The Doll of Satan

As we all know by now, Italy has several million huge castles within its borders and all of them are either filled with soul dead hipsters bent on murdering each other, or incestuous siblings, or men in drag who murder women, or are just plain haunted by either Barbara Steele or someone related to her, or maybe Barbara Steele haunting herself. The Doll of Satan tries to mix up most of these elements to keep things going, but then forgets to add a bit of spice to the mix.

Elizabeth has just been bequeathed one of these huge castles by her late uncle and is heading there with her hipster boyfriend to check out what's going down. The lady in charge there, Claudine, seems to think that Elizabeth's uncle wanted to sell the house, which is all new to Elizabeth. Worse still, Claudine puts the willies up Elizabeth by telling her of the ghost of a past relative, also called Elizabeth, and that the ghost of her lover stills walks the walls of the castle. Oh, and by the way Elizabeth, have you noticed that new torture dungeon downstairs? Claudine got it from Ikea.

Throw in a mysterious lover for Claudine and a ton of dodgy characters up to something (a guy in a bar, a hippy lady who draws pictures in the countryside, a friendly neighbour who stops Elizabeth walking into quicksand (?)), a black gloved killer who doesn't really kill many people at all, some erotic dreams and an insane person kept in a locked room and you're really ticking a lot of boxes here. You're also taking a lot of time throwing all these details in and although the film looks great, it's kind of good but not great too.

The vengeful dog bit was great though! The film needed more eccentric bits like that. No giallo fan is going to hate this film, but then any casual viewers will probably end up wondering what the fuss is all about. If you're going to show you're granny this, as people often do with gialli ("Hey gran - let's watch Iguana with the Tongue of Fire!") DO NOT get this film mixed up with Satan's Baby Doll. That's one you'll want to watch on your own. With some Kleenex.

A courageous french dvd editor released this early rare giallo from 1969, and it's a nice surprise, a blend of moody giallo (black-leathered masked criminal, sexy Erna Shurer, tough Roland Carey, jazzy psychedelic score, moody photography, light erotic scenes), of gothic (light torture scenes) and pure amateurism. Yes amateurism, the director is completely unkown, the fabulous documentary on bonus tells us it is the director of photography Francesco Atteni who really directed, but he was a very minor technician with few movies in his filmography, like there were so many in Italy. Even if this "Bambola di Satana" hasn't got the level of early giallos by Mario Bava, Romolo Guerrieri (with Caroll Baker), Umberto Lenzi (again with Caroll Baker, unforgettable) or Emilio Miraglia, it still suits for giallo fans.

Italian gothic horror/suspense, written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta (his sole directing credit). Elizabeth (Emma Costantino, here as 'Erna Schürer') inherits a castle in the Italian countryside following the unexpected death of her uncle. When she arrives she meets the house administrator/former assistant to her uncle, Miss Carol (bespectacled hottie Lucie Bomez), who informs her that shortly before his death her uncle had decided to sell the castle, and that Paul Renaud - the owner of a neighbouring villa - had expressed an interest. Miss Carol also tells Elizabeth that the castle is said to be haunted by an ancestor, who can sometimes be heard in the night calling for his lost love - who was also called Elizabeth. Although initially reluctant to sell, a series of seemingly supernatural events - including the ghostly calling of her own name at night - begin to change Elizabeth's mind, as well as cause her to start doubting her own sanity.

Although promoted as a horror, an anonymous, black-gloved killer also hints at the giallo wave to come. The location (actually two real castles near Rome) and sets are fantastically atmospheric, and the supernatural happenings and visions are pretty effective. Some of the dialogue is a bit clumsy, although that may be down to the English subtitles. And the fight choreography is weirdly inconsistent, with one character who's 'ordinary bloke' one minute, suddenly able to fight like a cross between Douglas Fairbanks and Jason Bourne (I was expecting some reveal to explain this, but no). But the cast are pretty good, one death towards the end involving a dog and an implement of ancient warfare is pretty damn awesome, and saying Emma Costantino and Lucie Bomez are easy on the eye is a criminal understatement.

This would make a fun double-bill with The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. Some topless nudity. 7/10.

Better movie than I would have expected. A plot that is all in all decent and decently managed. There has been a bit of action and fear in this mystery story that has what it takes to carve out its niche of fans.

Haha this Giallo is literally Scooby Doo. There's even a dog, it's fantastic.

The Doll of Satan is a surprisingly strong and atmospheric Italian film from the late 1960s that is, in all honesty, semi-Giallo, semi-horror.

I strongly recommend this movie based on the aesthetics alone, which are very well done. It is one of the easier mysteries to solve in my experience (Giallos often "cheat" just like Agatha Christie mystery novels, with many twists and red herrings to confuse the audience - however, that's part of the fun). But the overall presentation and execution of the story are excellent for an earlier Giallo from a minor director.

La bambola di Satana is kind of a hidden gem, and available in Italiano on streaming.