La dama rossa uccide sette volte (1972)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Emilio Miraglia

Writers:

Emilio Miraglia (screenplay)
Emilio Miraglia (story)

Release Date:

18 August 1972 (Italy)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Plot Keywords:

Desire | Silencer | Brunette | Sexual Desire | Camera

Cast

Barbara Bouchet	...	Kitty Wildenbrück
Ugo Pagliai	...	Martin Hoffmann
Marina Malfatti	...	Franziska Wildenbrück
Marino Masé	...	Police Inspector
Pia Giancaro	...	Rosemary (as Maria Pia Giancaro)
Sybil Danning	...	Lulu Palm
Nino Korda	...	Herbert Zieler
Fabrizio Moresco	...	Peter
Rudolf Schündler	...	Tobias Wildenbrück (as Rudolf Schindler)
Maria Antonietta Guido
Carla Mancini
Bruno Bertocci	...	Hans, Springer Director

Also Known As:

Blood Feast (USA)
Cry of a Prostitute: Love Kills (UK)
Horror House (Germany) (TV title)
Red Queen Kills 7 Times
The Corpse Which Didn't Want to Die (USA)
The Lady in Red Kills Seven Times (USA) (dubbed version)

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:82 min (cut version)

Country:

Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Phoenix Cinematografica

Trivia:

Though the film has been co-produced by a German production company and mostly shot in Germany, it was never released theatrically there, just premiered straight to Video in the late 80s.

A great success for the Giallo tradition!

Emilio Miraglia's first Giallo feature, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, was a great combination of Giallo and Gothic horror - and this second film is even better! We've got more of the Giallo side of the equation this time around, although Miraglia doesn't lose the Gothic horror stylings that made the earlier film such a delight. Miraglia puts more emphasis on the finer details of the plot this time around, and as a result it's the typical Giallo labyrinth, with characters all over the place and red herrings being thrown in every few minutes. This is a definite bonus for the film, however, as while it can get a little too confusing at times; there's always enough to hold the audience's interest and Miraglia's storytelling has improved since his earlier movie. The plot opens with a scene that sees two young girls fighting, before their grandfather explains to them the legend behind a rather lurid painting in their castle. The legend revolves around a woman called 'The Red Queen' who, legend has it, returns from the grave every hundred years and kills seven people. A few years later, murders begin to occur...

Even though he only made two Giallo's, Miraglia does have his own set of tributes. It's obvious that the colour red is important to him, as it features heavily in both films; and he appears to have something against women called 'Evelyn'. He likes castles, Gothic atmospheres and stylish murders too - which is fine by me! Miraglia may be no Argento when it comes to spilling blood, but he certainly knows how to drop an over the top murder into his film; and here we have delights involving a Volkswagen Beetle, and a death on an iron fence that is one of my all time favourite Giallo death scenes. The female side of the cast is excellent with the stunning Barbara Bouchet and Marina Malfatti heading up an eye-pleasing cast of ladies that aren't afraid to take their clothes off! The score courtesy of Bruno Nicolai is catchy, and even though it doesn't feature much of the psychedelic rock heard in The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave; it fits the film well. The ending is something of a turn-off, as although Miraglia revs up the Gothic atmosphere, it comes across as being more than a little bit rushed and the identity of the murderer is too obvious. But even so, this is a delightfully entertaining Giallo and one that I highly recommend to fans of the genre!