DVD Review: THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A (1973)

    
THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A
Directed by William Rose
Distributed by Mondo Macabro / Diabolikdvd.com

I had never heard of THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A until receiving the film in my mailbox.  Upon opening it up and seeing the great retro looking cover art, I was really expecting to be blown away by this film.   I expected a great giallo style horror film in the likes of Dario Argento or Mario Bava.  Well, I have to admit it wasn't as good as I had hoped, but I think it is still worth checking out and is a pretty crazy film for all those that are into weird cinema.  Here is the basic plot synopsis from the Mondo Macabro website:
 

Before HOSTEL there was THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A... A terrifying tale of a young girl who moves into a boarding house run by a kindly older woman, only to discover that the place has a dark and sinister past - young and pretty girls seem to disappear from there without a trace. Where they go and what happens to them is the dreadful secret of GIRL IN ROOM 2A.

For the first time ever on DVD, fully uncut and uncensored, this is a classic slice of 1970's Italian shock cinema. Packed with scary scenes and demented characters, teh film is both full-on horror and an intriguing mystery. What is the secret of Room 2A?

Starring former Miss Italy, Daniela Giordana (star of Bava's Four Times That Night), this is cult movie making at its most extreme. Not to be watched alone!

    
I have to admit, maybe I expected too much from the film.  It did have it's moments and has some very good kills and some very creepy, atmospheric scenes, but there were not enough of these  type of scenes for me to outweigh the often slow, dialog filled sections of the film.  Also, the music in this film is very strange.  While some, if not most, of the soundtrack is what you would expect from an Italian giallo type film such as this, other scenes had some very weird upbeat music that just didn't seem to fit with the tone of the film. 

Something else strange, was that while watching it in English dub, every now and then a scene would switch to Italian dialog with English subtitles at the bottom.  I am assuming these were cut scenes from the original version that had been added back in and didn't have English soundtracks made for them. Kind of interesting, but at the same kind of distracting.  I wold recommend watching the entire thing in Italian with English subtitles so you have some uniformity throughout the film.

Don't be fooled by the trailer I posted below if you watch it.  The trailer is very faded and does not look good from a technical aspect.  The Mondo Macabro DVD looks very good with a new anamorphic transfer of the film.  You would never guess the film was almost 40 years old based on how the picture quality looks.  Now you will know it is from the early 70's immediately by seeing the clothing and the women's big hair.  All part of the charm of this film.  

If you are a big fan of Italian cinema, you will want to check this film out for sure.  But those that are expecting a film like HOSTEL, like the synopsis mentions, will most likely be a little disappointed in this one.

THE GIRL IN ROOM 2A is available on DVD now from Diabolik DVD and contains the following special features:

*  Brand new transfer taken from the negative
*  Filmed interview with films star Daniella Giordano
*  Trailer
*  Extensive notes & text essays on cast and crew
*  Mondo Macabro preview trailer
*  Scene access


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer  (**Warning -Trailer NSFW--contains brief nudity**)
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD