The Girl in Room 2A

Director(s) - William Rose (The Smut Peddler, Rent-A-Girl) and Dick Randall (History of the Erotic Cinema, Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks)

Starring - Daniela Giordano (Bloody Friday, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Angelo Infanti (The Godfather, Savage Breed), and John Scanlon (Midnight Caller, Lovespell)

Release Date - 1974

Genre - Thriller

Tagline - "Now you can see it... a bold look at the bizarre world of abnormal sexual behavior"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

    A few weeks ago I took a few days to watch and review Vinegar Syndrome's Forgotten Gialli Volume 1.  This box set is one I had to have so I ordered it the day they launched it for fear of them selling out.  I'm glad I did because that set did, in fact, sell out.  Before I got the second in I wanted to review the first one.  I absolutely loved the set and couldn't wait to dig into this second one.  When I opened up the set I went ahead with 1974's The Girl in Room 2A.  The original poster for this one really caught my attention and I couldn't wait to dig into it.  

     The film follows a woman who was recently released from prison who secures a room in a boardinghouse.  What she doesn't know is that a cult uses that room to lure in beautiful women that they torture and kill for their sadistic rituals.  

     I was so excited to dig into this set and this film but I soon found myself very underwhelmed with this one.  The story really pulled me in with what it was about but the execution of the story and the extremely dull scenes made me lose interest in this one fairly early on.  This made it a real chore to finish.  The acting in this one is decent but the characters are pretty bland and cliched.  I really wanted to like the female lead but her underacting in a lot of the scenes made her an extremely weak lead.  The supporting cast is solid but there was several instances where they over-reacted or undersold the scene.  They all have some serious acting credits to their name so I know they were more than qualified but they just fell short here.  The story for this one really pulled me in.  I'm obsessed with horror films centered around cults.  I know giallo's are a different breed but I was expecting this one to be a little more cult-based than what it was.  The mystery aspect is definitely at the front of this one with the cult taking a back seat.  The pacing is painfully slow as well.  A lot slower than your standard giallo which made it a tough one for me to finish.  Finally, the film doesn't shy away from the blood but the practical effects are non-existent.  The blood is the bright 3M blood, which I love, but those looking for a little more will be disappointed.  Overall, The Girl in Room 2A has so much promise but didn't quite reach it's potential.  If you are binging the box set you can still find some enjoyment out of it but it is the weakest film in the set.