Pensione Paura: Hotel Fear

War makes people go nuts.

Pensione Paura, AKA Hotel Fear is a 1977 World War II Italian film focused on civilians and how they cope with surviving one of the most disturbing events in recent human history. Although the film was internationally released as "Hotel Fear" and even as "Motel Fear" let me clarify one thing for you: a Pensione is neither a hotel nor a motel. In a Pensione (very common in Italy, Spain & Latin America)  you can rent a room for a living while enjoying sharing breakfast, lunch & dinner with the other hosts. In other words, a three star (at most) hotel where you can feel at home while you share a family relationship with your people next door. Linguistical explanations set aside, this movie is starred by the astonishingly beautiful Italian goddess Leonora Fari, and unlike Giallo a Venezia, this film is far more easy on the eye, and a wider audience can enjoy it.

Pensione Paura is not listed in any of the usual "must see" giallo lists from the internet, but believe you me, is worth the try. From what I researched on the web, this film never opened overseas when it premiered in 1977. In addition, there's an out of print region 2 DVD release of the film by Mondo Home Entertainment some years ago. Still, that version doesn't feature neither English dubbing nor subtitles on any language. Nevertheless, there are fan subs out there. If your internet knowledge is as good as your movie taste, I'm sure you'll know where to find it.

Rosa's mother is dead. Was she murdered?

an odd farewell kiss.

Now, let's get down to business, circa 1945, in a small Italian village near Rome, a mom and her daughter run an old pensione house, with peeling plaster and bricked windows a plenty, the setting is a sign of what War can do to innocent people. Rosa (Leonora Fani), is amazingly beautiful and innocent, handling the "teenage" role very well in spite of her evidently adult curves and prominent pubes. The rogue's gallery of the pensione include a drunk man-servant, a balding, lonely piano player, a Burt Reynolds type and his older fiancee, a horny fat guy and his two slutty girlfriends, plus a man who doesn't want to be found. The camera work, as well as the way the director manages the usage of color and shades, instantly denote an artsy overall feel. The fact that every pensione's guest is somehow weird, unstable and/or straight crazy is a clear metaphor to what war does to civilian people. Desperation and the sense of having lost it all with no bright future left, is the general mood of the pensione's inhabitants.

The mysteriously hidden man is Rosa's mother's lover, and he remains hidden to the rest of the guests and also hidden to Rosa. You see, Rosa is waiting for his father. His father is serving Italy as an airplane pilot, and while everyone, including her mom, think he died long ago, Rosa refuses to let go of his father's promise of coming home once the war is over. 

My father will return and punish you all.

The all seeing eye.

All of a sudden, Rosa's mum falls off the stairs and dies, which leaves the comely Rosa no other choice but to run the family business alone. This proves to be rather difficult since now that her mother is dead, every man in the house openly lusts after her. Evidently, and accidentally at the same time, Rosa is turning out to be a bombshell adult without noticing it. Still, that's no excuse for dirty abusive old men to harass her. And that's not all that's afoot. There's a shadowy killer stalking the corridors and dripping staircases.

Enter a few gangsters who stir things up. A wandering Rosa starts hearing and seeing things she shouldn't, which helps the story along. This movie reminded me of Suspiria, mainly with color use and voyeuristic point of view shots, plus a few eyeball close ups. The score occasionally picks up and dazzles.

Rosa's in love with Guido.

Unnamed scumbag.

Although, every hotel inhabitant eventually dies, this film doesn't play as your average Giallo. There are no graphic violence/murder scenes (well, there's one) and the murder story plays at the very end of the film as a very coincidental thing product of complete causality. However, and since Rosa is the main character, she's the object of desire of every men in the pensione but, there is this one motherfucking son of a bitch (picture above) that has been harassing poor Rosa since the beginning of the film. As a matter of fact, he may have been directly involved with her mother's death since he was told to leave the pensione as soon as possible. Anyways, this son of a bitch is dating an old woman named Marta (busty MILF Lidia Biondi) and, well he's probably the worst of the worst in the pensione. The sole reason he's fucking this grandma is because she's promised to reveal him, the exact location of a few diamonds she's hidden somewhere in the pensione. This motherfucker, is a complete lowlife, his determination to get things his way, even bring a couple of gangsters in the pensione, and believe it or not, he finds a way to use Marta to help him get Rosa into her room and fuck her!! 

Fortunately, director Francesco Barilli, knows how to film a controversial scene with taste. While the rape scene is very brief, the amount of violence seen is not excessive, and according to today's standards, it is fairly respectful towards female audiences. In addition, most of the nude scenes where Rosa is involved, are about either dressing up or undressing. Remember she's playing an under aged character, and intends to play it as realistic as possible (according to the 1940's standards at least) 

People die, eventually.

Hero of the day.

Leonora Fani stills the show on this movie, she clearly displays all of her acting skills with ease in every scene she's in. Despite playing a younger character, you totally buy Rosa is a teenage poor thing. Another interesting element, is the fact that after she loses her mum, she's completely alone, even when the rape happens, a couple of motherfucking guests, hear the whole thing and do nothing at all! Every inhabitant of the pensione has grown cynical for reasons unknown, so although they all live together, they mind their own businesses only. 

Overall, Pensione Paura, starts slow at first, but once the first hour is over, the true plot unravels leaving no room for filler scenes. In a nutshell, this film is the story of Rosa, a young teenage loner trying to survive WWII while trying to cope with disgusting characters. Everyone should watch this movie, since it features a unique look at those who stay home while the rest of your family and friends have to go to war. 

Tired of reading? well then, enjoy Leonora Fani's immense beauty:

Rosa.

Young and beautiful.

Hairy times.

Here's the original Italian movie trailer:

And here's the online version of the film thanks to YouTube, and don't mind the Italian language because, you have English & French subtitles available: