Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye

Warning: SPOILERS!!! The unexpected arrival of young Corringa (Jane Birkin) at the Scottish MacGrieff Castle couldn't have come at at better, or worse, time, depending on who you talk to. The financially-strapped MacGrieffs, Lady Mary (Francoise Christophe) and her mentally ill son Lord James (Hiram Keller), have just hit-up Corringa's mother, Lady Alicia (Dana Ghia), for a loan, but she refuses, telling Lady Mary that Corringa will soon inherit the family fortune on her rapidlly approaching 18th birthday. The sexually liberated Corringa (who was just expelled from school) accidentally throws her Bible in the roaring fireplace and you know what that means: Something bad is about to happen. At dinner, the mad Lord James insults everyone at the table, forcing Lady Alicia and Corringa to get up and walk out of the room. Family physician Dr. Franz (Anton Diffring), who loves Lady Mary, explains to everyone left at the dinner table, including Father Robinson (Venantino Venantini) and Suzanne (Doris Kunstmann), that when Lord James was a child, he killed his sister and spent some time in an insane asylum. Dr. Franz begs Lady Mary to sell the castle, but she stubbornly refuses. Could she be hiding something? That night, Lady Alicia is savagely attacked in her bedroom by an unseen gloved assailant and killed, while Corringa finds a hidden passage in her bedroom and is assaulted by the same assailant when she follows the passageway to the castle's basement. The only witness to both crimes was an orange-haired tabby cat and, at Lady Alicia's funeral the next day, Lady Mary orders that the cat be locked-in Lady Alicia's crypt. Lady Mary now hopes that Corringa falls in love with her son, which will in turn infuse the family fortunes and save the castle from foreclosure. This is where things get weird. Corringa discovers that Lord James keeps a live circus gorilla in his artist studio, Dr. Franz is sleeping with Suzanne (who is bisexual) in some plan to gain control of the castle (Corringa's sudden appearance has thrown a monkey [ahem!] wrench into their plans) and the butler, Angus (Luciano Pigozzi, a.k.a. "Alan Collins"), is murdered by the gloved killer when he sets the cat free from the crypt. As more people are killed, the question becomes: Who is the killer and what is his/her motive? Is it possible that the killer is a vampire? Or is it the gorilla? (Wouldn't it be sweet if it were a vampire gorilla?) Alas, it's none of the above, as we find out Lord James may not be mad after all and one member in the castle isn't who they say they are. This French/Italian/German co-production, directed by Antonio Margheriti (CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE - 1980; TIGER JOE - 1982; ARK OF THE SUN GOD - 1983), using his frequent pseudonym "Anthony M. Dawson", is a decent, if uneventful and soap opera-ish, murder mystery. It's like a cross between the gothic horror films of the 60's (which includes Margheriti's CASTLE OF BLOOD - 1964) and the giallo films that became so popular in the 70's. As with most giallo films of the 70's, most of the action in SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE takes place at a secluded location. Here it is a castle and, like all giallos (gialli?), there is no shortage of suspects. The addition of a gorilla as one of the suspects is indeed offbeat, but it is only used sparingly (a good thing, too, because it's nothing but a man in a cheap gorilla suit) and you know it's only use is as a red herring. It's nice to see Anton Diffring (CIRCUS OF HORRORS - 1960) playing such a callous character, but he doesn't dub his own voice, so it's a little distracting. The murders on view are restrained for a giallo. While blood splashes on the walls and there are some macabre sights on view (including rats eating a corpse in the beginning of the film, which is an important clue in solving the mystery), we never actually see the murders committed, as they are either filmed in the shadows or the camera moves away before the killer strikes. As with YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY and CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT (both 1972), a cat witnesses every murder and plays a key role in unmasking the killer. Cats, you gotta love 'em! This is an OK mystery that will entertain you as long as you don't expect buckets of gore. On-screen title: SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CATS EYES. Also starring George Korrade, Serge Gainsbourg and Bianca Doria. Originally available on VHS from Prism Entertainment. Available on DVD from Blue Underground. Not Rated.

There's a lot of style to be had in this uber gothic melodrama involving a monstrosity of a castle riddled with secret passages and bodies galore. The inhabitants are nuttier than fruitcake and just as deadly. The place is humongous, requiring a lot of upkeep. Two sisters argue over the cost, one has the funds to help but won't, leaving a lot of ill will between them. When the rich one is murdered in her bed, her sister convinces the resident doctor/sex fiend to alter the death certificate in her favor. A quick burial follows with everyone in attendance. Instead of ending the matter, it only complicated things. There's still the rich woman's daughter (Jane Birkin as Corringa) to contend with and then there's the supposedly loony cousin, Lord James MacGrieff (Hiram Keller) running around acting weird. A long dead baby sister helps to fuel the gossip. And if that isn't grist enough, there's also a resident lesbian French tutor who doesn't teach French, two priests too many, a simian of some kind, missing bodies, and a cat that wanders around endlessly getting in the way. The murders are rather prosaic, involving a straight razor. And as for the story, it is a `mystery' that is unsolvable. The murderer is hastily revealed in the final few seconds with the killer helpfully providing the irrational reason for the killings (which isn't supported by anything that precedes it). They simply ran out of time, had to blame someone, and had to come up with a reason that almost makes sense. Claiming it was an alien from outer space would have worked just as well.Almost, but not quite lurid or sordid enough. I found it sorely lacking in violence and rationale. Still, it was sufficiently entertaining to keep for future viewings.

This actually is quite enjoyable. And while mild for today’s films, it is a bit risque for being made in 1973.An old Scottish castle, debts, and the MacGrieff legend all come to play. The legend is when a MacGrieff kills a blood relative, that relative turns into a vampire.The cat is a big fluffy red boy, and plays a prominent role in witnessing the murders, and there are many. There is Lord James MacGrieff, who is being treated by a live-in doctor for apparently being mad, and young Corringa shows up, having been expelled from school. They seem to hit it off well.As the bodies start piling up, there is a real mystery as to whom is the killer. And in trying to solve that, the movie actually is fun to watch. There are hidden passages, and false clues. Oh, and a large gorilla that was gotten from a circus, when those owners thought the gorilla had killed someone. And the gorilla does get out of his cell at times.This is classic 1970's British horror/mystery with plenty of shadows and suspects.

Inside a Scottish castle, a man has just been slashed to death with a razor and thrown down a staircase deep inside the bowels of the castle. He's been left there to rot, and his flesh is eaten away by rats, all this is watched by a ginger cat. Soon after, the young and beautiful Corringa arrives, having recently been expelled from the convent school she was at. She soon meets up with her mother, Alicia, and her aunt Mary, before being introduced to Suzanne who's a French teacher. She's there to teach to Lord James MacGrieff, who is the owner of the castle and Corringa's cousin. Corringa hasn't seen James in a very long time and Suzanne gives off the impression that he's somewhat unstable, possibly even mentally ill. Later that night, Corringa, Suzanne, Alicia, Mary, Father Robertson, Dr. Franz and a few other guests are enjoying dinner when James bursts into the room, "welcome to my home, I don't remember inviting any of you". After the scene at dinner, everybody goes to bed. During the night, Corringa's mother is smothered to death in her bed, and from the black gloves it would appear to be the same person that killed the man at the start of the film. Over the following days, more people are murdered and the cat seems to always be there. Could the killer be James who really is mad? Perhaps it's Dr. Franz who is sleeping with Mary AND Suzanne, it could possibly even be Mary who seems to be in financial trouble and is getting more desperate by the day. Why are people being killed and what does it have to do with the cat? There's even some nonsense about vampires and a potential murderous gorilla.Jane Birkin was an enticing and likeable lead as Corringa, but I can honestly say that this is the only film I've seen her in, I really do need to watch Blow-Up. Hiram Keller is pretty good as Lord James MacGrieff, he's very intense and had the perfect face for the role. German actor Anton Diffring played Dr. Franz, French superstar Serge Gainsbourg stars as a Police Inspector who's investigating the murders, and Italian actor Venantino Venantini stars as Father Robertson. Venantini will be a familiar face to fans of Italian horror, he played Mr. Ross in City of the Living Dead, the man who pushes Giovanni Lombardo Radice's head on to the drill. He played Sgt. Ross in Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox and Juan Cardoso in Alfonso Brescia's ridiculous but fun, The Beast In Space. It's directed by Antonio Margheriti, a director whose most successful period was probably in the '60s with numerous excellent gothic horror films like The Castle of Death and Castle of Blood. It's hardly surprising that during the giallo boom in the '70s, Margheriti chose to make his a gothic giallo set in a castle. Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye is still probably the most gothic giallo I've ever seen, and it was probably his best attempt at the genre. Margheriti also directed the 1980 classic, Cannibal Apocalypse, which was the first Margheriti film I ever saw. The music from Italian legend and two time Academy award nominee, Riz Ortolani, is excellent, the cinematography by Carlo Carlini is also very good. There's a little nudity and blood, but it's a film that prefers to use the creepy castle and actors to build atmosphere. The castle itself plays a big part in the film, secret passages, plenty of dark rooms and corridors, the crypt outside and of course, the cat, whose appearance almost always confirms your imminent death.It's another wonderful looking transfer from Blue Underground, the colours and detail are fantastic. The sound for the most part is also great, the dialogue is crisp and the music plays a large part of the film. There's one extra on the disc which is a an eight minute featurette called Muder He Wrote - An interview with co-writer Giovanni Simonelli. That actually lasts about five minutes and the last few minutes of it is Antonio Margheriti explaining the reason why he chose to release most of his films under the pseudonym of Anthony M. Dawson. It's dubbed into English but most of the actors were speaking in English anyway, and there's no subtitles. Seven Deaths is a very good gothic giallo that deserves to be seen by all fans of the genre, and despite it being a genre that often had strange things going on, this is one of the strangest out there. It probably didn't need the vampire or gorilla parts in the film as it's only ever hinted at, but it's still a great little movie and one of Antonio Margheriti's best.

I can’t stress enough how boring this movie is, more talky ridiculous dialogue, absolutely laughable, a guy running around in a gorilla suit who by the way is described as an urangutan, boring tedious constant roaming around the castle, embarrassing performances throughout, the cat was the best actor in it. Why bother releasing such unadulterated crap, never again will I sit through anymore early Italian giallo, unless it has been directed by the wonderful Argento. Felt as if I needed medication after sitting through this appalling time wasting rubbish.

Creepy gothic chiller including rats, bats, secret passages, and a maniac creeping around the place trimming the guests one by one. The castle, and crypt area are quite eerie. 88 films picture quality is great. It stars Jane Birkin and Anton diffring. There's not much nudity or gore. Definitely worth viewing

Interesting atmosphere, good giallo.

Creepy gothic visuals meets family secrets, murder mystery, and Jane Birkin's beauty. One of the lesser-known highlights in the giallo scene. Recommended.