Watch Me When I Kill (1977)
"Il gatto dagli occhi di giada" (original title)

A pharmacist is murdered, and a woman happens to see the culprit leave the scene. She soon finds herself being stalked by the killer, and when her boyfriend tries to discover who the ... See full summary »

Director:

Antonio Bido

Writers:

Antonio Bido, Roberto Natale,

Stars:

Corrado Pani, Paola Tedesco, Franco Citti

Cast

Cast overview:
Corrado Pani	...	Lukas
Paola Tedesco	...	Mara
Franco Citti	...	Pasquale Ferrante
Fernando Cerulli	...	Giovanni Bozzi
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	Judge
Gianfranco Bullo	...	Chemist's assistant
Jill Pratt	...	Signora Dezzan (as Yill Pratt)
Bianca Toccafondi	...	Esmeralda Messori
Inna Alexeievna	...	Old woman
Paolo Malco	...	Carlo
Cristina Piras	...	Pasquale Ferrante's wife
Roberto Antonelli	...	Michele
Gaetano Rampin	...	Dott. Peretti
Giuseppe Pennese	...	Marco
Giovanni Vannini	...	Dezzan, the chemist (as Giovanni Vanini)

Storyline

A pharmacist is murdered, and a woman happens to see the culprit leave the scene. She soon finds herself being stalked by the killer, and when her boyfriend tries to discover who the murderer is and stop him, he begins to find out that there is much more to the murder than the ordinary killing it first appeared to be.

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Plot Keywords:

traumatic | murder witness | gore | cruelty | psycho thriller | 

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Taglines:

When I go berserk...you're better off dead!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

6 August 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Watch Me When I Kill

Filming Locations:

Padua, Veneto, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elis Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Antonio Bido:  Cabaret's director.

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Connections

Referenced in Solamente Bido (2002)

User Reviews

Occasionally splendid but mostly just solidly pleasing giallo

Watch Me When I Kill, or if you like, The Cat's Victims or The Cat With The Jade Eyes is hardly one of the most notable of gialli, enough of a cultish success to get a spiffy looking remastered release in the UK though. I enjoyed it more than the more hardcore giallo buffs seem to have done though it has its share of problems. The film follows Mara, who stops off to go to a pharmacy, but ends up overhearing a killer and thus ends up trying to puzzle out whodunit along with her boyfriend, afraid that she might be in the killers sights. The film moves along for near half its length without really getting into what the deal is behind the killing but director Antonio Bido handles things with quiet style and keeps the film ever watchable, with a sense of mystery that makes the unfolding revelations all the more satisfying. Though in some ways predictable the plot is worked out in solid fashion with a punchy and satisfying finale and while the pace is a bit slow there are enough notable moments to smooth the ride. Murders are fairly few in this one and not gory, the film does however include an absolute rip-snorter of a strangulation sequence, one of the best examples of such slaying I've ever seen in fact. The other kills are nicely done, suspenseful but not spectacular and helped tremendously by an ace, Goblin aping score from Trans Europa Express. The films main drawback is that whilst various elements position it as a giallo the original intention was a serious minded dramatic mystery (the script went through a number of rewrites to make it into a marketable giallo) and so it never really manages to be as tense, twisted or exuberant as the genre calls for. At the same time the giallo stylings dilute the intention of making a more serious film so its more artistic leanings (the odd section set in Padua) end up being fun but out of place. It basically needed a little more on all fronts, more twists, kills and character development. I still had a fine time with it though, Antonio Bido has a good eye and easy command of his art, crafting some cracking moments, and Corrado Pani and Paola Tedesco make for an appealing couple of leads. Though uneven, I was left pretty pleased by the end, it satisfied my craving for some Italian thriller fun pretty nicely. Which is all that counts when it comes right down to it. Far from essential then, but definitely worth at least checking out for genre completists or those particularly curious about it.