The Hideout (2007 film)

Last updated
The Hideout
The Hideout (film) poster art.jpg
Italian: Il Nascondiglio
Directed by Pupi Avati
Written byPupi Avati
Screenplay byFrancesco Marcucci
(adaptation)
Produced byAntonio Avati
Starring
CinematographyCesare Bastelli
Music by Riz Ortolani
Production
companies
  • Duea Film
  • Rai Cinema
  • Motion Pictures Midwest
Distributed by
Release date
  • November 16, 2007 (2007-11-16)(Italy)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • United States
Languages
  • Italian
  • English

The Hideout (Italian : Il nascondiglio) is a 2007 Italian-American mystery film written and directed by Pupi Avati. It marked the comeback of Avati to the thriller genre (a genre he had successfully explored decades before in films such as The House with Laughing Windows and Zeder ) after a series of intimate dramas and nostalgic comedies. [1] [2]

Contents

A more silent but very well made film from the Giallo Genre by Pupi Avati, that plays perfectly with the dark, gloomy atmosphere of an old, spooky house and its deadly secrets.

The protagonist of the film spent 15 years of her life in a mental asylum, recovering from a nervous breakdown, after her husband committed suicide. With the intention to start a new life and to open a restaurant, she moves into an old, historical mansion. But she starts to feel she is not alone in this big, dark, building.. hearing frightening voices in the darkness and seeing things in the house, she starts to doubt her own mental sanity again, until she discovers a gruesome crime that happened 50 years back and its horrible secret.

Plot

One winter night, a young novice is brought back to the convents house by a chauffeur. He is saying the young girl doesn't feel well. Later on they found out she has been raped. The police is instantly informed but unwilling to do anything, as the offender seems to belong to a very rich family. The nuns are in rage and demand justice, while the rape-victim asks her befriended novice sister to help her, as the offender promised to marry her if she remains silent. Believing this lie, she tries to convince the other novice sister into helping her.

50 years later: A woman moves into the same house, after she spent 15 years in a mental asylum, due to a nervous breakdown caused by a heavy traumatic shock after her husband committed suicide. Her psychiatrist releases her from care, telling her to get in contact with him, if she starts to hear voices again. As her husband left her a good fortune, she decides to start a new life and to open restaurant in an old, historic mansion.

Moving in, the first incidents start to occur. As she steps into the house she suddenly starts to feel sick and seems to have a small panic attack. She ignores these signs, believing them into being leftovers from her old trauma. Even before the furniture is brought in, the first scary incident happens. Suddenly she starts to hear a gruesome voice in the house, singing and whispering when she's alone. As the scary incidents start to increase and her fear starts to grow, she is finally convinced that she is not alone in this big, dark house. She seeks help from a befriended priest and contacts her psychiatrist, but no one seems to believe her.

Completely alone, unable to get help, she starts to investigate by herself. As the electricity seems to not be working, she starts to search the entire house with a light bulb and finds cages with rats in the attic. She flees in terror that night. Unwilling and too stubborn to leave the house, she starts to investigate about the history of the house and finds out that it once belonged to the church as a boarding house for nuns and novices. Finally the electricians arrive. Before leaving, they mention to her that this house is known as the "Snake’s Hole" and known for its horrible past. She visits a local man, that tells her about a horrible murder case that occurred in this house 50 years ago: they found the bodies of three murdered convent women and two of the novices were missing and never found.

As the gruesome voice in the house gets louder and more dreadful, she contacts the priest again, believing there's some entity or ghost. He warns her and tells her to better leave the house at once, but as she has put all her money into the purchase of the house she cannot leave. As she starts to check the walls to find out where the voice comes from, she finds an old hidden, big ventilation system with tunnels that seem to run throughout the building. She can now clearly hear something moving through the ventilation-tunnels. She grabs into one of the ventilation gutters and pulls out a decomposed, human foot! As the mysteries about the murders in the house start to unravel, she finally starts to realise the horrible danger she is in.

Cast

Reception

The film was generally poorly received by critics. Variety 's writer Jay Weissberg criticized the direction of Avati, marked as "incapable of turning the gothic into anything remotely interesting, delivering bland, predictable scenes devoid of tension". [3] The Hollywood Reporter 's critic Natasha Senjanovic noted the high kitsch value in the film, and blamed on the "implausible and illogical" plot twists. [4] Italian film critic Paolo Mereghetti praised the cruel and non-obvious ending of the film chosen by Avati. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pupi Avati</span> Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter

Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati, is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known to horror film fans for his two giallo masterpieces, The House with Laughing Windows (1976) and Zeder (1983).

<i>They</i> (2002 film) 2002 American supernatural horror film, directed by Robert Harmon

They is a 2002 American supernatural horror film, directed by Robert Harmon and starring Laura Regan, Ethan Embry, Dagmara Dominczyk, Jay Brazeau, and Marc Blucas. The plot is centered on a group of four adults experiencing night terrors and attempting to deal with the fallout from their prior childhood experiences. The film was produced by Ted Field and Tom Engleman; Wes Craven served as one of its executive producers and was its presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydne Rome</span> American-Italian film actress

Sydne Rome is an American-Italian film actress. Her first name is often misspelled Sydney or Sidney.

<i>Zeder</i> 1983 film

Zeder is a 1983 Italian horror film directed by Pupi Avati, starring Gabriele Lavia. The story is about a young novelist's discovery of the writings of a late scientist who had found a means of reviving the dead.

<i>Misty</i> (comics) Weekly British comic magazine targeted to girls

Misty was a weekly British comic magazine targeted at girls and published by Fleetway in the late 1970s. Focusing on horror stories, it was one of the few British girls' comics that was also popular with boys. Although Misty lasted less than two years it is remembered and admired to this day.

<i>Boogeyman 3</i> 2008 American film

Boogeyman 3 is a 2008 American supernatural horror film directed by Gary Jones and starring Erin Cahill, Chuck Hittinger, and Mimi Michaels. It is the final installment of the Boogeyman film series, following Boogeyman and Boogeyman 2 and centers on a college sophomore, Sarah Morris, who tries to convince her dorm that the Boogeyman is real. Little does she know that the more she tells people of the existence of the Boogeyman, the evil supernatural force becomes stronger.

<i>The Voice</i> (2010 film) 2010 Turkish film

The Voice is a 2010 Turkish horror film, directed by Ümit Ünal, about a young woman who begins to hear a strange voice whispering to her. The film opened on nationwide general release across Turkey on March 5, 2010.

<i>Macabre</i> (1980 film) 1980 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava

Macabre is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greta Vaillant</span> French actress and author

Greta Vaillant was a French actress and author. She was sometimes credited as Greta Vayan and Gretta Vaillont.

<i>The Possession</i> 2012 American film

The Possession is a 2012 American supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal, written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and J. R. Young. It stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Natasha Calis, Grant Show, Madison Davenport, and Matisyahu. The story, based on the 2004 Los Angeles Times article "A Jinx in a Box?" by Leslie Gornstein, is about the allegedly haunted dybbuk box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinzia Monreale</span> Italian actress (born 1957)

Cinzia Monreale is an Italian actress best known for her roles in the horror classics Beyond the Darkness and The Beyond.

<i>Dracula in the Provinces</i> 1975 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Dracula in the Provinces is a 1975 Italian horror comedy film, directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Lando Buzzanca in the main role.

<i>The Mysterious Enchanter</i> 1996 film

L'arcano incantatore, internationally released as The Mysterious Enchanter and Arcane Sorcerer, is a 1996 Italian horror film directed by Pupi Avati and set in the 18th century.

<i>House of Shadows</i> 2013 film

House of Shadows, titled Controra in Italy, is a supernatural thriller film written and directed by Rossella de Venuto. The film, De Venuto's directorial debut, is an Italian-Irish co-production written in English, Italian, and German. The film premiered on 10 July 2013 at the 25th Galway Film Fleadh and showed at the International Bifest in Bari and was released in Italian theaters on 5 June 2014. It stars the Irish actress Fiona Glascott, who plays Megan, an Irish artist investigating a secret hidden in the family house of her Italian husband Leo.

<i>Gli ordini sono ordini</i> 1972 film

Gli ordini sono ordini is a 1972 Italian comedy film directed by Franco Giraldi.

Tiziana Pini is an Italian actress and television personality.

<i>Il bambino cattivo</i> 2013 TV series or program

Il bambino cattivo is a television film released in 2013, directed by Pupi Avati and produced by Rai Fiction. It was broadcast on November 20, 2013 on Rai 1 and Rai HD on the occasion of International Children's Day.

<i>Iruttu</i> 2019 film by V. Z. Durai

Iruttu (transl. Dark) is a 2019 Indian supernatural horror film written and directed by V. Z. Durai. It stars Sundar C., Sakshi Choudhary and Dhansika the lead roles; and Vimala Raman, VTV Ganesh, Yogi Babu, and Manasvi Kottachi in supporting roles. Girishh G. composed the film's music and cinematography was handled by E. Krishnasamy. The film had its theatrical release on 6 December 2019 and opened to generally mixed-to-positive reviews. It was later dubbed in Hindi and released under the title Qatil Saya.

<i>The Ghost of Skinny Jack</i>

The Ghost of Skinny Jack is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.

<i>Fear of Rain</i> 2021 American film

Fear of Rain is a 2021 American psychological horror film written and directed by Castille Landon and starring Katherine Heigl, Madison Iseman, Israel Broussard, Eugenie Bondurant, and Harry Connick Jr.

References

  1. ↑ Simona Mammano (November 18, 2007). "Nello Iowa tra misteri e serpenti". La Repubblica . Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Gabriele Barcaro (December 11, 2007). "Avati reveals his hideout". CinEuropa. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Jay Weissberg (December 18, 2007). "Review: 'The Hideout'". Variety . Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Natasha Senjanovic (December 2, 2007). "The Hideout". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Paolo Mereghetti. Il Mereghetti - Dizionario dei film. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. pp. 2213–2214. ISBN   8860736269.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.