Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes (Antonio Margheriti, 1973)

[Vaughan]

Watched this last night, I've owned it for ages.

What do others make of it? It promises "gory stylish fun", but for me didn't deliver. Yes it has a nicely gothic setting, but I found it really tiresome. For once the sets just felt claustrophobic, and other than some nice lighting toward the end, the cinematography was extremely poor. The camera movement is jarring at times. Even the soundtrack is lacklustre.

Disapointed personally....

[JAMIOUSE]

I owned it for a while before watching it, I did attempt a couple of viewings before finally watching it all. It's a film that has a good premese but lacks any real substance. It's not the best scripted or directed giallo, had it have been handled by Bava it might have been a masterpiece but sadley it isn't. The 'good gory fun' tagline is a joke, after twenty minutes your reaching for the fast forward button! It has a few 'gory' moments but nothing spectacular.

A big let down really!

[Vaughan]

Actually, and quite unusually, it also took me two times to get through it. The first time, early in the evening, I got through a third of it before switching it off. I decided to revist afgter several hours had gone by. I managed to endure the entire thing that time, but clearly that wasn't an entirely pleasurable experience.....

You know, given it took me a couple times, it might well be worse than I've thus far suggested.

[CJ34]

Well, I had quite the opposite experience - I thought it was fantastic. I loved the gothic atmosphere, the oddball cast, the understated air of menace, the perfect soundtrack. It just worked on every level for me. Still, horses for courses, I suppose. Mind you, of those BU Giallo releases, Strip Nude for Your Killer was the best of the bunch. Sleazy, violent, and just downright unapologetically nasty. It ranks up there with Fulci's The New York Ripper (another film BU really should do a remaster of).

[Vaughan]

Well, I had quite the opposite experience - I thought it was fantastic. I loved the gothic atmosphere, the oddball cast, the understated air of menace, the perfect soundtrack. It just worked on every level for me. Still, horses for courses, I suppose. Mind you, of those BU Giallo releases, Strip Nude for Your Killer was the best of the bunch. Sleazy, violent, and just downright unapologetically nasty. It ranks up there with Fulci's The New York Ripper (another film BU really should do a remaster of).

Interesting you mention the soundtrack, CJ, because I didn't think it was bad, I thought it was awful. I actually laughed during the opening sequence because it was so over the top. And there's simply no melody to it.

As you say, each to their own, I'd rank it toward the bottom of my giallo collection.

[CJ34]

Interesting you mention the soundtrack, CJ, because I didn't think it was bad, I thought it was awful. I actually laughed during the opening sequence because it was so over the top. And there's simply no melody to it.

Well, we're all different - I'd rank this as a superior Giallo, personally. It's just good that we can all appreciate different things without shouting at each other.

[MarcMorris]

Count me in as a long time fan of this one too. It's great to see Serge and Jane together too.

[Someone Weird]

Have to agree with Black here, I was very disappointed by this one. I was disappointed by 'Strip Nude for Your Killer' too. I thought it was extremely tame and a tad dull as oppossed to unapologetically nasty.

[CJ34]

I thought Strip Nude for your Killer had some fairly unpleasant stuff going on, IMO. Not as nasty as The New York Ripper, but not far behind. The shot of the women with ther breast torn off was quite nasty, I thought! And the whole thing was just so sleazy.

[Someone Weird]

I thought Strip Nude for your Killer had some fairly unpleasant stuff going on, IMO. Not as nasty as The New York Ripper, but not far behind. The shot of the women with ther breast torn off was quite nasty, I thought! And the whole thing was just so sleazy.

I've only seen it the once and from what I remember it was all very much blink-and-you-miss-it kind of stuff. I remember it being a fight to keep the eye lids from clamping (same with 7 Deaths). Have you seen 'Giallo A Venezia' CJ? That one has some nice meaty moments.

[CJ34]

Oh yes, Giallo a Venezia gets regular play here. Nice mix of sex and violence.

The unrated version of Patrick Still Lives is another favourite too.

[Vaughan]

I'm going to have to rewatch that one (Strip Nude), I'm having trouble remembering anything about it. The gore in Cat's Eye was basically non-existant other than a body in the cellar.