Die toten Augen des Dr. Dracula

I was fortunate to see the original Italian version of 'Kill, Baby..Kill!' last night, with subtitles and not dubbing. Some of the dubbed versions of 60s and 70s European horror movies available, by Bava, Argento, Franco, Rollin and other notable directors, are badly done and make the movies seem silly and amateurish, so I was very glad to see this in its original language. I don't think this movie is as impressive as Bava's classic 'Black Sunday', but it is an excellent Gothic chiller full of atmosphere and style. Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, from the underrated Vincent Price post-apocalyptic thriller 'The Last Man On Earth', plays a doctor sent to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died mysteriously. The villagers are cagey and uncooperative, and he soon finds himself in the middle of similar unexplained deaths which seem to have some connection with the nearby Villa Graps. The lovely Erika Blanc ('The Devil's Nightmare') plays the doctor's love interest, and the sexy Fabienne Dali a local witch. Martin Scorsese has admitted that this movie was an inspiration for one sequence in his 'The Last Temptation Of Christ', and Tim Burton is a card carrying Bava nut ('Sleepy Hollow' is as much a homage to Bava's work as that of Hammer studios). With each Bava movie I see I am further convinced he is quite possibly the most underrated director in movie history. Why he is not a household name is difficult to fathom. Put this one on your "must see" list, directly behind 'Black Sunday' and 'Lisa And The Devil'!

I wonder was Mario Bava ever head-hunted by Hammer? This film is so gorgeously shot, the set-designs so perfect, that the film has the look of a fairy-tale nightmare. The gorgeous art-direction serves the story, pacing and director's style very well. This is a very moody piece, that demands your patience and attention. It gave me goose-bumps and in one scene towards the end, made my blood turn cold.

The ghost of a dead child is doing the rounds in a small Carpathian village, killing the inhabitants, who are reluctant to speak about it when a coroner turns up to investigate. He ends running foul of the one in control of the ghost.

I really can't praise the cinematography, set-design and directing enough. This was my first time meeting Mario Bava, and I look forward to watching more of his work, and even watching this one again. The gothic horror is exceptionally done, finely complemented by the set-designs and imagery, that give a nightmare quality to it all.

the movie starts off wonderfully, a woman gets chased through the grounds of a villa, and jumps to her doom. Then a doctor shows up to do the controversial new medical procedure, the autopsy. The film pace suffers at this point, where the film is introducing characters. Once the film moves into the baroness's mansion, the film runs at full speed. The film gets insanely bizarre, with wonderful creepy imagery, such as graps' ghostly daughter, the repeating room, and the disturbing portrait of the daughter with a skull. The movie is gloomy, and downbeat, but the pace is wonderful at this point. This is one of the best movies bava made.

The people of a late 19th century European village are beginning to perish in incidents that could be accidents, suicides...or murders. A dedicated police inspector, Kruger (Piero Lulli), investigates the case, while calling in a doctor from out of town. Dr. Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) arrives to find a community full of frightened and deeply superstitious citizens, which frustrates the practical man of medicine. Dr. Paul even goes so far as to perform an autopsy on a young woman, a practice that these locals find to be abhorrent. In an odd touch, victims are found with gold coins placed inside their hearts.

The relatively simple story actually isn't hard to follow at all, and in fact much crucial plot information is conveyed through pure exposition. Still, when this exposition is so vividly delivered by such an eclectic cast, it's hard to complain too much. Master of the macabre Mario Bava does go overboard with his frequent zooming in on people and then zooming back out. Other than that, this is an engaging example of the whole Gothic horror genre, with Bava working at the peak of his abilities. As he demonstrated so stylishly in previous efforts such as "Black Sunday" and "Black Sabbath", Bava was expert at creating an otherworldly atmosphere. He's capably assisted by his set decorator, Alessandro Dell'Orco, and cinematographer, Antonio Rinaldi. Bava also helped with the lighting, uncredited. Carlo Rustichellis' music is excellent, and the sound design is another plus, with that infernal giggling helping to put us on edge.

The handsome Rossi Stuart is a jut jawed, stoic hero. Erika Blanc is beautiful and appealing as Monica Schuftan, who assists him with the autopsy. Gorgeous raven haired Fabienne Dali is intoxicating as Ruth, the local sorceress. Lulli, Luciano Catenacci, and Giovanna Galletti round out our interesting primary cast. One key casting decision is crucial in keeping the film somewhat off kilter.

The finale is over awfully quickly, but there's still a fair bit to recommend here. The sequence that takes place about a quarter hour from the end is the most striking of all.

Seven out of 10.

The American title suggests a serial killer knocking off bouffant-haired go-go dancers in a whiskey bar, but this is really a rather old-fashioned Gothic ghost story. Rossi-Stuart (resembling an auburn-haired Hugh O'Brian at times) plays a coroner, brought to a desolate village where citizens keep killing themselves, apparently against their own will. It seems that the place is cursed because of some long ago wrongdoings and now people are taking their turn at hurling themselves off of walls onto sharp fences or slicing their throats with rusty old weapons. Even more oddly, Rossi-Stuart finds gold and silver coins imbedded in the dead people's hearts! Before the victims commit their acts of suicide, they always see and hear a little girl in a frilly dress who laughs a lot and bounces a ball around. Blanc plays a young woman who has only recently returned to the village following a long tenure at school. She takes a particular interest in the situation and in the doctor when she's assigned to assist him in his autopsies. Also in the mix are a police inspector, a town official, a sorceress, an innkeeper and his daughter and a haunted-looking baroness. The actual plot of this film is pretty simple and straightforward despite the various odd touches and aspects of it. What makes it stand out for many people is the overriding atmosphere and the creativity of the direction. Much attention is paid to setting a mood. There are unnaturally colored lights throughout, heavily detailed sets, creative camera angles and a somewhat hypnotic musical score. These things, to some viewers, help make for a moody and haunting film experience. To other (possibly less patient) viewers, these make for an interminable and boring experience. Regardless of one's acceptance of all the atmospheric elements, the film does offer a few memorable and striking scenes. In one, Rossi-Stuart chases the little girl through room after room until he catches up with himself! Another makes exceptional use of a spiral staircase. It isn't easy, when watching a dubbed version of the film, to accurately gauge the acting, but overall it seems rather solid. This film (along with others by it's director Mario Bava) has influenced and inspired many filmmakers in their own works (amongst them Martin Scorcese and David Lynch.) The deranged baroness (Vivaldi) is clearly a template for Grace Zabriskie in David Lynch's TV series "Twin Peaks". Much of the business of the film has since been cribbed and reworked, so it doesn't always come off as particularly startling now, but that's hardly the fault of the creators, who were among the first to utilize the various ideas. Fans of vintage horror should find themselves entertained for its relatively brief running time.