Der Satan ohne Gesicht

This Giallo came somewhat early in the cycle, and these days is near on impossible to find. The film takes place in and around an old castle and the story focuses on the classic idea of people being killed for an inheritance. La Bambola di Satana is directed by Ferruccio Casapinta, who it has to be said, does a really fine job in terms of the style and atmosphere. The production values are very good and the director makes effective use of his setting and the castle itself is stylishly presented. However, the story is not always so interesting and that's what ultimately brings the film down. The plot focuses on Elizabeth; a young girl that returns to her family home for the reading of her uncle's will. However, upon arriving at the castle; she is introduced to some strange people and told of the various legends surrounding the place. It's not long before Elizabeth starts to have some strange experiences and she soon realises that this all has to do with her claiming her inheritance, and begins to investigate.

The film stars Erna Schürer, who is great in the lead role. Her look suits the style of the film like a glove; and the fact that she's very easy on the eyes is a major bonus. The plot of the film is basically good; but the way it's presented isn't. It's all rather choppy and can be hard to follow at times; which makes the film rather tedious. Director Ferruccio Casapinta (this his only film credit) also takes on the 'less is more' view in terms of the murders, and despite the fact that a few characters are killed; the film is practically bloodless, which is a shame - especially considering the rather cruel Blood and Black Lace that was released five years before this film. The music is rather nice, however; Franco Potenza's score is weird and disorientating, creating a nice atmosphere. The film also features a few torture scenes; but again, they are not particularly brutal. It all boils down to a well worked, if rather confusing ending. Overall, this is worth a look but really isn't one of the best Giallo's I've seen and is for fanatics only.

(1969) The Doll of Satan/ La bambola di Satana (In Italian with English subtitles) THRILLER/ MYSTERY

Co-written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta that has a young man being scolded by a servant, Edward (Manlio Salvatori) and then by governess, Miss Carol (Lucie Bomez) for bringing groceries late before some place else viewers see an old man being dragged away. We then see a niece, Elizabeth Ball Janon (Erna Schurer) coming to visit to a castle after finding out she is the last remaining relative after her uncle's recent unfortunate departure. At this point viewers are oblivious how he died, he is just is. And coming along with Elizabeth is her fiance, Jack Seaton (Roland Carey) and a couple of friends of theirs of Blnache (Beverley Fuller) and Gérard (Giorgio Gennari), and a friend of the family, Mr Shinton (Domenico Ravenna). Meanwhile, Elizabeth already got a buyer interested into buying the castle as he has a villa next door, his name is Paul Reynaud (Ettore Ribotta). And sometime during the night, Elizabeth's drink gets spiked so that she can get assaulted by the unknown intruder, viewers often wonder how come her fiance is not sleeping in the same room with her. Living in the castle with them is mentally disturbed, Jeanette (Teresa Ronchi) and a painter, Miss Claudine (Aurora Batista).

I agree with one reviewer who said it was like watching a Scooby Doo cartoon, but only some parts of it since the ending ended up with the bad buy wearing a mask that happened in many of the cartoons, and that their was a reason for the main bad guy for wanting to own the castle that has valuable minerals that is buried underneath it. But spiking a lady's drink with the bad guy continuing to assault her would not be like the cartoon at all and the nude scenes of Elizabeth;s breats. And for some weird coincidence both were released on the same year, except that "The Doll of Satan" was released months before the first Scooby Doo cartoon had aired.

Better movie than I would have expected. A plot that is all in all decent and decently managed. There has been a bit of action and fear in this mystery story that has what it takes to carve out its niche of fans.

Haha this Giallo is literally Scooby Doo. There's even a dog, it's fantastic.

The Doll of Satan is a surprisingly strong and atmospheric Italian film from the late 1960s that is, in all honesty, semi-Giallo, semi-horror.

I strongly recommend this movie based on the aesthetics alone, which are very well done. It is one of the easier mysteries to solve in my experience (Giallos often "cheat" just like Agatha Christie mystery novels, with many twists and red herrings to confuse the audience - however, that's part of the fun). But the overall presentation and execution of the story are excellent for an earlier Giallo from a minor director.

La bambola di Satana is kind of a hidden gem, and available in Italiano on streaming.

With a cob-webbed plot creakier than Miss Marple's bowling shoes, and a deliciously Scooby Doo'd twist, director Ferruccio Casapinta's audacious hybrid of Gothic black-gloved giallo, and pulpy Edgar Wallace castle-set calamity proves to be a bit of a camp classic in spite of itself! While nowhere near as phantasmagorically perverse as, Polseli's 'Black Magic Rites!', or Bianchi's sleazy 'Satan's Baby Doll', it has a engagingly skewed Gothic vibe many Euro-schlock seekers may find irresistible! Distractingly perky blonde Elizabeth Ball Janon (Erna Schurer) inherits a forbidding castle estate worthy of Frederick Usher himself, and even before the delectable Schurer has sinuously slinked into her slinkiest of nighties, some sinister, castle-creeping creep has slipped poor Elizabeth a mickey, and she suffers the most terrible visions, her S&M tormented think sponge begins to soak up all these saucy shenanigans as some prototypically elusive Giallo misfit attempts to surreptitiously snuff out all the guests; but just who is the shadow stalking snuffer, and what exactly might their murderous agenda be?

'La Bambola Di Satana' aka 'The Doll of Satan' is a wickedly warped, captivatingly kitsch whodunnit, while ultimately a little tame, its satanic nature, no less diminutive than petite scream dream Schurer, but Ferruccio Casapinta's swinging sixties, ominously outlandish, pop-gothic mystery, with its en suite, fully loaded torture chamber, hot and cold running lunatics, 24hr meth lab, conveniently located burial plots, and tantalizingly torrid terror plots guarantees your shuddersome stay in the hysterically horror-haunted Ball Janon castle will be a far from uneventful experience! Beguilingly steeped in kinky atmosphere, this endearingly quirky 60s Italian creepshow is certainly not without its charming eccentricities, and the fabulously funky, ear-wormingly groovy score by Franco Potenza is one of the more maddeningly compelling aspects to Casapinta's vastly underappreciated, sweetly sadistic Gothic fantasy.