‘Even the police know I’m an incredible nymphomaniac!’ is a good sample line from Emilio Miraglia’s wonderfully overcooked giallo, which keeps one guessing by being so nutty that placing a bet on who-dunnit is all but impossible. I probably spent more time sourcing a trailer for this one that writing the review, since most of them are NSFW unless you have gainful employment as a serial killer. But I found one eventually, and one that just about captures the many qualities of this ‘dazzaling’ movie.
Notebooks ready? Let the investigation proceed. Barbara Bouchet is Kitty, one of two sisters (Marina Malfatti is the other, Franziska) who have been brought up to fear a family curse that may lead to murder; a flashback reveals that Kitty already has plenty of reasons to feel guilt. The death of their grandfather promises a liquidation of finances and potential windfalls for all of the Wildenbrück family, but his will proves inconclusive.
The action then shifts to a successful fashion house which seems to be called Springe; Kitty is having an affair with the company’s boss Martin (Ugo Pagliai) whose wife is mentally ill. With various murders taking place, could the supernatural Red Queen be taking her revenge on the family, or is the solution something more practical?
You’ll come for the detectivework, but you’ll stay for the gowns and the crazy 70’s decor. The real solution is so complicated that even several readings of the Wikipedia page fail to clarify exactly what happened, but it’s always fun getting there; the costumes and décor are super-stylish, as are the Bavarian locations. This is a lively giallo, full of twists and turns, never boring and often intriguing; the permenantly great Sybill Danning also appears as a genuine windfall bonus. The punchline is, this Red Queen Kills.
If they prefaced every MCU or John Wick title with the number of expected deaths that would put this little giallo in the shade.
At least you know what you’re getting, trades desription and all.
But you do spend all your time counting. Might be one way of getting teenagers to appreciate numbers. Like Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry – now in all this confusion was it six or was it seven?
There’s lots of Kill Count videos on YouTube which just provide the action highlights…
Forgot about those. Good idea for those who can’t be bothered with the non-killing parts of movies.
Magnificent Seven Kills. Or was that copyright infringement?
Secret Seven Kills Seven Times.
Can never remember if Timmy the dog counts as one of the seven or if he belongs to the five but yes I always thought those kids were covering up for something.
Think Timmy is Famous Five, but your point stands.
Good to find a critic that knows his Enid Blyton.
Does the Red Queen kill seven times? At least we can hope the title’s accurate…
You have to see it for yourself. It’ll be a surprise if anyone can figure it out.
Sybill Danning means an automatic pass from me.
I guess I do have one question though. Why does the Red Queen stop at 7 kills? 10 seems a bit more balanced in my opinion….
They had no thought of metric or decimal system when it came to the red queen’s rampage. Fact!
I did go to the wiki page and am none the wiser. Italians huh? Lovely people but mad as a box of frogs.
Lovely people, lovely country, mental murder mysteries!