Laura Nucci Movies
Giulio Berruti's unusual cult horror film casts former sex symbol Anita Ekberg as Sister Gertrude, a nun working in a mental institution. Gertrude is clearly insane, and takes a great deal of morphine for her self-diagnosed cancer. She goes to town and picks up men, seduces a younger nun (Paola Morra) who was abused by her grandfather, and supposedly murders patients until the Mother Superior (Alida Valli) has her poisoned. Luigi Casellato appears as a crippled painter who gets kicked to death, and genre favorite Joe Dallesandro leads the supporting cast as a handsome doctor. Antonio Maccoppi's skillful cinematography gives the film a harsh, intimidating look and Ekberg creates a sympathetic character, although certain scenes -- such as her stepping on a patient's dentures -- cross the line into unintentional humor. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anita Ekberg, Paola Morra, (more)
This well-handled giallo thriller was directed by Antonio Bido (Il Gatto dagli Occhi di Giada). After a young girl is murdered by a mysterious stranger, the young Stefano (Lino Capolicchio) comes home to Venice to visit his brother (Craig Hill), a priest with many enemies. As people start dying left and right, Bido introduces an odd assortment of characters, including a wife-killing doctor, an abortionist, and a nutty gay Count (Massimo Serato) who molests children. Stefano tries figuring out the mystery while having an affair with an interior decorator (Suspiria's Stefania Casini). It might be argued that the plot is merely a reworking of Lucio Fulci's superior Non se Sevizio un Paperino (1971), with shades of Capolicchio's previous starring turn in Pupi Avati's La Casa dalle Finestre che Ridono (1976), but in Italian genre film, the question of derivative plotlines becomes almost superficial. It works, and should please Euro-thriller fans. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
In the 15th century, a young woman is accused of being a witch and committing a murder. She is burned at the stake. Years later, during a plague, she is revived by lightning. She returns to her village to prevent her daughter from marrying the man who actually committed the murder for which she was executed. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
