The House of the Yellow Carpet (1983)

Plot twists around every turn, 11 February 2017

The House of the Yellow Carpet is one of those movies where the less you know about, the more you're likely to enjoy it. With this movie, too much plot detail would be a bad thing. I'll just say that a young couple, Franca and Antonio, have a carpet (yellow of course) they'd like to sale. It was a present from Franca's stepfather, but it doesn't work in their small flat. While Antonio is away, Franca answers the door to an old man with an interest in buying the carpet. But is the carpet really all he came for? Anymore detail would seriously be too much. 

The House of the Yellow Carpet is s small, often claustrophobic, thriller/giallo with only four speaking parts. It's filled with more tension and suspense than many better known movies. I'd compare the feeling to something like Wait Until Dark. It's a little slow to get going, but once it does, it's edge of the seat type stuff. The acting is beyond first rate. Erland Josephson as the old man and Béatrice Romand as Franca give some of the best performances I've seen in a while. Just brilliant. And I can't say enough about director Carlo Lizzani. Every twist and turn in the script works flawlessly. This is a fantastic movie that deserves a much wider audience.

9/10