Daniela Giordano plays recently released jailbird Margaret Bradley, whose parole officer Alicia (Rosalba Neri) sends her to the house of Mrs. Grant (Giovanna Galletti). Soon after moving in, Margaret becomes convinced that something strange is afoot, and her suspicions are compounded when she is approached by Jack Whitman (John Scanlon), who is investigating the disappearance of his sister, a previous guest at the house.The Girl in Room 2A kicks off in fine giallo style, with the bloody murder of a topless woman during the opening credits, the victim impaled, her body thrown over the edge of a cliff; however, giallo fans are bound to be disappointed by director William Rose's lack of style (all of his previous films were pure sexploitation; I'm thinking he should have stuck with what he knew best), the low body count and a plot that strays a long way from the conventions of the genre.Regular bouts of female nudity and some gratuitous sleaze (girls are tied up and flogged by a maniac in a red hood and cape) help prevent the viewer from dozing off, but remaining invested in the film is a struggle, the pedestrian direction, lack of gore, and dreary pace all taking their toll. The film ends with the revelation that the women are being killed by a sect who seek to 'cleanse' the wicked, and shows the masked killer to be none other than... well, that would be telling, but suffice to say it's suitably silly.5 out of 10, minus one point for the inexplicable scene that shows a machine pumping blood through the floorboards of Margaret's room - what the hell was that all about?

Girls who stay in room 2A at a mysterious boarding house are being abducted, tortured and killed by masked assailants. The latest female tenant and the brother of the last victim begin investigating the mystery.Perhaps the most defining thing about this giallo is the fact that it was directed by an American. When I saw the name William Rose in the opening credits, I automatically assumed that this must be an Americanised Italian name for a director wishing to sell his product in the States. But no, it was in fact an American B-movie director working in Italy. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that The Girl in Room 2A is not exactly the most stylish giallo out there. Visually it is pretty pedestrian when set alongside other similar Italian productions, although, in fairness, this may be due to the quite limited settings. Quite a lot of the movie takes place within the confines of the boarding house and this may also account for the lack of good lighting. It's certainly a relatively restrained effort in terms of violence, except for the pre-credit sequence of course, which is very salacious. In fairness, the beginning promises more than the movie ultimately delivers. I wouldn't say it ever gets dull but it just doesn't necessarily live up to its potential.There are a few strange details such as the mysterious villain who looks very similar to the Crimson Executioner from Bloody Pit of Horror (1965). This one doesn't possess the sheer delirium of that crazy film though, this one is much more down-beat, while still being far from realistic. The casting is notable for a couple of the actresses. The lead girl is Daniela Giordano who made a very memorable and sexy turn in Mario Bava's comedy Four Times That Night. She isn't quite as well utilised in this feature, as Bava's playful movie was better suited to her. The other actress of note is Rosalba Neri who starred in many Italian genre pictures in the 70's, such as the excellent Amuck! Sadly she is very under-utilised in this film which is somewhat careless of the film-makers.This isn't a prime example of the genre. It isn't quite stylish enough, nor is the mystery interesting enough. Nevertheless, it does have enough strangeness to be worth a watch if you are a fan of Italian thrillers.

Here maybe is proof positive that nobody understood the sex slasher thriller quite like the Italians. American William Rose wrote & directed this atypical little Giallo production right there in Italy with actual Italians, and while entertaining enough for fans of low budget European made horror it never quite comes alive in spite of some nifty locations and a great cast. Even the usually reliable Berto Pisano's musical is kind of just there, and if nothing else you can almost always count on some decent music when watching Italian genre cinema. Strange.Daniela Giordano plays the young waif recently released from a women's jail for a crime she didn't commit who finds herself wrapped up in a web of intrigue involving a cult of devil worshipers (?) who target girls just like her, all of which ended up staying in room 2a of a boarding house from hell. And all of which either ended up insane or dead after being subjected to some really cruel forms of ceremonial torture that gives the film its reputation amongst connoisseurs of Euro Trash.Giordano is a feast for the eyes just sitting there at a bus stop but the show is stolen by beefy Samson Peplum actor Brad Harris as a big palooka Yankee living in southern Italy for reasons that are never explained. Harris offers the film's hero a beer at one point and you just have to laugh. He and his 6' 3" 275lb buddy Willie from Brooklyn ride around in Harris' little Volkswagen Beetle looking for action, and the film's standout moment for me was seeing these three huge guys spill out of such a tiny car when running to the rescue with the hero in the big climax.Which is surprisingly anti-climactic and involves a literal cliffhanger that has the most inappropriate dramatic music tacked onto it until BLACK EMANUELLE GOES EAST. It's more fun watching Harris & Willie batter down the iron door to the castle, and if anything director Rose missed an opportunity to better contrast this doofus Stan Wojohowitz-like American presence with the Italian culture they seem so out of place in. They are so huge every scene with Harris feels claustrophobic as he squeezes through doors or tries not to demolish the furniture by just leaning on it during conversation scenes.There's some good bits to the film too, like Spaghetti Western actor Frank Latimore as a tortured cult associate driven mad by realizing he literally sold his soul, a welcome nude scene by Ms. Giordano, various torture sequences and a couple of potent gore effects. But when compared to the usual flair of Italian Giallo fare its all pretty artless & matter of fact. Not that there's anything wrong with that mind you, it's just a cheap little Italian B movie, and it's always life affirming seeing Brad Harris take two guys & crack their heads together like a pair of coconuts. Now that's the stuff!5/10

Casa della paura, La aka The Girl in Room 2a, (1973) William L. Rose A sadistic cult that preys on vulnerable women, uses a local women's prison as a place to get these unfortunates into their lodging house, where they commence mind games while using hallucinogens to prepare their victims for their fate. Margaret Bradley is one such girl just released penniless from her imprisonment,so she takes up an offer to stay at the Grant's lodging house where she can stay for free until she finds some finance, almost immediately though she becomes suspicious of her hosts strange behaviour and the nocturnal events that keep her awake. She finds a friend in a stranger who is looking into the disappearance of his sister who also stayed at the Grants house, together they commit to finding out the truth.The film starts promisingly with a kidnap and torture of a young girl who is then impaled on a spike by a crimson hooded killer, who does show up on occasion throughout the film, but there is very little in the way of spectacular giallo killings after that, the story kept me interested, but overall its not a Giallo I'd recommend, the visuals are uninspired, the score is at times laughably unsuitable but the biggest crime of all is the under use of Rosalba Neri who is restricted to about 3 minutes screen time, the identity of the Hooded killer is also rather obvious. 5/10