Argento's ex husband directs or rather co-directs this sluggish and obvious story without a real feel for the genre and with no forward momentum in this want-to-be Mario Bava film.
Argento and really the whole cast give ok performances but the casting for the most part is bland. The film was filmed in English but it feels like none of the actors are very confident speaking in English or were cast because they could speak the language rather than for their acting ability.
Veteren Franco Nero should have more to do.
Argento pretty much hits the ground running with an either sad or crazy look so has nowhere to go from there, with direction this would have been a good part for her, but she plays every scene in the same way and that may not be her fault as the scenes don't go anywhere either. Admittedly there is a decent set up for the film but once we reach the inherited gigantic estate house there is nothing new left to see and the fact that some scenes attempt to homage Hitchcock or Bava just show how unable this film is to capture those masters magic.
The story is also bland mixing a few elements of Rebecca without any real conflict or shocks. Scenes end and shots linger on and the music score has no drive or character to it either. It's a movie made by people who don't really understand the type of film they are making or Mario Bava whose creativity is sorely lacking in this would-be homage to him.
The photography is nice but there are pretty shots just there to be pretty, the style doesn't add up to anything and this is the fault of the director(s). It all feels rather mechanical, oh, yes, now it's time for the eye close up and then we cut to the tilted angle because that will make it look crazy. There are some almost good post production color effects and title sequences that have more punch than anything in the rest of the story.
The location of a giant run down house with a decaying castle next door could be good but it doesn't seem credible and is mostly just a few nice postcard images.
I don't know if the whole production was taken away from Argento's ex or if there was never really anyone truly committed to making this film good. It feels like a failed film finished by disinterested hands. You feel like Argento's father, at least in his prime, would have at least understood that the set pieces and visual style hast to be energized and unpredictable, and or that Bava's director son, Lamberto, would have done a better job.
A waste of time and money as neither time or money were lacking here.
