(1996/Italy/Germany)
[a.k.a. La casa dove abitava Corinne]
Reviewed by: Johan Melle
Cast: Barbara De Rossi, Gottfried John, Massimo Ranieri, Giuliana Calandra, Luigi Petrucci, Marialuisa Tadei, Pascal Persiano, Fabio Sartor, Giovanni Visentin, Giada Desideri
Directed by Maurizio Lucidi. Written by Giuseppe Badalucco & Nicola Badalucco.
Source: German TV broadcast (92 minutes)

Maurizio Lucidi is primarily remembered for his elegant, Hitchcock-inspired giallo THE DESIGNATED VICTIM (1971) and the enjoyable, if not entirely successful crime actioner THE EXECUTIONERS (1976) with Roger Moore and Stacy Keach. Decidedly less prolific in genre cinema in subsequent years, Lucidi did, however, return to giallo territory in 1996 with the little-known made-for-TV thriller LA CASA DOVE ABITAVA CORINNE.

The film opens with a beautiful young blonde (Giada Desideri) taking a shower. She’s just finishing up when there’s a knock on her door, and she runs to let in an unseen man she was obviously expecting. The girl smiles with joy as the mystery man presents her with a red rose but no sooner has she turned her back on the man than he violently trusts a knife into her back. As the poor girl slumps lifeless to the floor, her killer heads into the bathroom to wash the blood off his hands, and we see a distinct red rose cuff on his shirt sleeve…

A little over a year later, we meet the beautiful Doriana Polis (Barbara De Rossi), a deputy district attorney, who has just relocated to Rome because a criminal she once put behind bars has been stalking and pestering her. Doriana quickly grows fond of the Roman apartment she moves in to, even though she has to put up with the dubious and creepy-looking concierge, Umberto (Luigi Petrucci), and her incessantly nosy neighbor, Leonora (Giuliana Calandra), a nutty old troll who keeps pestering Doriana with continuous unannounced visits.

But Doriana soon gets more serious things to worry about when somebody slips a video cassette into her apartment. The tape contains news footage of the murdered blonde girl from the opening sequence, who we learn was a call girl and wannabe-singer named Caterina Lattanzi, alias Corinne. The footage shows Corinne lying dead in her apartment, and the name ‘Delia’ written with her blood on her bathroom mirror. To her horror, Doriana recognizes the crime scene – it’s her own new apartment! Understandably freaked-out, she goes to her superior, district attorney Michele Wolf (Gottfried John), who tells her that they were never able to find out who killed Corinne...

Creeped-out but fascinated at the same time, Doriana starts looking closer into the case. With support from Michele, whom she develops romantic feelings for, Doriana starts playing amateur detective. She is also helped out by Leonardi (Massimo Ranieri), the cop who led the investigation of Corinne’s murder but who is now off the police force and living on a house boat. But the closer Doriana gets to the truth, the more her own life is endangered…

In spite of a small revival of the genre in the 1980s, the giallo – much like Italian genre cinema in general – was pretty much dead by the mid 1990s. A couple of made-for-TV thrillers still popped up, though, but the majority of these films have seen little release outside of Italy. This is also the case with LA CASA DOVE ABITAVA CORINNE (‘The House Where Corinne Lived’), which was never dubbed into English and hasn’t shown up in a subtitled form either. Being a German co-production, it has, however, been aired several times on German TV under the title BEDROHLICHE SCHATTEN (and it is one of those TV screenings that made this review possible). It’s a pity that this is such a difficult film to see because as far as Italian TV films from the 90s go, this one isn’t too bad. Not that you should approach it looking for a throwback to the 70s type of giallo, of course, because CORINNE has a typical 90s feel to it, with rather traditional cinematography and a lack of bloody and stylish murders. But as long as you don’t mind getting a more traditional thriller, you should still be able to enjoy yourself with this one.

The script by Giuseppe and Nicola Badalucci has a compelling storyline – the plot of a woman who finds herself living in an apartment where another girl was murdered recalls THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS (1972) – and thanks to an appealing heroine, we are drawn into the mystery and Doriana’s quest to get to the bottom of it. Surprisingly, though, there aren’t many red herrings or suspects in sight. With relatively few characters and even fewer suspects, the killer’s identity isn’t too difficult to guess. But this isn’t really much of a problem as the writers wisely choose to unmask the killer around two thirds into the film; instead keeping us in the dark about the actual motivation behind the crimes, and the mysterious behavior of some of the supporting characters.

It all comes together in a pretty well-mounted finale in which the unsuspecting Doriana is in great danger without realizing it. This is an effective climax, which manages to build up some surprisingly thrilling moments even though it does end a tad too abruptly.

Notably, the killer’s requisite black gloves are missing – having been substituted for red rose cuffs that eventually prove to be an important detail. However, the film’s biggest twist (which I won’t spoil) is revealed at the very end and actually has nothing to do with the killer’s identity. It is a completely ridiculous and absurd plot twist but precisely because of its absurdity, it does at the very least come as a genuine surprise. 

Being a TV movie from the 1990s, CORINNE isn’t a particularly violent or raunchy affair but there is some brief nudity on display. Technically, the cinematography is competent but without much visual flair even though it was shot by Gianlorenzo Battaglia, who demonstrated a certain talent with the camera in films such as DEMONS (1985) and FORMULA FOR A MURDER (1985). Still, this is partly compensated for by having the film take place in the ever-gorgeous city of Rome, which is always easy on the eyes. In the German credits, the score is credited to no less than five different composers: Ivan Kaslik, Frank Loes, Timo Kaminsky, Gunnar Schlenner and Pino Massara, whereas Italian sources only credit Massara with the score. This indicates that the film could have been partially re-scored for its German release, and may explain the strange shift in the quality of the music: some scenes have an excellent suspense-tinged score that really helps underline the tension, while others scenes feature really flat and uncharacteristic music.

The perhaps biggest selling point of THE HOUSE WHERE CORINNE LIVED is its talented cast. Filling the leading role as Doriana is Barbara De Rossi, a compelling and gorgeous actress who first rose to fame as an actress in fotoromanzi (photo novels) in the late 1970s and early 1980s before graduating to impressive performances on the small screen in the first season of the mafia TV series THE OCTOPUS (1984), a mini series remake of QUO VADIS? (1985), and finally MUSSOLINI AND I (1985), another mini series in which she did an impressive portrayal of Mussolini’s loyal mistress, Claretta Petacci. She followed up with memorable film roles in the obscure thriller SWEETS FROM A STRANGER (1987) and the bizarre but fascinating Nosferatu sequel NOSFERATU IN VENICE (1988). Even as the Italian film industry gradually dried up, Barbara was still able to maintain a successful acting career on television and it’s great to see her in a genre film again. A little matured but still splendidly beautiful, De Rossi is both confident and convincing as the smart and determined heroine, and her dedicated performance keeps our interest up.

Complimenting De Rossi’s work is the gifted and experienced German actor Gottfried John, who at the time was fresh off his role as a villain in the James Bond film GOLDENEYE (1995). John is very good in his role but he is clearly much older than De Rossi and has a look that is far too harsh (he wasn’t a Bond villain for nothing) to make him a believable love interest for someone like Barbara De Rossi.

The real surprise in the cast is Massimo Ranieri, a popular heartthrob pop singer in the 1970s who also appeared in several Euro films like LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1971) and DEATH RAGE (1976). While too much of a pretty boy in his younger days, a bit of maturity has done wonders for Ranieri, who comes across much more rugged and likeable here than one might expect. There’s also Giuliana Calandra – best remembered by many for her role as Amanda Righetti in Argento’s DEEP RED (1975) – whose work here as the nosy, annoying neighbor is just downright bizarre, yet amusing in its own way. Handsome Pascal Persiano from PAGANINI HORROR (1988) and the Fulci horrors THE SWEET HOUSE OF HORRORS (1989) and VOICES FROM BEYOND (1991) also pops up in a welcome supporting role as a colleague of De Rossi.

THE HOUSE WHERE CORINNE LIVED may not have too many surprises up its sleeve as it’s hardly a very original thriller but it’s an agreeable and nice little film thanks to its dedicated cast and a well-mounted climax. Worth a look if you can find it.
 

2.5/5 BITCH SLAPS

2008 @ CINEMA NOCTURNA