Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye

Sadly, GIALLOCTOBER FEST is coming to a close. I ended on a rather high note with DEEP RED, but added one more film to the lineup at the last minute. I thought it was going to be a toss away item, but it turned out to be a fun little Hammer horror-like gothic tale that I enjoyed.

SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE was a lot of fun. No, it wasn't fantastic, but it was a perfect film for a cold, rainy day. This 1973 Antonio Margheriti (click it! Click it!)  directed giallo tells a rather simple tale of a family in an old castle in Scotland. Corringa returns to her Aunt's unannounced and finds herself in the middle of a small, family drama as her mother, Aunt, nutty cousin, and various guests and servants skulk around the drafty old place and plot. And....what is that hairy beast there lurking in the halls? No...not THAT one. THAT'S the CAT, silly. The OTHER one - the one that's as big as a man. Hmmmmm....

I thought the plot was going to be rather simple and it was, but not in the way I thought it was going to be. A complex series of murders left me rather confused towards the end after they scrambled what I thought they were going to wrap up with. There were also many lovely WTF?! moments that I found endearing. I can totally see myself tossing this on later this winter on some dark and stormy night, snuggling in with a whiskey, and just letting it play out as I smile.

Jane Birkin (...who I always think of as "That girl from the Agatha Christie movies"...) is sweet, lovely, and confused as the returned niece Corringa and American born Hiram Keller's (Fellini Satyricon ) nutty Lord James MacGrieff nails the striking madman expertly.  The awesome Anton Diffring's portrayal of the plotting doctor is fantastic, but he is always awesome - even when he's not playing a German commander or some such. :::grin:::



It's not getting much love on SHUDDER right now. People are railing against it. However, I feel it's well worth a viddy.