''Don't Look in the Attic'' () is a 1981 Italian

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed and written by Carlo Ausino.

Production

''Don't Look in the Attic'' was directed by Carlo Ausino, a filmmaker who got his start in the film industry as an uncredited assistant on the set of ''

The Organizer ''The Organizer'' ("''I compagni''" literally translates into "''The Comrades''.") is a 1963 Italian-French-Yugoslavian-produced drama film written by Mario Monicelli and Age & Scarpelli, and directed by Mario Monicelli. Set in Turin at the end ...

'' and made his debut as a director in '' L'ora della pietà''. Ausino made a few attempts at

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

films in the 1970s until his film '' Double Game'' which was released in 1977. ''Don't Look in the Attic'' was filmed in 1980 when Ausino made a deal with the French film distribution company Felix Film to use some French actors in mid-1980. The film was written in a few weeks by Ausino with Annarita Grapputo in the lead, who had previously acted in ''Double Game''. Filming began in June 1980 under the title ''La stirpe dei dannati'' and was shot in four weeks in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. The film's score credited to

Stelvio Cipriani Stelvio Cipriani (20 August 1937 – 1 October 2018), also known as Viostel, was an Italian composer, mostly of motion picture soundtracks, conductor and pianist. Biography Though not raised with a strong musical upbringing, as a child Cipriani ...

is compiled form a catalogue of his older work, including '' Satan's Wife'' .

Release

''Don't Look in the Attic'' had its premiere on September 30, 1981 in

as ''La villa delle anime maledette''. Wider distribution of the film in Italy was only available on 14 May 1982. In Italy, the film was released on home video by the GVR label. Outside of Italy the film was released as ''House of the Damned'' which was mistitled as ''House of the Danned'' in the titles and ''Don't Look in the Attic''.

Reception

In Italy, Leonardo Autera gave the film a negative review in ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'', noting poor script, direction and photography. Autera continued that the story was "extremely deranged, developing despite any logic."

References

Footnotes

Sources

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External links

* {{IMDb title, 0082278 1981 horror films 1981 films Italian horror films Films shot in Italy Films scored by Stelvio Cipriani 1980s Italian films