User reviews

This Gothic horror/Giallo hybrid doesn't seem to be all that well-regarded but, having read a couple of reviews before actually viewing it (I had by-passed the Blue Underground DVD because of the absence of the Italian-language track but managed to acquire the film regardless through other sources), I became quite intrigued by some of the bizarre elements incorporated into the script. To get back to the language factor for a bit: actually, the print on display was mostly in English (which, to be fair, is fitting – given the Scottish setting of the tale) but it reverted to Italian for four brief scenes which, presumably, were omitted from export versions.

Having watched the film for myself, I must say that I liked it quite a bit: Margheriti was perhaps the most erratic of the triumvirate of directors who gave the genre an identity in Italy (the others being, of course, Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava) – however, this turned out to be a pretty solid effort all round. For one thing, it's an absolute treat for the eyes – the Gothic atmosphere is really laid on thick here (when it comes to both interiors and exteriors), and the whole is accompanied by a moodily effective score from the ever-reliable Riz Ortolani. Peter Bryan wrote the novel on which the film was based: having himself contributed to a number of scripts for Hammer horror titles, it doesn't take much to visualize this as one of their own products – since that famed genre brand-name alternated between Gothic-styled fare and modern thrillers (usually with a similar attempt to prevent the heroine from laying her hands on a family inheritance at its center) – albeit with a more adult approach typical of the country and the era.

Margheriti managed to assemble a splendid international cast: British Jane Birkin as the lovely heroine Corringa (also the name of the source novel), American Hiram Keller (as the current and predictably mad lord), Germans Anton Diffring and Doris Kunstmann (as, respectively, the shady doctor and luscious teacher ostensibly employed for Keller's rehabilitation), French Serge Gainsbourg (Birkin's former husband and frequent collaborator, as the somewhat eccentric police inspector looking into the titular murders) and Italians Venantino Venantini (as the new parish priest) and Luciano Pigozzi (as the custodian of the castle grounds). Some of the more unusual plot points involve: Diffring being romantically involved with both Keller's mother and the French teacher (though the film's erotic quotient is disappointingly mild); Kunstmann is actually a bisexual and, at one point, attempts to seduce Birkin – unsurprisingly, this proved to be one of the 'deleted' scenes (though the fling is over before it has even begun!); Birkin and Keller, then, start off on the wrong foot but end up bonding – and, eventually, lovers (despite being first cousins)!

Gore is present via images of corpses being devoured by rats and a succession of throat-slashings, while the identity of the killer turns out to be quite a revelation. The narrative does, however, feature a couple of red herrings in the rather unconvincing element of vampirism (via a family legend which 'afflicts' Birkin's deceased mother – though, for good measure, the heroine herself runs into a clutch of bats while inspecting the castle dungeons) and the even more baffling presence of an ape in the house, with which very little is actually done after all! On the other hand, the titular furry feline is very cute and agreeably enigmatic – contriving somehow to be present at the scene of each and every murder, hence SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE.

Atmospheric and with some decent performances but this gets lost in it's own complicated Ten Little Indians story. Nice touch with the creepy looking cat arriving to herald each killing but it's not enough. It's all rather slow and uninvolving (till the end) but it's interesting to see a young Birkin and I'm sure I've never seen Serge to looking so young. Inconsistent to say the least, this seems to drag because there is not enough to hold the attention. Not unlike a lesser Hammer production in this respect which to some extent it does resemble. Musical score all over the place too and this doesn't help. So, very average, great poster though reproduced on the DVD cover!

"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!

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.

A ravenous beast alllegedly slaughters people in a small Scottish village. And at a nearby castle appear more murdered bodies, and suspects fall upon the inhabitants. At the mysterious castle arrives a young student, Jane Birkin, to find her mother. As the strange residents are haunted by a bizarre curse involving a rare cat and a killer gorilla. Who is the murderer.. ...perhaps a suspicious servant : Luciano Pigozzi nicknamed Allan Collins or the Italian Peter Lorre, a strange young : Hiram Keller, a lecherous doctor : Anton Driffing , a priest : Franco Ressel, a beautiful girl : Doris Kunstmann, or Lady Alicia : Dana Ghia, or Father Robertson : Venantino Venantini. Later on, a police inspector, Serge Gainsbourgh-in real life married to Jane Birkin- investigates the weird deeds. Death means nothing to the beast with nine lives.This flick reveals a little known fact about felines.

Terror movie based on a novel by Peter Bryan, in which mingles ordinary Italian Giallo with Gothic horror, taking parts here and there of these genres. Creepy movie packs thrils, chills, eerie details , baroque scenarios , gore and blood. The plot is plain and simple, in a small Scottish village terrible killed corpses keep showing up, and suspicion falls on the residents of a nearby chateau. This is a very dark tale of killings with a fantastic horror backdrop and so-so filmmaking from Anthony M Dawson. It stars the beautiful Jane Birkin, she is well-suited for the role of a young girl who finds horrible happenings. Adequate cinematography by Carlo Carlini, shot on location in Castello Massimo Arsoli, Rome and Incir de Paolis, Rome, Lazio. And frightening and thrilling musical score by the prolific Riz Ortalani.

The motion picture was professionally directed by terror expert Antonio Margheritti, though it displays some failures and flaws. Antonio often used pseudonym Anthony M Dawson, he was born in Italy 1930 and passed away in 2002 . Italian writer director of horror and exploitation films, a former university engineering student who began shooting in 1956. Antonio directs with ordinary aplomb and being especially known for films as Yor, Virus and Horror castle. He was specialist in model-making, optical effects , FX, miniature as floods, scale models and explosions . He directed all kinds of genres such as wartime :The last hunter, Tornado, Codename Wild geese, Der Commander, Command Leopard . SCIFi :War of planets , Planet of the prowl, Criminal of the galaxy, Yor the hunter from the future, Treasure planet . Spaghetti Western as Joko, Dynamite Joe, The stranger and the gunfighter, Take a hard ride, Ghosts go west, Joe implacable, God said to Cain. Terror as Virgin of Nuremberg, Cannibal Apocalypse, Alien from deep, Flesh for Frankenstein. Action :Operation Goldman, Indio, The squeeze, Cyberflic. Rating :5.5/10. Acceptable and passable.

S10 Review: * * * / * * * * * Seven Deaths in a Cat's Eye is about a young and innocent school woman who comes home to her family's Scottish castle. She comes home to find many of strange thing's going about a veritable smörgåsbord of soap opera plots going on, her mothers in financial ruin and needs to sell the castle, a mentally unstable cousin with an equally unstable monkey pet, a live-in doctor trying to help the cousin while he messes around with the aunt, a French tutor who is more likely a French nympho and to top it off a killer trying to off everyone else. Good heady stuff in this giallo by Antonio Margheriti (Cannibal Apocalypse). Yeah the script is a bit soapy and takes a bit of it's own sweet time to get going but Seven Deaths in a Cat's Eye does is photographed very well and the music score excellent (by Riz Ortolani of Cannibal Holocaust fame). The acting is a bit tough to judge is dubbed fare but it does what it needs to with no major stinking on-board.

Antonio Margheriti, director of the enjoyably cheesy cult horror Cannibal Apocalypse, helms this Gothic-flavoured giallo starring gap-toothed 70s icon Jane Birkin (as well as her massive-conked French lover of the day, Serge Gainsbourg).

Unfortunately, despite the inclusion of such treats as a tasty bi-sexual French teacher and a terribly unrealistic killer orangutan, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye ends up a dreary mess which is a struggle to endure.

Pretty schoolgirl Corringa (Birkin) returns to her family's Scottish estate after many years away, only to discover that a maniac is murdering her relatives one by one. Using the whole array of 'spooky old house' tricks (hidden doorways, dark corridors, creepy graveyards, candlelit cobweb covered rooms), Margheriti cobbles together a confusing tale which at times promises supernatural goings-on, but ends up with a lame cop-out ending that is unimaginative in the extreme.

'And where exactly does the cat fit in to all of this?', I hear you ask. Well, a rather pudgy moggy witnesses each murder thus justifying Margheriti's rather cool sounding title.

'Gory, stylish fun' claims the DVD cover; 'Boring pile of dung' says I.

A nice Italian Gothic semi-giallo in which it is remarkable to see French singer Serge Gainsbourg play a Scottish speaking (dubbed) police-inspector. The next remarkable role is of course played by the beautiful Jane Birkin - well, not the role itself so much, but Birkin is. Hard to miss also (in a negative way) is that man in the monkey suit... who thought up that one?

Very pleasant camera-work (although some parts were a bit too dark), a highly effective soundtrack (Ortolani) and a beautiful setting in and around a Scottish castle (+ adjacent graveyard) make this a thoroughly enjoyable feat. But, as often is the case with many Italian films like these, the story is quite far fetched, and that gorilla did not help.

But, given the fact that there is also some naughtiness and gore to be enjoyed, my rating must at least be on the plus side.

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.

It happens sometimes that a film will prioritize some particular element, and what suffers as a consequence is the storytelling. I think in this instance famed filmmaker Antonio Margheriti was fastidiously intent on fashioning a dark atmosphere of mystery and unease, but alongside co-writer Giovanni Simonelli, he went about it in the wrong way. Multiple characters, loose and scattered plot development, blunt and tactless scene writing and dialogue, and vague and indistinct narrative are seemingly substituted for the macabre airs that would manifest naturally from more earnest efforts at film-making and storytelling. This is not to say that 'Seven deaths in the cat's eyes' is altogether awful, but the tale comes across as fragmented and disjointed, assembled somewhat haphazardly. As a result the tension, suspense, and thrills that the picture would and should carry are left to flit about sporadically, like fireflies illuminating the night at random.

I like the production design and art direction, and the filming locations are swell. I think the cast give capable performances. Any effects we see look good, primarily blood. I quite enjoy Riz Ortolani's score, tense and somewhat unsettling as it lends to the grim ambience about the feature. All the work from behind the scenes is quite fine. I don't know how much any of this matters when the narrative presents in a way so fractured, irregular, and unconvincing that as a result many inclusions feel downright arbitrary - and therefore overdone as a result. I've effectively checked out well before the climax, and it's a struggle to keep awake. As concise and promising as the premise is, in execution the result is an overwrought, troubled slog.

I trust that other people have gotten more out of this movie than I have. I don't completely hate it; I see what it could have been. In my opinion, however, the substance is trumped by style, and even the style is questionable. Watch it if you want; I think your time is better spent otherwise.

I like the cat, though.

"La morte..." has all the ingredients of a horror movie, but isn't one. It tells the story of Corringa (Jane Birkin) who arrives at a castle to meet her relatives. Soon after, several people are murdered, and the only witness is a cat - who unfortunately cannot tell anything, but is mentioned in the movie title, anyway ;-). Tales about vampires are told, candles are flickering, Corringa has strange nightmares, while rats discover another corpse in the dark cellar - you get the picture, it's as gothic as gothic can be. Director Margheriti ("E Dio disse a Caino") and cinematographer Carlini ("Ercole alla conquista di Atlantide") shared the same stylistic obsession, it seems. The castle is full of scary details, and they put it to the best use. One direct quote from "Once Upon A Time In the West", unexpectedly, with Hiram Keller and Jane Birkin replaying Henry Fonda and Claudia Cardinale, try if you can discover it. This little-known movie was a pleasant surprise for me, as I have watched a couple of really bad movies from the same director (but good ones, too). "La morte..." has atmosphere, tension, baroque visuals. It's got a lot more in common with Hammer Draculas than the usual 70s Italian slasher flicks.

A series of gruesome dispatches occur in an Italian castle. The family cat witnesses them. We cannot be too sure the cat is not in on the plot. Looks like anybody and everybody could be the culprit. Let us hope it is not someone that comes out of the closet at the last moment.

Right off I recognized the actress Jane Mallory Birkin who played Corringa; she was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2001. She was in Evil Under the Sun (1982.) So, I was intrigued to find her in this movie.

There were other actors that I could not believe they could afford in this movie such as Anton Diffring who played Dr. Franz. It took a second then I recognized him from Fahrenheit 451 (1966) where he played the Headmistress of a school.

This story has castles and tales of evil beings. What more could anyone want?

Turns out to be a cheap quickly written Italian who-dun-it. It looks like someone wanting to be the next "Hammer."

This would make a great school play, but it is too unprofessional in the dialog (English, Italian, French, German) and special effects, to hold one's attention for long.

I watched the DVD with the 8-minute interview with Co-Writer Giovanni Simpnelli where they were proud of making a movie on the cheap and had no idea how campy it could be.

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

Antonio Margheriti is probably most famous among cult horror fans for his Gothic horror films, The Virgin of Nuremberg and Danse Macabre; and so it is fitting that his foray into the Giallo sub-genre is decidedly more Gothic than most. The film takes influence from a wide range of sources, one of which is shown by the central location; an old castle, not unlike any number of haunted house tales. There's also a set of characters, giving the plot a make-up not unlike that of any number of whodunits - and of course, the cat of the title, which takes influence from the great Edgar Allen Poe - only this time we've got a great big ginger moggy rather than the black cats that we're used to. The film is far more atmospheric than many Giallo's, and as the focus is always on the atmosphere...the plot does suffer a little. The film takes place in a castle known as Dragonston, and we are soon introduced to a decrepit, rat-infested, corpse. From there, we move to the dinner table, where we are introduced to an array of characters, most notably the 'master' of the castle; a self-professed madman who keeps an insane gorilla as a pet!

It has to said that this film is a huge mess; we've got subplots creeping in from all the over the place, and they include the likes of vampirism, crossed-loyalties and even the animal of the title, all of which don't serve any relevance to the film by the time we reach the conclusion. The cat itself is present during almost all of the murder scenes, but it would appear to be in the film only for aesthetic value - which is fine by me. The lushly Gothic atmosphere that the central location presents is a real standout, and director Antonio Margheriti delights in showing gargoyles, cobwebbed corridors and ancient paintings, all of which help to ensure that the film is a macabre delight. The murders aren't the over the top stylish affairs directed by the likes of Dario Argento, but the razorblade that most of them are committed with harks back nicely to the traditional Giallo. It's always a bonus when you reach the conclusion of a Giallo and it makes sense, and while not everything is completely tied up here and the final twist feels a little tacked on; the reason behind the murders isn't as absurd as it could have been, and the revelation scene is one of the best things Margheriti ever directed. The film can be a bit slow in places, and the incoherency gets a little too much at times; but I really enjoyed this film, and wouldn't hesitate to name it as a standout of the genre.

This slow, plodding, uninvolving movie, is somehow mysteriously given if not high scores, than above average ones. But even those are pretty much an overpraising of the film. One thing you can't really say about the majority of the films in the Giallo genre is that the excel in plot, for they really don't and the aesthetics, atmosphere, and style are all far paramount to the substance. The best of these type of movies (the earlier Argento films, films of Bava, etcetera...) excelled greatly at this. But this film doesn't even get the atmosphere right and as such relies on the plot which is poor to say the least. It doesn't work in the least and you'll likely be bored to tears. Blue Underground does an excellent job on the transfer naturally as always, but that was way more than this forgotten movie that should have stayed so deserved.

My Grade: D Blue Underground

Blue Underground DVD Extras: Only an eight minute interview with co-writer Giovanni Simonelli

Right genres, wrong melting pot. This giallo-ish, hammer horror-y hybrid starts out like it might be worth watching, but before long in come endless drawn out sequences of scared characters wailing about in poorly lit corridors and basements with an overbearing soundtrack that gets more annoying by the minute playing over everything too loudly. Soon I couldn't figure out what was going on any more, and didn't care any more either. There are a couple of decent bits including a nicely eerie dream sequence, but it's not enough to save it from also-ran 70's cut price b-movie mediocrity.

The following year Anton Diffring would also star in the vaguely similar but vastly more entertaining werewolf/blaxploitation campfest The Beast Must Die.

A family gathers in a cliffside Scottish castle, only for some of them to fall victim to a killer wielding a straight razor. A feline happens to be on hand to witness each murder - hence the title - but naturally couldn't possibly say anything to anybody. Among the potential victims are Corringa (Jane Birkin), a not-so-innocent young woman, her mother, her aunt, her weirdo cousin James (Hiram Keller), and the shady Dr. Franz (Anton Diffring). Oh, and there also happens to be a former circus ape (!) on the grounds.

"Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye" is more in the style of Hammer pictures of the 1960s and 70s than the traditional Italian Giallo. It's certainly a very nice LOOKING picture, with opulent production design and impressive widescreen photography, and is given stylish guidance by prolific Italian filmmaker Antonio Margheriti. It's not as utterly trashy as some entries into the Giallo genre, preferring to go for a mostly old-style approach. It is spiced up a little bit with some sexual frankness and a few enjoyable doses of gore. But the story (Margheriti and Giovanni Simonelli scripted, based on a novel by Peter Bryan) doesn't offer anything truly interesting to the viewer. The reveal of the killers' identity may catch some people by surprise.

The cast is solid through all of it. Birkin is appealing, Keller and Diffring quite amusing, and the esteemed European actors and actresses also include Francoise Christophe, Venantino Venantini, Doris Kunstmann, Dana Ghia, Konrad Georg, Serge Gainsbourg, and Luciano Pigozzi.

Definitely atmospheric at times, with a particularly effective opening.

Six out of 10.

"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.