THE DOLL OF SATAN

Erna Schurer and Roland Carey

THE DOLL OF SATAN (aka La bambola di Satana/1969). Written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta. 

Elizabeth (Erna Schurer) comes with her fiance, a writer named Jack (Roland Carey), to her wealthy late uncle's castle for the reading of his will. A mysterious hooded figure in black strangles the laywer Shinton (Domenico Ravenna) and hides his body. A neighbor, Paul (Ettore Ribotta), makes an offer for the castle while the governess, Carole (Lucia Bomez), acts all spooky and tells the others that her dead employer's crazy secretary, who survived an accident, is hidden away in the castle. What could go wrong?

Well, just about everything could go wrong with The Doll of Satan, which despite its pointless title and three bloodless murders is more of a mystery-suspense film than a horror giallo. Aside from a couple of decent fight scenes, especially at the climax, Doll is badly directed and edited and sort of clumps from scene to scene with no style, atmosphere, or energy. There is a no-name international cast that is probably perfectly adept if unlikely to win the Italian equivalent of an Oscar. Poorly photographed as well. This really could have used a few juicy murder scenes. Writer-director Casapinta never made another movie.

Verdict: Somehow holds the attention without ever amounting to much. **1/4.