Sieben Tote in den Augen der Katze

Like any decent Italian director of good old times, Antonio Margheriti made movies of every genre imaginable: war movies, horror movies, crime/giallo movies, sword and sandal movies (Ursus!), spy and sci-fi movies, Spaghetti westerns. Surprisingly, I realized these days that I do know mostly his works he did under his pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson. As Mr. Dawson he directed some fine cheesy action pieces and pleasures of my youth like Commando Leopard, The Commander and Code Name: Wild Geese, and a fine B-movie Spaghetti western starring Lee Van Cleef - Take a Hard Ride.

With La morte negli occhi del gatto aka Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes Mr. Margheriti put his feet on the ground of Gothic horror and giallo movies - one could dare to say that the movie is mostly a mix of both genres. The strongest feature of Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes are for sure the visuals - the setting is a fine looking Gothic castle/manor, housing a greedy and half-mad plotting family, on top we get Jane Birkin shining in all her beauty. What else? The cast works solid, here and there we get a shot of erotic quality and a little murdering business is done too. Sounds not too bad? Sadly, the movie does not reach its full potential, and I guess mostly to blame is the timing/composition of the story unfolding: somehow the movie never gets in full steam mode and just bobs along. Some detours fragment the plot without adding any good, not sculpted to the point, so to say. In short: the story can't keep up with the visual qualities and acting of the cast and is without doubt the weakest link in the chain. With the same production and cast but with a better composed script this could have been a fine movie, maybe even a classic. Final verdict: all in all not too bad, but for sure no must-watch. The best I can say about Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes is that it got eye-candy quality and provides some nostalgia - so if you are in the mood or need for some Gothic vibes you may give this one a try.

"La morte..." has all the ingredients of a horror movie, but isn't one. It tells the story of Corringa (Jane Birkin) who arrives at a castle to meet her relatives. Soon after, several people are murdered, and the only witness is a cat - who unfortunately cannot tell anything, but is mentioned in the movie title, anyway ;-). Tales about vampires are told, candles are flickering, Corringa has strange nightmares, while rats discover another corpse in the dark cellar - you get the picture, it's as gothic as gothic can be. Director Margheriti ("E Dio disse a Caino") and cinematographer Carlini ("Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide") shared the same stylistic obsession, it seems. The castle is full of scary details, and they put it to the best use. One direct quote from "Once Upon A Time In the West", unexpectedly, with Hiram Keller and Jane Birkin replaying Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale, try if you can discover it. This little-known movie was a pleasant surprise for me, as I have watched a couple of really bad movies from the same director (but good ones, too). "La morte..." has atmosphere, tension, baroque visuals. It's got a lot more in common with Hammer Draculas than the usual 70s Italian slasher flicks.

A ravenous beast alllegedly slaughters people in a small Scottish village. And at a nearby castle appear more murdered bodies, and suspects fall upon the inhabitants. At the mysterious castle arrives a young student, Jane Birkin, to find her mother. As the strange residents are haunted by a bizarre curse involving a rare cat and a killer gorilla. Who is the murderer.. ...perhaps a suspicious servant : Luciano Pigozzi nicknamed Allan Collins or the Italian Peter Lorre, a strange young : Hiram Keller, a lecherous doctor : Anton Driffing , a priest : Franco Ressel, a beautiful girl : Doris Kunstmann, or Lady Alicia : Dana Ghia, or Father Robertson : Venantino Venantini. Later on, a police inspector, Serge Gainsbourgh-in real life married to Jane Birkin- investigates the weird deeds. Death means nothing to the beast with nine lives.This flick reveals a little known fact about felines.

Terror movie based on a novel by Peter Bryan, in which mingles ordinary Italian Giallo with Gothic horror, taking parts here and there of these genres. Creepy movie packs thrils, chills, eerie details , baroque scenarios , gore and blood. The plot is plain and simple, in a small Scottish village terrible killed corpses keep showing up, and suspicion falls on the residents of a nearby chateau. This is a very dark tale of killings with a fantastic horror backdrop and so-so filmmaking from Anthony M Dawson. It stars the beautiful Jane Birkin, she is well-suited for the role of a young girl who finds horrible happenings. Adequate cinematography by Carlo Carlini, shot on location in Castello Massimo Arsoli, Rome and Incir de Paolis, Rome, Lazio. And frightening and thrilling musical score by the prolific Riz Ortalani.

The motion picture was professionally directed by terror expert Antonio Margheritti, though it displays some failures and flaws. Antonio often used pseudonym Anthony M Dawson, he was born in Italy 1930 and passed away in 2002 . Italian writer director of horror and exploitation films, a former university engineering student who began shooting in 1956. Antonio directs with ordinary aplomb and being especially known for films as Yor, Virus and Horror castle. He was specialist in model-making, optical effects , FX, miniature as floods, scale models and explosions . He directed all kinds of genres such as wartime :The last hunter, Tornado, Codename Wild geese, Der Commander, Command Leopard . SCIFi :War of planets , Planet of the prowl, Criminal of the galaxy, Yor the hunter from the future, Treasure planet . Spaghetti Western as Joko, Dynamite Joe, The stranger and the gunfighter, Take a hard ride, Ghosts go west, Joe implacable, God said to Cain. Terror as Virgin of Nuremberg, Cannibal Apocalypse, Alien from deep, Flesh for Frankenstein. Action :Operation Goldman, Indio, The squeeze, Cyberflic. Rating :5.5/10. Acceptable and passable.

"Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye" is a great giallo from the director of "School Girl Killer"(1968)and "The Virgin of Nuremberg"(1963),among others.A series of savage and gory killings take place in a Scottish castle...all watched,with a lazy eye,by a cat.A young schoolgirl Corringa(Jane Birkin)tries to discover some of the castle's secrets.Antonio Margheriti adapted this Gothic chiller from a novel by Peter Bryan.The film is very atmospheric and there's enough suspense to make fans of Italian horror happy.There are some stylish cut throat razor killings and plenty of Gothic elements(everything from hidden doors leading to bat infested,cobwebbed corridors to family curses).Check it out.Highly recommended.

"Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye" (1973) is a very unusual kind of giallo film, taking place as it does not in modern times, but rather in what appears to be the early 20th century. Is it a giallo or is it a Gothic murder mystery with a high body count? I suppose the answer must be "Who cares?" when a picture is as fun as this one. The film shows us what happens when the young, pretty Corringa (Jane Birkin) returns to her aunt's ancestral Scottish castle of Dragonstone after an extended absence; namely, a series of increasingly bizarre murders amongst the oddball inmates of the house. The picture combines some slightly graphic homicides (you know how many, and which household pet witnesses them, from the film's title, right?) with vampire lore, some hinted-at lesbianism, a maddened orangutan (who looks like a "Jungle Jim" gorilla), ravenous rats, bats, secret passageways, cemetery exploits, and incest to make one wild and heady melange. The film also features stylish direction by Antonio Margheriti, as well as gorgeous set decoration (the picture is very handsomely produced) that is shown to good advantage on this stunning-looking DVD from Blue Underground (although it's a shame that no subtitles option is offered). And how nice to see Anton Diffring, whose performance in 1960's "Circus of Horrors" so impressed me, here again playing another suave slimeball! As regards the potential viewer of "Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye" and his or her ability to guess the identity of the killer, my advice would be to not even try. Just emulate the titular tabby, sit back and enjoy the show!