Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota

Gilles (Paul Naschy) takes a job on a farm with three sisters, one (Eva León) of whom is trying very hard to get next to him. To complicate matters, a new nurse (Inés Morales) arrives to take care of one of the sisters, and she is very attractive.

Nicole (León) manages to bed him first, only to get locked in her room at night by her hateful older sister Claude (Diana Lorys) But, it isn't long before he Claude in bed.

Meanwhile, someone is killing women and stealing their eyes.

Suspicion falls on Gilles after it is found that he is an ex-con. But is he guilty? A fascinating Spanish giallo that will keep you guessing.

Certain movies put you at ease and make you feel confident right from the first sequences. "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" opens with moody and enchanting yet remotely ominous musical tunes as Paul Naschy is drifting across a remote and desolate countryside. If you're into 70's and European-made exploitation movies, you know right away this is the ideal intro for a film like this. Naschy – the star and writer and director of numerous movies like this – plays an ex-convict arriving in a secluded house occupied by three eccentric and suspiciously behaving sisters. One is lustful and promptly shows a sexual interest in the new arrival, the second one is wheelchair bound and remains out of sight and the oldest sister (with an impressively mutilated arm) is the bossy and arrogant leader of the pack. With the arrival of yet another ravishing woman – a private nurse to look after the ill sister – Gilles is completely surrounded by lurid women that may not be as defenseless and innocent as they look. One of the more apt and enticing titles of this movie is "House of Psychotic Women"; which gives a slightly more accurate though sadly exaggerated indication of what to expect. Or at least what to expect during the first half! Parallel with the sexual escapades in the mansion, there's a sadistic killer on the loose in town, exclusively prowling for girls with blond hair and bright blue eyes that he/she cuts out and collects in a jar. The perverted killer sub plot, with its vile gore and misogynist violence, makes "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" also qualify as a bona fide Giallo next to being a sleazy early 70's Euro-sexploitation feature. It's not the greatest Giallo, since the relevance of the murders in connection with the events at the mansion remains too vague and develops quite late, but it does guarantee a suspenseful and blood-soaked third act. Like the case with so many movies in this genre, it's far more amusing if you don't even bother paying attention to the complete absence of logic and coherence. Enjoy the bloodshed, the fantastic score (courtesy of Juan Carlos Calderón), Naschy's testosterone-laden charisma, the sickening killings and – of course – the various offerings of gratuitous nudity!

Since I have been a great fan of the late Spanish Horror/Exploitation legend Paul Naschy for many years now, and the Italian Giallo is (along with Gothic Horror) my favorite Horror/Suspense sub-genre, I have long been anticipating this film which is a Spanish Giallo starring Naschy. And I was not at all disappointed when I finally saw "Los Ojos Azules De La Muñeca Rota" aka. "Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll" (1973) recently, as this weird, sleazy and brutal little film truly delivers what we Naschy fans want to see. Directed by Carlos Aured, who, in the same year 1973, made two other, more widely known films starring (and co-written by) Naschy, "El Espanto Surge De La Tumba" ("Horror Rises From The Tomb") and "El Retorno De Walpurgis" ("Curse of the Devil"/"Return of the Werewolf"), "Blue Eyes of a Broken Doll" is a film that no Naschy fan should consider missing.

Naschy plays Gilles, an ex con, who gets employed as a handyman in a mansion owned by three very dissimilar sisters, Claude (Dina Lorys) who has a heavily scarred arm, the gorgeous nymphomaniac Nicole (Eva Léon), and the wheel-chair-bound Michelle (Inés Morales). Needless to say that he soon gets sexually involved with more than one of them. Around the same time, an unknown maniac is stalking the area, killing merely blonde teenage girls, and cutting out their blue eyes...

Though the plot may not always be logical (for ingeniously complex plotting, watch Italian Gialli from around the same time), it is wonderfully demented and the atmosphere is creepy from start to finish. The murders are gory and genuinely sadistic, and since this is a Naschy flick it is needless to say that there is sleaze and gratuitous female nudity (especially from the yummy Eva Léon). Naschy's charisma and unique screen-presence is great as always. Dina Lorys, Eva Léon and Inés Morales are great as the three sisters. Most of the films this great Spanish Horror icon was part of may not be masterpieces, but they are all entertaining, and have a certain inimitable charm that can only be found in Naschy films. Overall, this Spanish film may not be the prime example of brilliantly convoluted Giallo-plotting, but it is creepy, atmospheric, sleazy and incredibly entertaining stuff that none of my fellow Paul Naschy fans could possibly afford to miss! 7.5/10

Based upon a real life story that I'm not going to share here, in order to avoid obvious spoilers, "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" is perhaps one of the most unreasonably overlooked giallos ever made. I know this term is essentially meant to classify certain Italian horror and mystery movies, but whoever thinks other countries cannot produce decent giallos that can be equally entertaining and highly appreciated, is wrong. "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll", is perhaps one of the best examples to demonstrate this, without actually emulating some of the most distinguished giallos that were released back then. As a matter of fact, it seems that director Carlos Aured, was clever enough to avoid the cliché of putting the name of an animal on the title. Many other directors were inclined to do so, during the giallo profusion that took place during the 1970s. No big deal, after all, but I just thought it would be fair to comment on this little detail as well.

In "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll", an ex-convict named Gilles, tries to start a new life by taking refuge in a small town of the French border. Regardless of the people's aloofness, he stays around to find a job in this new place. Claude, on the other hand, is a beautiful woman with an orthopedic hand, who lives in a big gloomy house in the outskirts with her two eccentric sisters, Yvette and Nicole. Gilles starts working at Claude's house as a handyman and simultaneously, a mysterious nurse called Michelle arrives to take care of Yvette, who is crippled and has to be under constant surveillance. Concurrently, young girls begin to appear brutally murdered out of the blue and the police have no clue about what is going on. All the victims share certain parallels, like, having blue eyes and light-colored hair, but it seems like there's nothing else to tie them with each other. The only thing that matches perfectly with the sudden murders is the arrival of Gilles and Michelle to the old house. Everyone gossips about the former convict, but Claude remains loyal to her secret love towards him and continues to give him shelter and a job no matter what. Unfortunately, Gilles has strange visions of himself murdering young women for no reason and struggles with himself to avoid doing something that he might regret later. As the days go by, the relationship between Gilles, Michelle and the three psychotic women becomes more and more tense each day and meanwhile, the mysterious killer keeps slaughtering beautiful girls out there.

To be honest, I was actually looking forward to something satisfying but in a less serious way. I assumed this was going to be some kind of mindless exploitation flick with lots of gore and pointless sex, lesbianism and a mildly predictable ending. Unexpectedly, I got a genuinely good product with a truly unexpected ending and a decent and yet moderate share of gore that somehow doesn't make the movie fit in the exploitation category. Not that I have anything against exploitation films. As a matter of fact, I also enjoy these films very much, but my point is that "Blue Eyes of the Broken Dolls", didn't fall into this less-respected category and it ended up being a charming giallo that has nothing to envy to the Italian ones. Frankly, I still cannot believe that being a film with Paul Naschy, there's no nudity or sex whatsoever. Especially if we keep in mind that these is a movie that has four attractive female character and a lusty man with all the ladies for himself. Of course, Mr. Naschy didn't miss the opportunity to appear shirtless and showing off his body all sweaty. It's alright, a little bit of vanity doesn't hurt anyone, I suppose. So concluding, I think this film will be highly regarded by anyone who is in the mood for a nice little giallo with a twisted ending and repetitive dancy music here and there.

A drifter (Paul Naschy) gets a job as a caretaker at a huge, country estate occupied by three beautiful sisters. Indeed, this caretaker quickly sets out to "take care" of each one of them with that irresistible Naschy charm and manliness, leading to much nudity and odd moaning.

Oh no!

Far from being just another soft core movie, there's a black-gloved killer on the prowl attempting to ruin everyone's fun. In the local village -mostly populated by gorgeous women- suspicions run high as police try to figure out who's been killing the many blonde lasses who walk alone at night.

Could the world's luckiest caretaker be to blame?

BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL is a solid, twisty tale of murder, revenge, and nakedness. With multiple red herrings, oddball characters, and an unfocussed soundtrack, this is a wild classic!

Watch immediately...