovers, until all is revealed in a blood-soaked finalé.Avati's film is beautifully shot, building towards its climax with a sense of gnawing dread. It's a particularly slow-burning style of film – possibly too slow for viewers who like the action and bloodthirstiness to come thick and fast – but for those willing to adjust to the pace, the build-up pays off handsomely come the end. Performance-wise, The House With Laughing Windows is definitely a notch up from many Italian giallo entries of the era. Everyone registers well, generating just the right balance of fearful paranoia or tight-lipped suspicion depending on which side of the mystery their loyalties lie. Amedeo Tommasi's score is disappointingly weak, adding little to the suspense and, in some cases, even lessening the terror by being pitched at too jolly and jaunty a level. Avati just about gets away with this thanks to his atmospheric set-up of scenes and shadowy lighting, which always hints at unseen danger behind every door. A few plot holes also crop up along the way – the most significant being the lack of an explanation as to why the entire community feels compelled to hide its sinister secret (the vast majority of the citizens have little gain by remaining close-lipped, making their secrecy/compliance a tad unconvincing). A few other unexplained issues arise as the story unfolds, never irritating enough to ruin the film overall but sufficiently noticeable to linger as frustrating 'loose ends'. For its sheer build up of suspense and dread, however, the film remains an exceptional exercise, well worth a couple of hours of anyone's time. And that final twist ending… wow, just fabulous… and well worth the wait.

The restorer Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) is hired by the Mayor Solmi (Bob Tonelli) of a small village nearby Ferrara to restore a painting of St. Sebastian, made by the mentally disturbed painter Buono Legnani in the local church. Stefano was recommended by his friend, Dr. Antonio Mazza (Giulio Pizzirani), and he learns that Legnani was known as "The Painter of the Agony", since he used to paint near-death people. Further, he was presumed dead many years ago but his body has never been found.Stefano works in the church, where he meets the weirdo Lidio (Pietro Brambilla), and he has one night stand with the local nymphomaniac teacher (Vanna Busoni) that is leaving the village. Meanwhile Antonio investigates the life of Buono Legnani and tells Stefano that he had found a dark secret about the painter and the villagers. However, Antonio dies before meeting Stefano and the police conclude that he committed suicide.Stefano is intrigued by the mystery surrounds Legnani and decides to investigate more about the deranged painter. However, he in evicted of his hotel room and Lidio brings him to the isolated house of a paraplegic woman (Pina Borione) where he lives. Meanwhile, he meets the teacher's substitute Francesca (Francesca Marciano) and they have a love affair. Francesca moves to Stefano's room and they are affected by the strange atmosphere of the place.When the restoration is damaged by acid, Stefano decides to leave the village with Francesca. However, he meets the alcoholic driver Coppola (Gianni Cavina) that decides to disclose to him the secret of the house of the laughing windows. But now it seems to be too late to move out of the mysterious village."La Casa Dalle Finestre Che Ridono" is a dark film developed in a creepy nightmarish atmosphere and visibly inspired in "The Wicker Man". The lead character seems to be trapped in his morbid curiosity of discovering the hidden secret of the village and never leaves the spot. Like many Europeans movies, the plot has many open questions, maybe with the intention of discussing them among friends or in forums and board like the one in IMDb. After watching the film, it is worthwhile reading the interpretations of other Users to improve yours or find some missing detail. Last but not the least, the beauty of Francesca Marciano is really impressive. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Casa com Janelas Sorridentes" ("The House with Laughing Windows")

The House of Laughing Windows has to be one of the scariest, thought provoking and overall one of the finest giallos ever made. Unfortunately though, it gets hardly any praise. It's an obscure gem, that will certainly please all kinds of horror fans. The death scenes are gory and brutal (though there aren't really many, but they are all disturbing and hard to watch), the movie has an intelligent, well-structured and original story, it is slow burning, but very atmospheric and the sense of dread is almost suffocating, the characters here are believable, they remind you of an old friend, you feel for them, so that when bad things happen to them you really feel terrible. All of these makes it stand out from other gialli of it's time. As a matter of fact, the film is actually closer to the British haunted house/ghost story films of the time with it's Gothic feel, the slow pace that pays off well in the end, and it is actually scary. Me being Brazilian, the whole thing about the Brazilian satanic cult and rituals really scare me because I've heard of these stories since I was a kid and people actually do these stuff back here, making it even more terrifying for me. Of course, the film has it's flaws. It sometimes feels dated, and the last scene could've been slightly better - I like the twist, but it wasn't very well developed, to the point it becomes sort of laughable, which is bad comparing to the rest of the film that is so deadly serious. However, it's an amazing film overall, and a really underrated horror classic from Italy. Stands up right there with other films of it's time and country, like Suspiria, Blood and Black Lace and Deep Red.