Attempting to find some inspiration, an artist and his lover takes up residence in a haunted mansion in the middle of the country and becomes obsessed with uncovering the mystery surrounding the legacy of the woman supposedly haunting the area.
Frankly, this was one of the weirdest Italian horror films simply for that very virtue being present. The fact is that this one here is weird rather than scary, which is present in the opening with his hallucinatory visions and freaky experiences including seeing his double entice him towards a house, her double dressed as a nurse pushing him in a wheelchair or their apartment with its trappings of the 'Mod' lifestyle and their relationship in general is just flat-out weird which just halts the film to the ground. That makes it incredibly hard to stay interest in what's going on, and it remains that way for most of the movie as it switches gears extremely late into the running time into a more traditional horror mystery only that has to be built-up and it takes even longer to get going. This is helped out by the insistence of having him go crazy as the main source for the scares which is just wrong as the events used to get him that way, from the crashing furniture and spilled paint-cans to an incredibly suspenseful séance and his interactions with the town's residents leading to some rather unusual moments here. Beyond the concept of trying to find out exactly why he's being haunted there's not a whole lot of actual horror on display here. While the finale does have a lot of demented horror action in the house and the resolution of the story, that's still not enough to make up for this one.
Rated R: Violence, Language, Nudity and sexual content.
Plot summary
Renowned painter Leonardo Ferri, whose works have a standard price set by the market, and his girlfriend Flavia live together in his studio in Milan. He has not completed any paintings in two months as he slowly goes mad. His mental issues, about which Flavia is aware, includes a recurring dream where she is torturing him before attempting to kill him. As such, Flavia makes arrangements for them to rent a country villa outside of Venice where the change in scenery may recharge his creative juices. Because she can feel negative energy toward her at the villa, Flavia decides to spend her weekdays in Milan, visiting on the weekends, leaving Leonardo alone at the villa during week with only the housekeeper, Egle. Still haunted by his mental problems, Leonardo tries but is unable to restart his work. During this time alone, he learns of Vanda Valier, a previous occupant of the villa who was killed outside the villa walls during the war at age fifteen. Many of the locals still have their own stories of Vanda, some who still seem obsessed with her and her timeless beauty. Leonardo becomes one of those obsessed. In his mental state, Leonardo will have to reconcile hie obsession with Vanda with his relationship with Flavia, especially as many believe Vanda's ghost still controls what happens at the villa.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Atmospheric but not much else going on here
Haunted by Madness or by Ghost?
In Milan, the prominent painter Leonardo Ferri (Franco Nero) is a disturbed man that lives with his agent Flavia (Vanessa Redgrave). He has sadomasochistic nightmares with Flavia and shows signs of insanity. He asks Flavia to rent a villa in a quiet place in the countryside to produce his paints. Leonardo chooses a derelict villa that belonged to a promiscuous countess that was murdered during the war and Flavia moves back to Milan. Soon Leonardo is haunted by the countess... or should it be madness?
"Un tranquillo posto di campagna", a.k.a. "A Quiet Place in the Countryside", is a film that aged. Watching it for the first time in 2018 shows a dated tiresome and confused horror film and the best chance to see the eternal Vanessa Redgrave, sexy and gorgeous, and her husband Franco Nero in the lead roles. But the screenplay is typical for a movie from the late 60´s. Elio Petri is best known as a great director of political films but his work in horror genre is quite confused and disappointing. My vote is four.
Title (Brazil): "Um Lugar Tranquilo no Campo" ("A Quiet Place in the Countryside")
Excellent Italian horror film!
I tracked this rarely seen Italian horror on Polish TV and I'm really glad that I taped it.This is a truly bizarre study of madness,which reminds me Polanski's "Repulsion"(1965).The main character-a painter brilliantly played by Franco Nero is trying to run away from his strange visions.He visits an old mansion to find peace,quiet and inspiration,but it seems that this place is haunted by the ghost of a young girl.He slowly loses his sanity...This unjustly forgotten and rather disturbing horror film is a cinematic pleasure to watch for fans of bizarre Italian cinema.The characters are really weird,the musical score by Ennio Morricone is unforgettable and there are some genuine moments of insanity and creepiness.Elio Petri created an unique film,which should be seen by everybody(not only by horror fans!).Highly recommended.