Killer Nun

I have long wanted to see Killer Nun. The basic premise of a psychotic nun, plus the promise of some naughty goings-on in the convent, appealed to my baser instincts. I'd also heard it had some kind of 'cult' status. This isn't always a sign of quality, but usually means a film with an interesting style.

I regret to say this film isn't even bad enough to be good or funny, it's just a mess. What could have been suspenseful or thrilling is simply thrown away by poor character development and wooden acting (although the crude English dubbing doesn't help). Some situations are frankly unbelievable, such as Sister Gertrude having a 'day out' as a hard-drinking swinger before returning to her cell with an illicit stock of morphine. As for eroticism, I would have expected rather more than some very brief nudity, even in 1978.

To cap it all the ending is unforgivably confused - who *was* the killer nun? Unfortunately I can't bear to sit through this again to find out.

Killer Nun is a crossover between two of sleaze cinema's most popular subgenres; the graphically titled 'nunsploitation' and the more popular Italian thriller known as Giallo. I can't say I'm very experienced with the former, but I'm a big fan of the latter; and the fact that this film was a part of the Video Nasty list back in the eighties ensured that I had enough reason to see it. As a Video Nasty, this film isn't all that good and is unfortunately one of the more tame entries on the list, and to be honest; I can't see a good reason for banning it, other than the obvious implications of a nun taking it upon herself to begin killing people. As a Giallo, this film isn't all that good either - as there isn't a lot of mystery going on, and the murders aren't too imaginative. However, as a slice of sleaze; this film works a treat! The plot follows a nun who finds herself addicted to morphine after having an operation on a brain tumour. However, this isn't the most dangerous element of her psyche; as the patients at the hospital she works at believe that she is behind a series of murders!

The film clearly knows what its main strengths are, and director Giulio Berruti delights in showing things such as lesbianism and torture to his audience. The idea of one of God's disciples going around murdering people isn't the most original idea ever conceived, but it's well worked as the film always appears to be completely serious and manages to stay away from the comic book styling's of many Giallo, which would ultimately have harmed the film. Cult actress Anita Ekberg takes the lead role and delivers a strong performance, which despite not winning her any plaudits; works well in the context of the movie, and she does carry off the nun look well. Joe Dallesandro joins in the fun, and the rest of the unknown cast are good enough for this sort of film. The lesbian scenes in the movie are well done and actually rather erotic, thereby guaranteed to delight the movie's target audience. The plot is always secondary to the sleaze, and therefore isn't too interesting; but it plays out nicely, and while the ending isn't particularly strong; this is a good example of sleaze cinema and is recommended to the relevant people.

Far better than I remember thinking on my first viewing but that was a while ago and now I think of it one of my first in this field. Probably not a good one to encounter first because it really is such a strange one. Pretty surreal with nuns drifting down corridors, gowns splayed out behind and the dreams, imaginings and nightmares punctuated with goring killings and lusty couplings. Ekberg is fine but so is everybody and they all play weird so that this also helps to give the film an unreal feel even though it is firmly set in a convent and supposedly based upon a true case. A stand out moment is the crushing underfoot of the poor old lady diner's false teeth, as we cut from the vicious trampling to the squirming old lady, hands to her mouth. Music is pleasant enough and effective if a little derivative and if Dallesandro seems the most normal person on the screen that just goes to show something about this true one off.

Why on earth are most comments on this "Killer Nun" so exaggeratedly harsh? It's certainly true that this film differs immensely from all the other Nunsploitation-movies made previously, with a story that doesn't involve Satan-worshiping nuns for once and a remarkably lesser amount of graphic sex, but that doesn't mean it's inferior exploitation! On the contrary, I strongly believe the story of "Killer Nun" actually works for a change, since it's loosely based on a factual Belgian serial-killer case about a mentally unstable hospital-convent nurse who turns to murder after imagining an incurable disease. Actress Anita Ekberg, who I think she resembles Kathleen Turner, plays the respected sister Gertrude but she's no longer the devoted nurse/nun she used to be. She's convinced she has cancer, gets addicted to morphine and starts to do ungodly things, like mistreating her patients and even sexually provoking men as well as her young roommate. When some patients are found dead, even Mother Superior begins to doubt sister Gertrude. "Killer Nun" is atmospheric, but often very slow and admittedly the substance might be too scant to fill a whole horror movie with. Peculiar as well is that director Giulio Berruti hints at several controversial topics (lesbianism, masochism...) but eventually evades to show anything, and this is probably the reason why so many horror fans claim "Killer Nun" is a boring and eventless film. Nevertheless, this rare Italian exploitation gem features a terrific musical score as well as a handful of gory sequences (that were largely cut in post "video-nasties" versions). The acting is far above normal 70's euro-horror standards, with Ekberg, Joe Dallesandro and beauty Paola Morra all in great roles. As far as I'm concerned, this is a good and underrated film!

a very, very silly film. not once will you feel horror or revulsion (unless you are the sensitive type or a nun) but you may smirk, and you may laugh and you may even find yourself cheering on dear old sister gertrude as she goes on her rampage of false teeth destruction, morphine addiction, random sex and abuse and an extreme misuse of stockings. somehow this all ties together in a film which is somewhat cohesive, quite impressively directed for the most part, beautifully scored, very well acted and just generally entertaining. certainly not for everybody though, you do have to have a slightly bent idea of entertainment or at least enjoy cinema on the edge, on the edge of what, im not quite sure. over all, an enjoyable psychodrama with a touch of taboo.