Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974)

An ex-convict, troubled by dreams that he strangles women, is hired as the caretaker on an estate owned by three very strange sisters. Soon after his arrival, a serial killer begins ... See full summary »

Director:

Carlos Aured

Writers:

Paul Naschy (story) (as Jacinto Molina), Paul Naschy (screenplay) (as Jacinto Molina)

Stars:

Paul Naschy, Diana Lorys, Eduardo Calvo

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Naschy	...	Gilles
Diana Lorys	...	Claude
Eduardo Calvo	...	Doctor Phillipe
Eva León	...	Nicole (as Eva Leon)
Inés Morales	...	Michelle (as Ines Morales)
Antonio Pica	...	Inspector Pierre
Luis Ciges	...	René
Pilar Bardem	...	Caroline (as Pilar Barden)
Maria Perschy	...	Ivette

Storyline

An ex-convict, troubled by dreams that he strangles women, is hired as the caretaker on an estate owned by three very strange sisters. Soon after his arrival, a serial killer begins slaughtering blonde, blue-eyed women - and leaving their eyeballs in a bowl of water.

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Plot Keywords:

blue eyes | blood spatter | bloodbath | nymphomaniac | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The UK pre-cert Canon video was regularly seized by police during the 1980's 'video nasty' scare and wrongly listed by "Video World" magazine as one of the official DPP 74 nasties.

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Goofs

At the end when the Doctor is in the nursery, a cameraman can be seen reflected in the mirror.

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Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

User Reviews

Entertaining Spanish giallo

While many of the Italian gialli have been co-produced with Spanish money, this movie is maybe the only real "pure" Spanish giallo - with Paul Naschy playing the most impressive role of his career. His character is a ex-convict who comes to a small town. He gets a job in a big house inhabited by three women who all seem to suffer from severe psychological problems (they are not psychotic, however, even though the American title "House of Psychotic Women" suggests so). Worst of all, a killer stalks the young women in the neighborhood and steals their eyeballs (eyeballs again... films like "The Headless Eyes" and "Gatti Rossi in un Labirinto di Vetro" come in mind).

No wonder that Naschy's character becomes soon a main suspect, even though the policemen of the small town don't know that he's an ex-convict. Naschy's portrayal of the hapless man is more tragic and sympathetic than all his portrayals of wolfman Waldemar Daninsky, the role he repeated playing throughout most of his acting career.

The movie is very low-budget but nevertheless quite thrilling, and the revealing of the killer's identity at the end is at least as surprising as in your typical eerie Italian giallo. Highly recommended to all those who love this kind of stuff and European horror cinema in general.

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

3 September 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The House of Doom

Filming Locations:

Navacerrada, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Profilmes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1