The Night of the Scorpion (1972) User Reviews

A mostly boring experience

[rundbauchdodo · 4/10 · 14 August 2002]

This Spanish-Italian co-production tells the story of a man who feels deep guilt for the death of his wife: He, an alcoholic, is convinced that he accidentally caused her lethal fall in their villa while he was drunk. He finds a new wife, but he's incapable of coping with his first wife's death. Moreover, the maid and his sister don't seem to accept the new woman in the household. After some time, suddenly bodies are piling up ... and the tomb of the man's first wife is empty!

The plot may sound interesting, but the whole film proceeds too slow: The first hour of the film (two thirds of the running time) is more relationship drama than Giallo horror. It's also tediously talky, and the only thing delivered in this first hour is some nudity. Then, suddenly, the film becomes a standard Giallo with a razor swinging gloved killer murdering almost everybody the tormented man has contact with. Is there a razor wielding ghost in the house? The solution to all this isn't very convincing either.

Even though the final 30 minutes make up for the first hour, it's still a rather boring film as a whole that doesn't really deliver. Interesting for Giallo and Italian horror completists only.

There is some activity towards the end

[christopher-underwood · 4/10 · 5 October 2013]

Gee, there are very favourable reviews on another site but its the guys on this one that have it right. Despite featuring some lovely girls, some fantastic costumes that nail this as 1972 for absolute certain, so little, so very little happens. At least for the first hour, that it. There is some activity towards the end but we are worn out by then keeping up with what did happen, what might happen, what was dreamed to have happened and what someone might have imagined happened.

The fact that this looks so good is the only reason I stayed with this, plus the fact that the performances are so persuasive that you are convinced this is going to leap into life. But by the end, however good looking and even though the blood begins to flow, I'm afraid I was well passed caring who did what to who and why.

Spanish giallo fever.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 6/10 · 13 August 2010]

A black-gloved,razor-wielding killer slashes the throats of people in an eerie mansion.It all has to do with the tragic death of a woman.She was the wife of the main male character.Oliver is convinced that he accidentally caused her lethal fall in their villa while he was drunk.He finds a new wife,but he's incapable of coping with his first wife's death.Moreover the maid and his sister don't seem to accept the new woman in the household.After some time suddenly bodies are piling up slashed by black-gloved killer...Pretty good Spanish/Italian giallo made by Alfonso Balcazar with lovely Teresa Gimpera.The first hour of the movie is relentlessly talky and suitably dull.The gory murders begin during the last thirty minutes.6 out of 10.

Keep my grave kinda open

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 22 July 2022]

Whether you call this La casa de las muertas vivientes (The House of the Living Dead), Night of the Scorpion, the Italian title Il cadavere di Helen non mi dava pace (Helen's Corpse Gives Me No Peace or Helen Is Not Resting In Peace) or An Open Tomb... An Empty Coffin, this is a giallo made in Spain and Italy during the height of the genre. It's directed by Alfonso Balcázar (Sartana Does Not Forgive, A Noose Is Waiting for You Trinity) from a script that he wrote with Giovanni Simonelli and José Ramón Larraz, the same team that made Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return.

Oliver Bromfield (José Antonio Amor) has lost his father and wife Helen (Gioia Desideri), which causes him to move back to the gigantic ancestral home in the mountains far from the closest village. Despite the fact that they are isolated from anyone else, he makes a point to tell his new wife Ruth (Daniela Giordano) to not listen to what anyone says about his family. If that isn't enough to freak her out, perhaps the way that Oliver's stepmother Sarah (Nuria Torray) kisses him will do it. Or maybe it's the maid (Alicia Tomás) who doesn't answer questions or the sister who refuses to speak to her. Look, if you marry into a rich family in a giallo, your chances of encountering weirdness and death are absolute.

So yes, Sarah keeps trying to seduce her stepson as well as spying on him as he consummates his new marriage. His sister Jenny angrily stabs butterflies -- oh post-Argento giallo and its obsession with animals -- as she laments the loss of Helen, who she definitely had an affair with and when Oliver found out, Helen took a dive over the railing. Maybe. Who can say?

Ruth slowly starts going insane, what with being trapped in this house of depression. Wouldn't you be worried if you watch a kitten die after drinking the poisoned milk that you were about to drink -- yes, this movie makes a The Cat O'Nine Tails ripoff while having a cat figured into said theft -- and then come back to life?

Everybody in this family wants someone they can't have and Ruth starts to realize that maybe she shouldn't have said yes to this marriage deal. She even brings in a private detective (Osvaldo Genazzani) who she says is her Uncle Edgar to figure out what's happening.

That's when a killer with black gloves and a blade remembers that we're in a giallo and not a soap opera and starts stabbing people with just twenty minutes left.

This may not rank in the best of all giallo, but there is that awesome clock that the voyeur stepmother uses to peep through which gives the opportunity for some great shots. And once it picks up, it picks up.

The Scorpion King.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 4/10 · 28 October 2014]

Originally being unsure about taking a look at the title,due to it having gotten a number of dry reviews,I noticed that a fellow IMDb'er gave the Giallo a good amount of praise during IMDb's 2013 Horror Challenge,which led to me deciding that I would take a look at the Giallo scorpion.

The plot:

Haunted by the recurring final moments which led to his wife's death, Oliver Bromfield decides to run away from the mansion containing his family,where he and his wife also lived in.

1 Year later:

Attempting to start a new page with his life,Bromfield gets married to his girlfriend Ruth,despite them having only been dating for a short while.Keeping the events surrounding his wife's death under wraps to Ruth, Bromfield decides that due to there being no where else where they can live permanently,that he is going to return to the family mansion with Ruth.Reciving a frosty welcome from the family,Ruth soon discovers that Bromfield's deceased wife shadow towers above the lives of Oliver and his family.

View on the film:

Placing the film largely in the mansion,co-writer/ (along with José Ramón Larraz and Giovanni Simonelli)director Alfonso Balcázar gives this Giallo a dazzling stylised appearance,with Balcázar covering every corner with pastel colours which help to create a decaying atmosphere,as Balcázar shows how the Bromfield's wealth has led to them decaying from within.

Whilst he reveals a highly eye-catching style in his directing, Balcázar and his fellow writer's disappointingly show that they are unable to paint the screenplay of the film in the same vivid colours.For the first hour of the film,the writer's try and create a Gothic chill,which is never allowed to bubble away thanks to a feeling of dread never being allowed to increase,that leads to this Giallo going round in circles,as the Bromfield's reveal that they are not in possession of a vicious scorpion sting.

So many cool titles, so little relevance...

[Coventry · 4/10 · 30 August 2022]

Like so many contemporary European exploitation movies, this film has a long list of juicy-sounding titles and aka's, but - also as usual - none of them make any sense or are even remotely relevant. "An Open Tomb... An Empty Coffin" is arguably one of the coolest titles of the entire 70s, but why is it called that? There aren't any tombs being opened, and there certainly aren't any empty coffins. "Night of the Scorpion" is another meaningless title. What scorpion? What night? And the official title is even the worst. "La Casa de las Muertas Vivientes" literally translates as "The House of the Living Dead", but apart from a cute- and hardly menacing - little kitten, none of the dead people come back to life. Choosing an accurate but simultaneously attractive title is hard labor, I know...

"An Open Tomb ... An Empty Coffin" - I'm going for the coolest title - is an Italian /Spanish co-production and blends the typical styles and sub-genres of both countries as well. The film is part Italian Giallo, with an unseen and black-gloved killer slashing throats, and part Spanish Goth-horror about a sexually deviant family in their isolated castle up on a hill. The new bride of a sour young widower wants to find out who was responsible for the first wife's mysterious death. Was it perhaps the stepmom who has a perverted crush on her stepson since he was fourteen? The eccentric sister? The gardener or the maid? Or was it her hubby himself, in one of his drunken episodes?

Luckily, there's a killer with a knife sneaking around the mansion because the search for the killer is A: boring and derivative, and B: terribly predictable. In fact, the identity of the killer is so obvious that you'll probably think it won't be him/her; just because it feels too simple. The funniest thing about this otherwise unremarkable 70s horror flick is that it features the worst private detective of all times. The guy comes to the estate supposedly as the new bride's uncle but, after one day, everyone in the household already saw through his cover. Another day later, he's dead. Great job, Sherlock!

Surprisingly Entertaining Spanish Italian Obscurity

[Videoverdose · 7/10 · 17 March 2018]

Hardcore giallo fans will dig this slow burner more than anyone else. Present are genre staples such as a black-gloved killer, insanely gorgeous women, and a twisty murder mystery at its core; however, it's light on blood, dialogue-heavy, and set mostly in a mansion. Don't let that scare you away, though. The cast is solid, characters are interesting, the mystery engaging, and the mansion adds a menacing gothic atmosphere to it all. One year after the death of his first wife, Oliver Bartrom returns to his family property to start a life with his new wife Ruth. Problem is, they aren't alone. Along with the maid and shady groundskeeper, Oliver's hostile sister and horny jealous stepmother live there too, and both are embittered over the sketchy circumstances of the first wife's death. Needless to say, Ruth isn't exactly feeling the Bartrom family love; the stepmother is obsessed with Oliver, forever trying to seduce him - and his reclusive sister hates everyone for reasons I won't spoil for you. Almost immediately, bizarre things start happening to Ruth, and a menace in black gloves stalks the grounds trying to take everyone out. In fear for her life and love, Ruth tries to uncover the sinister truth behind what really happened to Oliver's first wife.

In early 2017, American eurocult label Dorado Films released Night of the Scorpion on blu-ray via 2K scan of a 35mm print. Due to their small operation and relative obscurity of their titles, Dorado doesn't drop dollars on digital cleaning or color correction, presenting films "as is" with specs, scratches and glorious grain. I kinda like this decision as it adds a gritty filmic charm to the viewing experience. Collectors and connoisseurs of giallo cinema should track down this one down.

Awesome Spanish Horror/Giallo

[josephbrando · 9/10 · 25 March 2013]

I watched this film last night and was absolutely astonished by it - so you can imagine my surprise when I saw two bad reviews as its only representation here on IMDb. Firstly if you are the type of person who expects there to be graphically gruesome gory killing every 5 minutes then I have two things to say to you: 1. you will be disappointed by this and 2. why in the world are you watching a movie like this?!

If however you are a fan of this period of Spanish/Italian horror films - you know who you are and you know what you want - this movie delivers in spades. It's got a creepy Gothic castle, very unusual spacey Spanish babes (a la Helga Line or Rosalba Neri), strange sexual relationships, a supernatural element, and all the ingredients that make you love these things.

A newlywed couple arrives back at his castle which he shares with his butterfly taxidermying sister and overly flirty stepmother. The new bride find out the the old bride didn't die exactly the way it was explained to her and soon new bodies start piling up. Great performances all around, and nice location, photography and direction make this a high note in the Spanish Giallo Horror subgenre.

Enjoyable Spanish/Italian Giallo

[giallo-fan · 9/10 · 20 April 2013]

Starting with a beautiful opening credit sequence, the viewer knows that they are in for a classic Giallo. This is perfect midnight viewing. It looks great, has a good soundtrack and has a plot which actually makes sense and keeps the viewer guessing until the end.

The whole movie takes place almost in one location, a grand Spanish mansion, which gives it a claustrophobic atmosphere.

There are also a bevy of Spanish beauties, all of them give great performances.

This movie relies more on suspense than shocks, but there are moments of blood as the body count slowly rises.

The best print is the Spanish language version with English subtitles.