In 1972 Ferdinando Merighi directed the crime thriller Date house, a production between Italy, France and Germany that fits weakly into the filmography of the period. This is a film that has contaminations with other genres (erotic and horror) but is not incisive and engaging due to a confusing script but also a total absence of suspense and plot twists.
Casa d'appuntamento also disappoints on the acting level although there are good actresses in the cast (Anita Ekberg, Rosalba Neri, Barbara Bouchet) who, however, give a less than excellent performance here.
In Date house i siparietti erotici sono rari (da qui il titolo fuorviante), in compenso però sono presenti diversi omicidi caratterizzati da un'inaspettata dose di splatter durante gli effetti pratici, anche questi però mediocri e abbruttiti da vistosi difetti.
Finally, the decent soundtrack by Bruno Nicolai (A Virgin Among the Living Dead, All Colors of Darkness) serves little purpose for this easily forgettable film.
Plot: After committing a robbery, Antoine Gottvalles (Pietro Martellanza) takes refuge at the dating house where his lover Francine (Barbara Bouchet) works. The girl is murdered and Antoine is accused of the murder, but he pleads innocence and threatens revenge against his accusers. The man manages to escape but dies decapitated in a motorcycle accident.
Un feroce assassino prende di mira le persone presenti nel bordello la notte dell'omicidio mentre un ispettore (Robert Sacchi) avvia le indagini e il Professor Waldemar (Howard Vernon) analizza la testa del presunto assassino.
In the cast of Date house: Anita Ekberg (Death Knocks Twice), Rosalba Neri (The House of Fear), Barbara Bouchet (The Black-bellied Tarantula, The Red Lady Kills Seven Times), Evelyne Kraft, Howard Vernon (La fille de Dracula, Erotic Violence in a Women's Prison), Pietro Martellanza (Tears of Kali), Renato Romano (The Bird with the Crystal Feathers), Robert Sacchi, Eva Astor, and Rolf Eden.
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Distributed by CG Entertainment, Date house (Italy - France - 1972) is available on DVD from CG - CineKult. In the special content section, in addition to the trailer, there is a comparison (of 30 minutes) between the different versions.
DVD EDITION.:
VIDEO: 4/3 1.33:1
LENGTH: 81′
AUDIO: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0
N. DISKS: 1
OVERVIEW: Italian for the Deaf.
EXTRA: Versions compared; Trailer
