Now here's a Giallo that gives us plenty of the things that made the sub-genre so brilliant back in the day while adding a decidedly Gothic bent to the proceedings, making it a bit of a unique effort. It also throws in a bit of supernatural mystery which makes it even more compelling.
It's really too bad that director Emilio Miraglia only made two Giallo movies in his very short career -this one, and the equally compelling The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave- because they guy had a knack for it.
Odd how both movies center around a girl named Evelyn too...
We begin with young Kitty Wildenbruck innocently playing with her doll when her sister Evelyn steals it and runs off. They end up in their grandfathers study, where Evelyn becomes possessed by a painting, and proceeds to repeatedly stab the doll and ripping it's head off. Then Kitty loses her shit and starts to beat her sister's ass, which prompts Evelyn to reach for the knife to stab her like she did the doll, until grandpa does the rollover with his wheelchair and breaks the two up. Keep in mind that these are 8 year old girls.
WHAT A LITTLE JOY SHE IS. |
TO GET THE GIRLS TO STOP TRYING TO KILL ONE ANOTHER, GRANDPAPPY TELLS THEM A TERRIFYING STORY ABUT TWO SISTERS WHO HATED EACH OTHER SO MUCH THAT IT DROVE THEM TO MURDER. |
ITALIAN FOREPLAY. |
Giallo goodness ensues.
THE RED QUEEN, IN MID-KILL. |
As per usual for a Giallo, the film's plot is confusing and changes gears in odd ways throughout its overly-convoluted narrative, and will make you say "what the hell?" more than a few times... but that's the beauty of the Giallo, isn't it? Part of the sub-genre's genuine charm comes from the silly plots, overacting, and crazy shit that they offer up in an absolutely serious way.
And can we take a second to acknowledge that not only is Barbara Bouchet smoking hot, but she has genuine talent that would have made her a superstar had she gone the Hollywood route. Good lord is she sexy, and those eyes... expressive on a level all their own.
ONE OF THE GREATS. |
LIFE IN THE 70'S WAS ROUGH. |
MORE OF THIS. ALWAYS MORE OF THIS. |
- That bats that flapped around people's head without anyone seeing to notice.
- The random rape scene that happens out of nowhere, cuts away quick, returns to find a distraught Barbara Bouchet in hysterics in a bloodied (WTF?) room, and then is completely forgotten about in short order as things go right back to normal.
- And where was the third sister, Franziska when they were kids? She's not in the flashback, but she shows up in present day like she's been there the whole time. And for that matter, where are the girls' parents? They're nowhere to be seen, so if the third sister came later, who did she come from?
WHERE THE HELL DID SHE EVEN COME FROM? |
THIS IS WHY GIRLS SHOULD AVOID GOING ANYWHERE NEAR VANS. |
DON'T WORRY, SHE'LL BE OVER THIS IN LIKE 2O MINUTES. |
It's not exactly top-tier, but add this one to your list.
B
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD. It's on Shudder as well.
The incomparable Barbara Bouchet; a very young Sybil Danning; and the lovely Marina Malfatti, who passed away in 2016.
No comments :
Post a Comment