★ 6 / 10
**_Giallo madness at a castle in Germany with
Wuchak
**_Giallo madness at a castle in Germany with Barbara Bouchet and Sybil Danning_** When her aristocratic grandfather dies in southwest Deutschland, a young…
**_Giallo madness at a castle in Germany with Barbara Bouchet and Sybil Danning_**
When her aristocratic grandfather dies in southwest Deutschland, a young woman (Bouchet) stands to inherit his wealth and castle, along with her older sister (Marina Malfatti). But they hold a macabre secret as a cackling dark-haired woman in a red cloak goes about slaying people linked to the matter. Marino Masé plays the inspector and Ugo Pagliai a playboy suspect.
“The Red Queen Kills Seven Times” (1972) is a giallo, an Italian psychological crime/thriller with bits of sexploitation, horror and, maybe, the supernatural. The director’s previous film was “The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave” from the year prior. Mario Bava's contemporaneous "A Bay of Blood" is another comparison. “The Devil's Nightmare” is yet another, although that one’s more of a horror flick. In any case, if you like those, you’ll probably appreciate this flick.
The main highlight here is the female cast, including Bouchet (Kitty), Pia Giancaro (Rosemary) and a youthful Danning (Lulù). Both Bouchet and Danning are shown semi-nude in brief bits (just a heads up).
Another highlight is the Euro milieu with the ancient buildings, small cars and quaint villages, as is the early 70’s décor & fashions. The red-cloaked slayer with a sinister cackle is notable as well, not to mention prescient of the comic booky antagonists in soon-to-come slashers. Speaking of comic books, the ending is straight from Scooby-Doo.
The film runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in Würzburg and nearby Weikersheim (to the south) in southwest Germany with studio stuff done 700 miles due south in Rome.
GRADE: B-/C+
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★ 8 / 10
The Red Lady x The Black Lady - girls... girls.... girls.....
andrabem
Once upon a time in a castle...... Two little girls are playing in the garden's castle. They are sisters. A blonde little girl (Kitty) and a brunette one…
Once upon a time in a castle...... Two little girls are playing in the garden's castle. They are sisters. A blonde little girl (Kitty) and a brunette one (Evelyn). Evelyn steals Kitty's doll. Kitty pursues Evelyn. Running through long corridors, they reach the room where their grandfather, sitting on an armchair, reads the newspaper. Kitty complains about Evelyn, while Evelyn is looking interestedly at a picture hanging on the wall. Evelyn begins to say repeatedly: "I am the red lady and Kitty is the black lady". Suddenly Evelyn grabs a dagger lying nearby and stabs Kitty's doll and then cuts her (the doll's) head. A fight ensues. And Evelyn almost uses the dagger against Kitty. The grandfather intervenes and the worst is avoided.Later on, their grandfather tells them the legend related to the picture hanging on the wall in front of them, in which a lady dressed in black is stabbing a lady dressed in red:"A long time ago, a red lady and a black lady lived in the same castle. They were sisters and hated each other. One night, for jealousy reasons, the black lady entered the red lady's room and stabbed her seven times. One year later, the red lady left her grave. She killed six innocent people, and her seventh victim was the black lady. Once every hundred years, the events repeat themselves in this castle and a red lady kills six innocent victims before killing the black lady herself."The grandfather ends his tale by saying that according to the legend, sixteen years from now, the red queen should come again and kill seven times. But he assures them that this is just an old legend.Sixteen years pass.....This is the very beginning of the film. There are many twists and surprises in the film. It's better for you to forget about logic (if you really analyse it, the story doesn't make sense) and just follow the film with its wonderful colors, the gorgeous women, the clothes, the tasteful decor, the lighting effects and the beautiful soundtrack.Enjoy Barbara Bouchet, Sybil Danning, Marina Malfatti, Pia Giancaro, among other goddesses. There's a nude by Sybil Danning lying on a sofa that's something to dream about. And don't forget: The lady in red kills seven times!If you've liked "La Dama Rossa..." check out also "La Notte che Evelyn uscì dalla Tomba".
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6.5/10
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