Killer Nun

I first saw this film on the pan and scan video years ago. What a great job BU have done as usual to restore it. This is a good film and anyone familiar with the exploitation sub-genre of nunsploitation will recognise this as a stand out film. There are some very atmospheric set pieces in the film Anita Ekberg's flashbacks and the giallo inspired murder of the old woman. I just wish we had the original italian soundtrack. As is usual with dubbed films it detracts from the power of the film by having cheesy actors do the overdubs. Some of the editing is a bit sloppy but Italian exploitation fans are well used to this. The gorgeous Paola Morra is worth the price of the film alone. Well worth checking out.

Warning: SPOILERS!!! THE KILLER NUN (1978) - I don't pretend to know anything about the Nunsploitation genre, except to say that the idea of nuns being sexually explicit and ultra-violent is a huge turn-off for me, much in the same way that I find Naziploitation flicks to be in extreme bad taste. But, there are people out there who love this genre, so it is my duty to be open-minded and unbiased, reviewing what many people believe is the best Nunsploitation film in the bunch, so here goes. The film opens with this scrawl: "This film is based on actual events that took place in a Central European country not many years ago." (A cursory investigation shows it took place in Belgium and that, indeed, this film is based on a true story, proving fact is more entertaining than fiction). We then see an unknown nun confessing her sins to a priest in a confessional, telling the priest that she will never forgive "him" for what he has done for her. She hates "him" so much that she despises all men and wishes they were dead. When the priest hears this, he condemns the nun, telling her she is no longer a member of the Order and that her next confession should be to God almighty, because no mere mortal could ever forgive her sins. We then see a cheerful Sister Gertrude (Anita Ekberg; FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD - 1969) waking up everyone at the old age hospital she works at (it looks more like an insane asylum). She assists Dr. Poirret (Massimo Serato; THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW - 1978) on his daily rounds, treating the elderly patients, but when she passes a table containing scalpels and other sharp medical instruments, an evil look appears on her face. After almost becoming an Angel of Death with an elderly sick female patient, Dr. Poirret stops her, pulling a scalpel from her hands. Something bad recently happened to Sister Gertrude (Dr. Poirret knows, but we are not clued-in...yet) and, oh, she's a morphine addict! Sister Mathieu (Paola Morra; BEHIND CONVENT WALLS - 1978) is worried about her, so she sneaks into the hospital's record room and takes an x-ray of Sister Gertrude's head. There is definitely something wrong with Sister Gertrude, because when the elderly patients are eating breakfast, she pulls patient Josephine's (Nerina Montagnani; TORMENTOR - 1972) false teeth out of a glass of water and stomps on them, breaking Josephine's choppers into a million pieces. We then see a naked Sister Mathieu telling Sister Gertrude that she burned the x-rays of her skull, so no one will know what is wrong with her. What exactly is wrong with her (besides being a drug addict)? The next time we see Sister Gertrude, she is stepping off a train. She goes into the train station's bathroom and changes from her habit and other religious dress into civilian clothes, putting her religious clothes in a locker. She then goes to a jeweler and sells some jewelry she stole off a recently deceased patient, using the money to have dinner at an expensive bistro. She comes on to a man sitting at the bistro's bar, hiking up her dress to show him some leg. He follows her outside to an apartment building, where they have sex. The man finishes rather quickly (What man doesn't?), leaving Sister Gertrude to fend for herself (If you know what I mean). Once back at the hospital, we see Sister Gertrude stealing several vials of morphine from the hospital's infirmary, hiding them in her dresser drawer. The hospital Director (Daniele Dublino; SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS - 1971) confront Sister Gertrude about her odd behavior as of late and she blames Dr. Poirret, telling the Director that he is too old to be treating patients and that he should be replaced. The Director says he will take it under consideration and will discuss it with the hospital's board of directors, and leaves. Sister Gertrude then injects herself with some morphine and begins to trip, seeing Josephine kissing an exposed brain (!) and a naked dead patient coming to life in the hospital morgue, the good Sister grabbing his manhood! Sister Gertrude is proving herself to being the worst kind of nun, but the worst is yet to come. A male patient discovers Sister Gertrude tripping and drags her to a hospital bed and we see a nun beat him over the head with a metal lamp, drag his body to an open window and throw him out to the pavement below, making it look like he committed suicide. Sister Mathieu tells Gertrude that she saw what she did, but not to worry, because she will protect her. Dr. Poirret tells Gertrude that he has been called to appear in front of the board of directors, but not to worry, as he will not mention her "problem". A short time later, a new doctor appears at the hospital. His name is Patrick Roland (a badly dubbed Joe Dallesandro; MADNESS - 1980) and he is there to replace a recently fired Dr. Poirret. One look on Sister Gertrude's face tells us that she is instantly smitten. At a game of "Truth or Dare" with the hospital's patients, crippled patient Peter (Lou Castel; PARANOIA - 1969) asks Sister Gertrude why she killed the patient who supposedly committed suicide and by the look on her face, we can see that Peter doesn't have long to live. During a thunderstorm, Sister Gertrude, who is once again tripping (or is she?), sees female patient Florence (Ileana Fraia; DON'T LOOK IN THE ATTIC - 1982)) having sex with an elderly patient in a wheelchair (!) and when Sister Mathieu leaves Gertrude's side, we see a nun stuffing gauze down the elderly wheelchair patient's throat, making it look like he died of a heart attack. Dr. Roland finds the man's body on hospital grounds the next morning and when Florence sees his body, she has a nervous breakdown. Dr. Roland is smarter than he looks, knowing something is seriously wrong with Sister Gertrude. When he sees Gertrude making the elderly patients do calisthenics, he stops her, asking her if she wants to see the elderly patients die. The look on Gertrude's face tells him yes. Sister Gertrude is slowly losing her grasp on reality, partly due to her drug addiction and partly due to her "problem" (I am close to guessing what it is. Are you?). Gertrude feigns that she was attacked by someone in the hospital, causing the Director to gather all the patients and staff, demanding to know who attacked her and for them to confess, but no one does. Dr. Roland later confronts the Director, telling him he sees no reason why Dr. Poirret was fired, because he looked at all of his records and every one of his diagnoses was correct. The Director fails to mention that it was Sister Gertrude who made the complaint and we find out why. Gertrude has something dirty on the Director and she threatens to expose him if he doesn't go along with her "suggestions". We then see a nun take the crippled Peter down to the boiler room, leaving his crutches at the top of the stairs. Peter pulls himself up the stairs step-by-step while the hospital staff looks for him, Sister Gertrude and Sister Mathieu stopping anyone from looking in the boiler room. As Peter makes it to the top of the stairs and reaches for his crutches, a nun appears, kicking his head until he falls down the stairs, dead. When the staff find Peter dead the next morning, they believe he accidentally fell down the stairs, but the Mother Superior (Alida Valli; EYE IN THE LABYRINTH - 1972) calls Gertrude into her office, telling her that someone reported her for murdering patients. Was it Dr. Roland, who noticed the multiple needle marks on Gertrude's arms? How about the Director, who is tired of being blackmailed? Or could it be Sister Mathieu, who tells everything to Dr. Roland and then has sex with him on a hospital gurney? It doesn't matter, as the Mother Superior confines Gertrude to her cell while she slowly goes out of her mind, partly due to withdrawal and partly due to her medical "problem". The film ends with Sister Gertrude going crazy in her cell, as we then discover that it was Sister Mathieu who was killing the patients, not Gertrude. It turns out it was Sister Mathieu who was confessing to the priest in the beginning of the film, only this time it is revealed that she is confessing to an empty confessional. This slice of Eurosleaze was directed and co-written by Giulio Berruti, who only directed two films in his career, but was Assistant Director/Screenwriter/Editor on the films THE LONG ARM OF THE GODFATHER (1972) and the unclassifiable BABA YAGA (1973; look for a review soon). The screenplay, by Berruti and Alberto Tarallo (Umberto Lenzi's MANHUNT IN THE CITY - 1975), looks at the seedier side of working in a religious hospital and the weird thing is that it works here. You will actually believe that the deadly things that happened there could really have taken place, giving the opening scrawl some credence. Anita Ekberg is wonderful as the drug-addicted nun who is losing her grip on reality. We are made to believe she is the one committing the murders, but watching the film for a second time shows us that it is all in our minds, as we never see her killing anyone, all we see is someone in a nun's habit committing the dirty deeds. It is this artistry that changed my mind about nunsploitation flicks, at least where this film is concerned. It is filled with many bizarre sights, as we see someone sticking the tip of hypodermic needles into an elderly woman patient's face, pinning her eyelid to her eyeball (a hard scene to watch without flinching), but she can't scream because her mouth is taped shut. Add that to the scene of wheelchair sex and many other unusual sights on view and you have a film that would make David Lynch proud. Filmed as SUOR OMICIDI ("Sister Homicide"), this film never had a theatrical release in the United States and I cannot find any legitimate VHS releases, making its first appearance on these shores as a DVD and, eventually, a Blu-Ray from Blue Undergound, both looking fantastic (my review is based on the DVD). The discs are very light on extras, just a short 14-minute 2004 interview with director Giulio Berruti (who also wrote the screenplay to RIOT IN A WOMAN'S PRISON - 1974), who explains the real life story that made him want to direct this film. He goes on to tells us that Anita Ekberg was a joy to work with, but Joe Dallesandro was a pain in the ass, only allowing him one take before walking off the set. I believe it is Ted Russo that dubs Dallesandro's voice, without his thick New Yawk accent (watch him in ANDY WARHOL'S FRANKENSTEIN or DRACULA [both 1973] to hear what he really sounds like). The disc also contains a poster & stills gallery and a trailer (which looks homemade). While I am not a fan of nunsploitation films, I have to say I enjoyed this one. Also starring Laura Nucci (THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH - 1964), Alice Gherardi (THE SISTER OF URSULA - 1978), Franco Caracciolo (VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON - 1982), Sofia Lusy (CRIME BOSS - 1972), Antonietta Patriarca (BEHIND CONVENT WALLS - 1978) and Brunello Chiodetti (IMAGES IN A CONVENT - 1979) as the man who has sex with Sister Gertrude. Not Rated.

Excellent nunsploitation film that eschews sleaze in favor of dark, drugged out character drama and depraved nunnery. But make no mistake, Killer Nun belongs in your nunsploitation collection next to The Other Hell, Convent of Sinners, Satanico Pandemonium, Demonia, and Dark Waters. I assume the reason for the current 2.5 star user rating is because viewers are expecting this to be an all-out sleaze assault. Instead, Giulio Berruti's film is more about using the unholy exploits of Sister Gertrude to tell her dark tale of drug-fueled depravity. The result is a slow simmering but hugely entertaining exploitation film that's definitely worth repeat viewings.

Ok

When Anita Ekberg, of all people, heads a cast of other have-beens as a nun you know what you're in for. La Ekberg, plunges into her role with fiendish gusto, not disappointing her many fans who watched her Hollywood ascencion and descencion in the 50's as a bona fide "sex symbol" of amazonic and astonishing proportions. The film makers claim the story is based on facts, but one must take this with a grain of salt considering that this is not an exposé, but shrill exploitation. There's nudity, and lesbianism, and sadism and drugs and blasphemy, but considering what has been exposed lately about the the rel goings on behind the catholic church's façade, this is pretty tame stuff. If you're devout, this is still not for you, but if you're an ex-catholic or indifferent, you'll have a rollickin' good time laughing with and at this potboiler from the 70's. I'm not sure you should shell out the extra bucks for the blu-ray, though - it's not that kind of flik, though the color and design are quite stylish.

excellent

Buen giallo con una de las últimas interpretaciones relevantes de Anita Ekberg ya entrada en años pero convincente como monja drogadicta con una doble vida en una residencia de la tercera edad inspirada en un caso real pero con todos los excesos que cabe esperar en un film de estas características.Buena copia con, al parecer, metraje íntegro.

Actually enjoyed this video nasty apparently based on a true story of a nun who kills to fuel her drug habit pun intended as well as other very unchristian things

Item arrived wrapped and new and was incredibly cheap. Great buy!

Some people seem to approach this as just another Nun film, nunsploitation and it's bevy of breasts, heavy breathing, naughty catholic guilt trips & general rolling about in a naughty way. An excuse for watching high and mighty get reduced to feral felines. Some might even expect boundless bloodletting, or a giallo-like plot that unravels in a weird way and puts scooby doo to shame. Needless to say exploitation is exactly that. Ballyhoo of a product that suggests much but may well deliver something completely different, or at least a partial flavour of something else. There is a killer, there is a nun. There are certainly repressions being expressed. But not in a garish way, more geared toward short brush strokes. Then the film throws occasional moments of dotty behaviour...all suggestive of a confining, damaged world view...This film is not merely all about the standard hand wringing guilt, the sexual shennanigans of a lot of repressed gals who strangely resemble models. It seemed to be a brief observation of a dame as she deteriorates, who has been operated on for a brain tumour, who has still got a few problems and not just headaches.Amongst the plot, meandering as it may be, people are being knocked off, some are being merely treated badly. In short then, it's worse case scenario: a nun who isn't sure of herself or her religion, exacerbated rapidly given her strong libido & her confused mental state; looking after old folk in a confined area is trying at the best of times even without guilt, religious anxiety & a rather overtly sensual fellow nun...then of course theres the need for drugs to ease her 'suffering' becoming an addiction...Basically then with exploitation elements and occasional flashes of what a tortured tormented soul might do when driven barmy, we have not a giallo, not a fleshy art laden Borowzcyk flick, not a gory excuse to kill everything within reach with the best tools to hand. What occurs is a florid descent into a slightly crazy world, with a slightly crazy accent on the religion that went some way to adding to her confusion. But why then is it entertaining, & interesting?...for me it barrelled along headway without waiting for anyone to catch up, it did what it set out to do with a slightest of twists to what is assumed at work here. Visually pretty good, a few pieces of music are really punchy. But what really sold me was it was fun. I laughed. It made me enjoy it. How and why im not entirely sure. An acquired taste is required perhaps, but devout catholics and those seeking skin-flicks should perhaps both look elsewhere for louder thrills.