The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)

When two sisters inherit their family castle, a string of murders committed by a mysterious dark haired woman in a red cloak targets their circle of friends. Is the killer their ancestor, ... See full summary »

Director:

Emilio Miraglia (as Emilio P. Miraglia)

Writers:

Fabio Pittorru (story), Fabio Pittorru (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Bouchet, Ugo Pagliai, Marina Malfatti

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Bouchet	...	Kitty Wildenbrück
Ugo Pagliai	...	Martin Hoffmann
Marina Malfatti	...	Franziska Wildenbrück
Marino Masé	...	Police Inspector
Pia Giancaro	...	Rosemary Müller (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	...	Elizabeth Hoffmann
Bruno Bertocci	...	Hans Meyer

Storyline

When two sisters inherit their family castle, a string of murders committed by a mysterious dark haired woman in a red cloak targets their circle of friends. Is the killer their ancestor, the "Red Queen", who legend says claims seven lives every hundred years?

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | female frontal nudity | sex | cult film | female rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

The Corpse That Didn't Want to Die!

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sybil Danning did not dub her own voice and was not happy that the makers chose someone else to dub her role.

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Goofs

When corpse of Eveline is shown in the cell, her eyes can be seen moving.

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Connections

Featured in New Year's Evil (1980)

User Reviews

Murderous Majesty

I've not been too impressed with the Giallo subgenre thus far, mainly because I have been watching mostly Lucio Fulci, who I consider a very, very poor filmmaker. I had set my expectations low for this movie, expecting a simple slasher set in a spooky castle. It delivered on this promise, and a lot more too.

Rival sisters Kitty and Evelyn (blonde and brunette) are cursed to hate each other as the 100-year cycle of the Red Queen legend is about to come around. For centuries, their ancestral castle home has seen one sister possessed by the spirit of the Red Queen who will murder six arbitrary victims before killing her own sibling. Believing the curse to be nonsense, the girls go their separate ways until Kitty is brought back to the castle after their sudden death of her grandfather. Rumor has it that the Red Queen is responsible.

And so plays out an interesting and clever whodunnit with atmospheric photography, nice locations and sets, a decent score (certainly by today's standards) and some brutal 1970s fashions. The deaths are sudden and shocking without being exploitative, and the visual of the Red Queen herself is both mysterious and intriguing - a horror villain that has gone unappreciated. I'm surprised that no sequels or remakes were ever made. I freakin' LOVE that title too. I would purchase the rights to this movie just to re-use the title, never mind remake it.

Is it just me or is Barbara Bouchet and EXACT double of Laura Linney at the same age?

A good Giallo flick and one of my favorites so far.

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany Monaco

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

17 October 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Corpse Which Didn't Want to Die

Filming Locations:

Stabilimento SAFA-Palatino, Piazza dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo 8, Rome, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Phoenix Cinematografica, Romano Film, Traian Boeru

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 78 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1