Killer Nun (1979)
Studio: Blue Underground
Theatrical Release: May 10, 1979 (Italy)
Blu Ray Release: April 24, 2012
Director: Gilulio Berruti
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
What do you expect when you hear the title, "Killer Nun"? You expect pure sleaze, plenty of gore, lots of sex, the type of film you would never watch with ones parents. Blue Underground's newest blu ray of 1979's controversial Killer Nun may leave those of you expecting the goods a little disappointed. Sure, there is some nudity and a little bit of graphic violence, but the film is pretty tame by today's standards. However, Killer Nun is a pretty good film and well directed. I was almost taken back by the movie and thought, "How dare you for being a decent and watchable film!"
Killer Nun stars Anita Ekberg as Sister Gertrude, a woman who now in her late 40's is having some psychological issues and seems to be getting worse. Sister Gertrude works in a small hospital which seems to be more of a nursing home as most of the patients are elderly or disabled. Sister Gertrude has just gone through some sort of brain surgery and she dulls her pain by shooting up morphine which is causing her to go through these wild mood swings. While the good Sister tries her best to help others, certain things start setting her off such as an old woman who puts her dentures in a glass sof water at the diner table. The Sister takes them out and stomps on them in front of everyone, much to the cries of the old woman. She also starts to steal rings and trinkets from the patients and goes out into the city on her own, dressed seductively, selling the stolen items and using the money by treating herself to cognac at a bar while being seduced by a strange man (Killer Nun would make a good double feature with Bad Lieutenant).
The only person on the staff who tries to cover up Gertrude's antics is Sister Mathieu, a young nun who is secretly in love with Sister Gertrude. Sister Gertrude knows this and messes with the young nun by sleeping nude and playing mind games with the young gal. After Sister Gertrude gets the head doctor fired from the hospital, Dr. Roland (Andy Warhol regular Joe Dallesandro) is brought in and starts to figure out that Sister Gertrude is just nuts. When bodies start to turn up, its obvious that Sister Gertrude is behind the killings and needs to be stopped.
Anita Ekberg is fantastic in her role as the tortured nun. She can be cruel and also sympathetic at the same time. She is scary but yet one can't help but feel sorry for her as she does show remorse for some of the acts she pulls. The film would not have worked if Sister Gertrude was just this crazy bitch of a nun killing off the patients. She doesn't even believe she is doing anything wrong. The rest of the cast is fine but they don't hold a candle to Ekberg's performance. Paola Morra plays the lesbian nun Mathieu and when she isn't walking around naked, she is covering up after her 'friend' and crying most of the time. While the film is dubbed (it was made by Italians in Brussels) American actor Joe Dallesandro is also dubbed which just seems really strange. Maybe because I am so used to his Brooklynaccent in the Andy Warhol Dracula and Frankenstein films that I almost missed his odd line delivery.
Director Gilulio Berruti does a great job with the script and direction as he does build up some nice suspense and some creepy imagery (what was up with the brain surgery sequence mixed in with footage of Sister Gertrude hovering over a dead naked man?). I actually liked the sequence of the Sister giving herself morphine as if she is giving herself communion. With a running time of just 88 minutes, Killer Nun doesn't seem to drag even though there isn't a whole lot of action thanks to the interesting screenplay and fantastic lead performance.
As always, Blue Underground gives its fans another great transfer. I did notice this time that some shots seemed a bit blurry or grain-heavy. One outside sequence even seemed to be a little jumpy, which could be the source print but it was noticeable. I can't complain though because the rest of the film looked great and the mono sound was just fine and clear. I would have liked more extra features but the short interview with director Berruti is interesting and speaks about the films controversy with the Vaticanand how much he enjoyed working with Ekberg. Aside from that, photos and a trailer, Killer Nun could have used more special features (curious to see what Ekberg looks like now and her take on the film) but it is a small complaint.
While one would expect, especially with the blu ray cover and coming from Blue Underground, Killer Nun to be exploitation trash, it is a fairly well made film and a decent psychological thriller...if you can get past the dubbed voices and late 70's vibe (the bar that the Sister goes to is so hilariously dated and God-y...get it?).
Theatrical Release: May 10, 1979 (Italy)
Blu Ray Release: April 24, 2012
Director: Gilulio Berruti
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
What do you expect when you hear the title, "Killer Nun"? You expect pure sleaze, plenty of gore, lots of sex, the type of film you would never watch with ones parents. Blue Underground's newest blu ray of 1979's controversial Killer Nun may leave those of you expecting the goods a little disappointed. Sure, there is some nudity and a little bit of graphic violence, but the film is pretty tame by today's standards. However, Killer Nun is a pretty good film and well directed. I was almost taken back by the movie and thought, "How dare you for being a decent and watchable film!"
Killer Nun stars Anita Ekberg as Sister Gertrude, a woman who now in her late 40's is having some psychological issues and seems to be getting worse. Sister Gertrude works in a small hospital which seems to be more of a nursing home as most of the patients are elderly or disabled. Sister Gertrude has just gone through some sort of brain surgery and she dulls her pain by shooting up morphine which is causing her to go through these wild mood swings. While the good Sister tries her best to help others, certain things start setting her off such as an old woman who puts her dentures in a glass sof water at the diner table. The Sister takes them out and stomps on them in front of everyone, much to the cries of the old woman. She also starts to steal rings and trinkets from the patients and goes out into the city on her own, dressed seductively, selling the stolen items and using the money by treating herself to cognac at a bar while being seduced by a strange man (Killer Nun would make a good double feature with Bad Lieutenant).
The only person on the staff who tries to cover up Gertrude's antics is Sister Mathieu, a young nun who is secretly in love with Sister Gertrude. Sister Gertrude knows this and messes with the young nun by sleeping nude and playing mind games with the young gal. After Sister Gertrude gets the head doctor fired from the hospital, Dr. Roland (Andy Warhol regular Joe Dallesandro) is brought in and starts to figure out that Sister Gertrude is just nuts. When bodies start to turn up, its obvious that Sister Gertrude is behind the killings and needs to be stopped.
Anita Ekberg is fantastic in her role as the tortured nun. She can be cruel and also sympathetic at the same time. She is scary but yet one can't help but feel sorry for her as she does show remorse for some of the acts she pulls. The film would not have worked if Sister Gertrude was just this crazy bitch of a nun killing off the patients. She doesn't even believe she is doing anything wrong. The rest of the cast is fine but they don't hold a candle to Ekberg's performance. Paola Morra plays the lesbian nun Mathieu and when she isn't walking around naked, she is covering up after her 'friend' and crying most of the time. While the film is dubbed (it was made by Italians in Brussels) American actor Joe Dallesandro is also dubbed which just seems really strange. Maybe because I am so used to his Brooklynaccent in the Andy Warhol Dracula and Frankenstein films that I almost missed his odd line delivery.
Director Gilulio Berruti does a great job with the script and direction as he does build up some nice suspense and some creepy imagery (what was up with the brain surgery sequence mixed in with footage of Sister Gertrude hovering over a dead naked man?). I actually liked the sequence of the Sister giving herself morphine as if she is giving herself communion. With a running time of just 88 minutes, Killer Nun doesn't seem to drag even though there isn't a whole lot of action thanks to the interesting screenplay and fantastic lead performance.
As always, Blue Underground gives its fans another great transfer. I did notice this time that some shots seemed a bit blurry or grain-heavy. One outside sequence even seemed to be a little jumpy, which could be the source print but it was noticeable. I can't complain though because the rest of the film looked great and the mono sound was just fine and clear. I would have liked more extra features but the short interview with director Berruti is interesting and speaks about the films controversy with the Vaticanand how much he enjoyed working with Ekberg. Aside from that, photos and a trailer, Killer Nun could have used more special features (curious to see what Ekberg looks like now and her take on the film) but it is a small complaint.
While one would expect, especially with the blu ray cover and coming from Blue Underground, Killer Nun to be exploitation trash, it is a fairly well made film and a decent psychological thriller...if you can get past the dubbed voices and late 70's vibe (the bar that the Sister goes to is so hilariously dated and God-y...get it?).
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