Il vicino di casa

I have very high expectations for all four episodes in Dario Argento's TV-suspense series called "Door into Darkness", and the first installment certainly delivered already! "The Neighbor", directed by Argento's good friend Luigi Cozzi ("Contamination"), is a good old-fashioned and suspenseful chiller that'll keep any fan of story-driven horror on the edge of his/her seats for a full hour. Clearly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" – as Cozzi also confirms during a brief prologue – "The Neighbor" has a rudimentary script and introduces very few characters. A young couple and their newborn son move into a seaside apartment and spend their first night in a dark living room since without electricity. They notice a rapidly growing water stain on the ceiling and as they try to confront the upper neighbor with this, they eerily discover a dead woman's body in the bathtub. Completely isolated and petrified, Luca and Stefania entrench themselves in their dark apartment, but naturally the murderous neighbor wants to dispose himself of the two unwelcome witnesses. Dario Argento is world-famous and generally worshiped for his excessive use of gory make-up effects and explicit shocks, but the thrills in "The Neighbor" are merely suggestive and bloodless. Partly, of course, because this series was made for television distribution, but the tone of this short film also doesn't fit gross situations. Cozzi successfully puts the emphasis on slow-brooding tension and identifiable characters. Even the villain isn't the typical kind of mad-raving, axe-wielding maniac, but clearly an emotionally tormented and desperate man who got pushed over a certain mental edge. The atmosphere hence becomes much more intense and plausible, and you honestly hope for the innocent young couple and their baby to make it out of there alive. The screenplay isn't entirely without flaw, however, and contains several improbabilities. For example, why would anyone move into a new apartment in the middle of the night and it certainly isn't likely to watch movies on a small and portable TV (working on batteries!) during your first evening in a totally new living environment. Still, if you simply ignore these minor flaws, you'll experience an effectively unsettling and compelling thriller. The acting performances are top-notch as well. Especially Laura Belli ("Almost Human", "The Nun of Monza") leaves a great impression as the lovely young wife. "The Neighbor" is highly recommended to avid Italian cult collectors and even to less fanatic admirers of good suspense-cinema. Personally I can't wait to watch the second episode in this series, which is called "The Tram" and was director by master Argento himself.

Door into Darkness is Italy's answer to Alfred Hitchcock Presents and is delivered by Italy's answer to Hitchcock; Dario Argento. This first instalment of the series, titled 'The Neighbour' is directed by Dario Argento aficionado Luigi Cozzi and handles the idea of a madman taking his insanity out on innocent people. We follow a young couple and their baby as they move into a new apartment block. Strangely, this is done at night; and the story really picks up when, while watching Frankenstein, the pair discover a leak in the ceiling, apparently coming from the upstairs neighbour's flat. Seeing as this short film is made for TV, it's hardly surprising that it doesn't offer as much as films that Argento has been involved in usually do. There's barely a drop of blood, the story is very concise and the production values aren't exactly high; but this is made up for by excellent directing, some nice acting and a great sense of tension that runs throughout. Director Luigi Cozzi has clearly taken influence from the Italian Master, and this is felt as he directs the action through a number of different angles and draws suspense from the very basic plot line. On the whole, The Neighbour can't be considered as one of the best things to come out of Italy during the seventies; but for what it is (a made for TV short film), this isn't bad at all. Not to mention the fact that the entire Door into Darkness series has huge cult value, and is therefore a must see for any fan of Italian horror!

Dario Argento's popularity was sealed in Italy when he was tapped to create a series for Italian television. The four episode series which mimicked "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" had Dario himself introduced each episode. The first episode "Il Vicino di Casa" or simply "The Neighbor" stars Aldo Reggiani (The Cat O' Nine Tails) and Laura Belli (The Nun of Monza) as a couple with a newborn baby moving into their first home. Things don't start out too well for the couple when their vehicle gets stuck and they are unable to free it. Walking the last few meters in the dark the couple lament about their new home but are unaware of the horrors that lay ahead. Finally they reach their place, quiet and secluded not to mention in the dark. Well they make themselves as comfortable as possible and after putting the baby to sleep they sit down to watch a "Frankenstein" film on their battery-powered TV. They later notice a wet spot appearing on their ceiling. The couple decides to go upstairs to find the source of the leak but upon searching their neighbors place they discover a secret that they may not live to tell.

All the usual trappings of the giallo genre are on display here. Interesting camera-work, funky music and a bit of suspense but this segment written and directed by Luigi Cozzi (The Killer Must Kill Again, Starcrash) is average at best. The limitations of the TV format hinder the segment a bit but it does manage to create some atmosphere and even a little suspense. The camera-work was pretty good and the acting was good as well but I think the Giorgio Gaslini (Deep Red, Five Days of Milan) is very weak at times and overall a bit poorly integrated into the film.

"Door into Darkness" is an accentual for Argento fans and must for giallo enthusiasts.

Good tension but no pay-off.

Reminiscent of Hitchcock with some slow burning tension. Acting was good all around. I stayed interested because of the tension. However, the script and the story don't go anywhere. And it ends abru...

After longing for decades to see this series, it finally popped up on Shudder in 2021. Disappointingly, this was neither written nor directed by Argento, and it's so slow and dull, one wonders how Argento let it go out under his auspices. Not only that, but it's clearly not a giallo tale, as Dario promised in his awkward introduction. Why didn't Luca call the cops when he was in the murderer's apartment? Why did the murderer wait until daylight to dig a grave? I anticipated the "surprise" ending. Just a huge letdown.