I just got done watching this and was impressed how it stuck to its guns on being consistently subtle and ambiguous... leaving much of the interpretation up to the audience. A rich family with servants entertains their son's love for his imaginary friend... who might not be entirely imaginary. Each member of the household having their own peculiar outlook on the situation and motivations for putting up with it and sticking around... or not. There are odd corners to some of the characters... questionable motivations and identities... that don't seem to bear on the main plot but somehow add to the general atmosphere of things not being as they appear. Who is Joseph Cotten's character? What does he want with Martino? What is up with the nanny's coat fetish?
It's certainly NOT for the hyperactive crowd who scream 'BORING!' at anything lacking explosions, violence or sex ever few minutes... but for the rest of us it's a nice slow development of a creepy atmosphere surrounding what may or may not be a haunted house. Despite being Italian and a horror movie it's very mild on the sex and has no gore at all. Other comments I've read draw parallels with The Turn Of The Screw but except for the subtle/suggestive nature of the haunting I'd say it has more in common with The Other... though it's not as overt and lacks that film's body count. It's a well done ghost story with plenty of atmosphere and subtle themes that stick in the mind of those patient enough to follow it through.
It's certainly NOT for the hyperactive crowd who scream 'BORING!' at anything lacking explosions, violence or sex ever few minutes... but for the rest of us it's a nice slow development of a creepy atmosphere surrounding what may or may not be a haunted house. Despite being Italian and a horror movie it's very mild on the sex and has no gore at all. Other comments I've read draw parallels with The Turn Of The Screw but except for the subtle/suggestive nature of the haunting I'd say it has more in common with The Other... though it's not as overt and lacks that film's body count. It's a well done ghost story with plenty of atmosphere and subtle themes that stick in the mind of those patient enough to follow it through.