Search - Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (Special Edition) on DVD

Bizarre and Complex, This Spanish Giallo Is A Must See For F

J. B. Hoyos | Chesapeake, VA | 04/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the seventies, Italy was experiencing a great deal of financial success with their Italian gialli. Spain decided to market their own brand of gialli. One such movie was "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll." It was also known as "House of Psychotic Women," which is a more appropriate title.



Spanish horror icon, Paul Naschy, stars as an ex-convict who finds work as a handyman at a gothic farm house where three sisters live. One is a nymphomaniac, another is confined to a wheelchair, and another has a horribly burned and disfigured hand she hides in a glove. The handyman is plagued with visions of strangling a woman. Soon after his arrival, a nurse is strangled while on route to the farm house to care for the crippled sister. Her mysterious replacement is a beautiful, blonde woman with blue eyes. In the nearby village, an assailant wearing black gloves begins hacking to death beautiful blonde women and removing their blue eyes. If that isn't complicated enough, the former handyman attacks and stabs the new handyman before disappearing.



The killer's victims are dispatched in gruesome and creative means usually involving sharp instruments such as knives, meat cleavers, and a rake. The identity of the true killer remains a mystery until nearly the very end after most of the main characters have been murdered. Also, the killer's motive was unique. It wasn't the usual "I'm punishing these women for their sins." Speaking of sins, I'm thankful the killer isn't a Catholic priest; there isn't a priest in the movie.



"Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" reminded me of another Spanish slasher, and one of my favorite horror movies, "The House That Screamed." Someone at a girl's boarding school is killing students, who try to run away, and removing body parts from them.



The farmland and mountain scenery of "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" are beautiful and well photographed. I just wish its presentation had been widescreen instead of full.

"

Worth the Wait

Oswald Truman | 05/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I could go into the lengthy story about my fascination and love for this film, but it could take years to tell. To keep it simple, I remember renting this movie from Blockbuster about 15 years ago when it was still under it's Americanized title, "The House of Psychotic Women." It was also about 15 minutes shorter, had sketchy sound and faded colors. It became an immediate cult classic for myself and a small group of friends. I wound up ordering a copy through Blockbuster shortly after renting it, and about a year later I received it... (Thank heaven for Amazon and the internet, lol... waits of a year for a product often make you forget why you ordered in the first place.)



After acquiring a couple of different copies of this same movie over the years, I finally had the pleasant surprise that it was going to be released on dvd a few months ago. Yes, I preordered. And yes, I waited by the mailbox. Was it worth it? You'd better believe it. The sound and picture quality are amazing. The special features, especially the occasionally silly commentary with Naschy and Aured are pure gold. Great packaging. Great menus. (I've honestly never complimented a dvd for having great menus... but this one really seems classy.) Overall, it's a fantastic repackaging of a great cult classic. I won't go into the story line. I'm sure other reviewers have already done that. Anyway, to try and describe the story... well... you'll either love it, or you'll walk away saying, "What in the name of...?"



If you're into cheesy 70's imported horror flicks, then you have to watch this. If you've already watched it and remember it, I'd say you're a fan. If you are a fan and don't have this yet, trust me... get it. BCI did a great job from the hitchhiking opening to the bear trap to the cellar. A must have"