Seven Dead in the Cat's Eye

A gothic bit of ephemera that can be promoted for its atmosphere, Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye (La Morte negli occhi del gatto, 1973) carries many of the trappings that are dear to fans of the Hammer horror films of a similar time that include (in part) a Victorian setting, rich colors, eccentric characters, sexy women, and grisly murders. It contains particular joys for cat lovers who can accurately surmise from the title that a feline is indeed present for all the deaths that take place and, rather than just being a silent spectator, this same cat does duty above and beyond the docile nature to hiss and jump and, in general, do anything it can to convince others of its possibly being possessed by a supernatural spirit. Of course, it's hard to compete against the ape in the window. Or the mysterious razor-wielding killer. And never you mind all those women walking around in their lingerie. With that said, now seems a good time to warn discerning viewers that the storyline is a bit of a jumble that, despite its many juicy tidbits, goes about its business at a languid pace. It all starts off with a bombastic score and a scream, some splattered blood, a deadly razor wiped clean, and a killer depositing a body in a dungeon under the watchful eyes of a large cat. With the ominous tone set, the action then shifts to the introduction of various characters, including a young woman, Corringa (Jane Birkin), who arrives at a Scottish castle in a horse-drawn carriage to meet her mother, Lady Alicia (Dana Ghia), her aunt, Lady Mary MacGrieff (Francoise Christophe), a priest (Venantino Venatni), James MacGrieff (Hiram Keller), and his gorilla (no credits for the gorilla). A few other characters round off the potential body-count, and there are allusions to an ancient curse, vampires, and more, thus ensuring that Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye can cover a variety of horror genre tropes with a knowing nod. Italian director Antonio Margheriti (1930 – 2002) started working in the cinema in 1957 and also worked under the pseudonym of Anthony Dawson - later, to avoid being confused with the English actor of that name, he added the middle initial of "M." He is referred to by Phil Hardy in The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror as being "once a promising imitator of Mario Bava with La Danza Macabra (1964) and I lunghi Capelli della Morte (1965)," and also notes of Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye how "European scandal-sheet couple (Serge) Gainsbourg – as the detective on duty – and Birkin (better known for their sexy pop songs) try their best but both are overshadowed by the hammy performance of veteran villain (Anton) Diffring as a malevolent doctor." If Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye seems a bit hastily put together, it might help to consider that during that same year Margheriti worked on several other films, including Andy Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula – two films that usually give Paul Morrissey the main co-directing byline, although it has been widely suggested that while Morrissey wrote the scripts his was mainly a supervisory role that left Margheriti to muscle most of the directorial work. The dvd for Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye by Blue Underground presents the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and includes an eight-minute-long interview with co-writer Giovanni Simonelli. The interview includes spoilers for the film (viewers are appropriately warned), some actual giallo covers (while Simonelli complains about the "giallo novels" term as not making any sense since he would have preferred the term "detective novels") and, after the end credits, a brief camera appearance by the late Margheriti talking about the reasons for his pseudonym. For more information about Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye, visit Blue Underground. To order Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye, go to TCM Shopping. by Pablo Kjolseth