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'!