Anonymous Andy (Minus_The_Beer) Emilio Miragli's second (and final) film, "The Red Queen Kills Seven Times" is a little-seen gem of the giallo golden-age. A red-cloaked female killer stalks players in the fashion industry, combining Gothic sensibilities with the supernatural in a compelling, often confusing whodunnit. There's a whole subplot about a family curse, with a seemingly never-ending array of sisters popping out of the woodwork to serve as seemingly little more than red herrings. Confused yet? You will be.Like much of its ilk, "The Red Queen" is both Italian and surreal. The audio track is a bit off, which seems to be a prerequisite with these films, and the cinematography and various set-pieces are absolutely exquisite and engrossing. Combined with a score by the Ennio Morricone-adjacent Bruno Nicolai, the film has a unique yet slightly familiar flavor that genre fans will find most intriguing. There are, of course, some soap operatic elements at play, but this all adds to the film's charms.Barbara Bouchet plays the lead character, Kitty, and appears to be the only character in good moral standing. She's an absolute pleasure to watch, as her face just oozes shock and horror when the carnage kicks in. On the other side of the coin, Marina Malfatti appears to relish playing the pot-stirring nymphomaniac foil, Franziska. When the film isn't creeping you out or staging elaborate death scenes for its unfortunate bystanders, you can rest assured that the performances on hand will keep you fully engaged and grinning alongside their often over-the-top portrayals. It's a shame Miragli fell completely off the map after making the film, as "The Red Queen Kills Seven Times," much like its mouthful of a title, is one for the ages. It's not a film for everyone, but it definitely slays.

Nigel P The number seven crops up more than once in Giallo films – 'Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye', 'Seven Blood Stained Orchids', and this. Doll faced beauty Barbara Bouchet plays Kitty, surviving sister to Evelyn, a precocious, violent creature, who has seemingly perished. However, events seem to emulate the old family curse in which, every hundred years, the 'Red Queen' is raised from the dead to kill seven times. Classic images of stabbings by an unknown black-gloved figure with dark hair and a red cloak (1973's 'Don't Look Now' imagery seems to owe a lot to this) follow.Red actually crops up rather a lot in this, on clothes and cars – splashes of crimson in the midst of pleasingly rainy night scenes; either a subtle clue as to the identity of the killer or a 'red' herring.Magnificently moustachioed Marino Masé plays the chief inspector (Toller), the dapper gentleman trying to unravel this enigma, whilst looking uncannily like Freddie Mercury in certain scenes. This whole dark mystery is presented very much as a television horror/thriller than a film – more so than most giallos, I'd say.The ghost-faced killer is featured only very sparingly, which is a shame as she is featured prominently on promotional material and looks effectively sinister.Another well crafted, solid giallo film.

Leofwine_draca This obscure giallo flick from director Emilio Miraglia is a typically muddled entry for the genre, and certainly one that's not to be recommended to those who don't even know what a giallo is! For those familiar with these types of films, THE LADY IN RED KILLS SEVEN TIMES is even more incomprehensible than most movies, as a mysterious killer named Evelyn slaughters her way through much of the cast – and, get this, she's dead! I first got this confused with the director's other giallo, THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE, the title of which perfectly describes the events in this movie, but rest assured they are two separate films. The plot of this one is quite slow-paced, with lots of padding in the form of '70s Italian cheese which some will love, and others (like me, I'm afraid) will hate. The ending makes an effort to explain things with one of those big twists, but I was still scratching my head come the closing credits! Now on to the good stuff…this film's cast is better than usual, with a bunch of actors who actually do what they get paid to do – act! Barbara Bouchet is lovely as the put-upon heroine, especially in the climatic sequences in which she's trapped in a dungeon rapidly filling with water (and rats) – okay, so this finale belongs more in a '30s American serial than a '70s Italian giallo, but at least it offers excitement and acts as a wake-up call to audience members who may have fallen asleep through the slow first hour. Other good actors include the moustachioed cop who sweats his way through the police procedurals and the other pretty female victims who inevitably find themselves on the receiving end of a sharp knife! One to look out for is Sybil Danning, who is very young here but not at all shy! She and all the other female cast members routinely shed their clothing in a bid to retain the male viewer's interest.Sometimes the best thing about the giallo films are their inventive death sequences, with Dario Argento the acknowledged master of the genre in this respect. Sadly, the murders in this film, although bloody, are completely unconvincing, with the actors shuffling around in the gloom with dubbed screaming over the top. The film's best death comes when a blackmailer is dragged along by a car (shoulda taken your coat off, dude!), a totally hilarious moment. Watch out for the shifty guy with the moustache (no, not the cop, the other one) – it turns out he's crippled right at the end of the film, although no mention or sign has been made of this previously, and he apparently dies by falling into a stream of water; I can't explain it, maybe you'll do better.All that said and done, THE LADY IN RED KILLS SEVEN TIMES isn't much cop; it remains routine and quite mundane throughout, with only the cast's best efforts to keep it afloat. There are many better giallo movies out there, so this one is only for the die-hard and dedicated fan.

acidburn-10 A fascinating Giallo thriller from director Emilio Miraglia who returns to the genre after (The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave), and delivers something well and truly special and presented in a psychedelic light, this little unknown gem is a wonderful example of the genre with malicious murders, red herrings and everything the Giallo type can muster and all presented in such a fluid direction.'The Red Queen Kills Seven Times' begins with 2 sisters Kitty and Evelyn who as children learn about a family curse that haunts The Widenbruck family every 100 years that a feud between two sisters ends in one of their deaths and the other one comes back as the Red Queen and kills seven people, before killing the remaining sister. Then flash forward to 1972 where Kitty is now all grown up, and of course it seems that history is repeating itself with someone in a red cloak is murdering Kitty's friends, and Evelyn seems to be nowhere in sight, could it be her or has the ghost of the red queen come back for revenge.'The Red Queen' is a seriously loopy production that where it really strives is that it's unpredictable, there's a ruthless number of twists and turns and they all serve to up the stakes as people begin to get murdered one by one, the mystery surrounding the red queen is very intriguing, given the fact that she can kill and vanish without a trace is well and truly un-nerving and adds to the suspense and the overall supernatural feel to the production, this concept is not squander though as the director uses these to his advantage by incorporating creepy visuals and having everything filmed in a dream like fashion which proves startling at times and a killer draped in a red cloak and a long black wig is a treat for the eyes. All of these elements are handled beautifully with a solid plot with many clever plot twists and turns and moves along at a brisk pace with a wonderful score by Bruno Nicoladi that hits all the right notes, along with violence that is very sadistic and bloody with some great set pieces and perfectly balances the back story with what's going on in the present.Barbara Rouchet tackles the character of Kitty with a timid manner and passive outlook, who doesn't do much but lay on the sympathetic charm and attempts to stay sane and alive and in that simple presentation she allows her outrageous beauty and overall appearance to take centre stage and shine, she may not be the type of character to take charge of the narrative onward, but is more like a tormented deer caught in the headlights, reacting to the situations that are going on around her. But that is a staple of the genre and it is used very effectively here. What allows this approach to work is the strong and memorable supporting characters such as Ugo Pagliai who does much of the heavy lifting as Martin Hoffman who gets swept up into the madness once he reveals his long standing attraction to Kitty, even though he may be a possible suspect within the cast, he does a wonderful job at playing detective like role as he delves deeper into the mystery of the red queen and the possible connection it has with his now estranged ex-wife whose locked away in an insane asylum, but is also a part of the mystery itself.So all in all without a doubt 'The Red Queen' is a definite highlight of Italian Cinema that takes all of the usual troupes and just runs with them and mixing it up with a supernatural angle just makes the whole thing worthwhile and sadly like many other great movies from this time period, this one seems to be forgotten which is a shame as this deserves to be viewed more by a wider audience as it's just a total thrill ride that has all the right ingredients.