La morte negli occhi del gatto

This a strange movie. It was directed by Anthony Margheretti who specialized in Italian Gothic horror films, but it was made at the height of "yellow (giallo) fever" in the early 1970's. As a result it is kind of a strange cross between a 60's Gothic horror movie and a 70's giallo. It is set in a 19th century Scottish castle rather than in a more modern-day Rome fashion house,for instance, but it has both a number and an animal in the title(the calling card of a giallo) and it features a series of nasty murders right from the opening credits when a man is butchered and his body fed to rats in the cellar. It also has an ape wandering around through secret passages in the castle, which doesn't fit either the giallo or the Gothic horror genre but might be some kind of homage to Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in Rue Morgue". The story starts off when a young woman (Jane Birkin) returns home to her family's castle and is reunited with her neurotic mother, lecherous uncle, and angry young cousin (who owns the ape), and before long people start dying left and right. Oh yeah, there's also a cat wandering around who witnesses (some of) the murders, thus the title.

This was OK I guess, but I had a few problems with it. First, off they pretty much wasted the ape. If you're going to have an ape in your movie (or a man in an ape suit anyway) you should do more with him. Second, this is the only movie I've ever personally seen Jane Birkin in where she does NOT take her clothes off. As this made the movie significantly more boring I had a lot of time to ponder why this was and it finally occurred to me that she might have been pregnant with her daughter, the equally sexy actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, at the time. (And speaking of Gainsbourg, Serg Gainsbourg also has a cameo in this movie as a dubbed Scottish detective).

Finally, I was disappointed with the titular cat a little bit. It was kind of fluffy white cat like the one Blofeld is always stroking in James Bond movies. They should have used a more sinister black cat like the one named "Satan" that appeared in two gialli the previous year ("Gently Before She Dies" and "Crimes of the Black Cat"), but maybe he'd gone to kitty heaven or just refused to travel to Scotland (at least it wasn't a guy in a cat suit). Anyway, it seemed like they kind of forgot about the cat anyway towards the end. This was an alright movie, but it could have been better.

Quite standard Spaghetti slasher is nowhere near excellent, but also too far from awful to merit serious critical assault. The usual Gothic castle goings-on are given no special treatment here, and the psycho-killer's carnage is strictly PG on the shocks and gore board.

This film is, moreover, surprisingly atmospheric. The mossy, rustic exterior of the castle, as well as its rich baroque antique decorum, make for a great looking European horror setting. Too bad, though, that the film never really gains much momentum...I found myself looking around the room after the first 30 minutes. Fortunately, the fairly intense closing scenes make up heartily for these shortcomings.

SEVEN DEATHS is a watchable enough seventy-odd minutes, but if you're an unwaning viewer of connate movies, then chances are you've seen all this done before, and probably more successfully.

*** Were they feeding that cat bacon-wrapped tater-tots or something? That thing was a freakin' tank!

5/10

"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!

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.

"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.