5 /10 1 Votes
2.3/5 Rate Your Music Story by Ferruccio Casapinta Cinematography Francesco Attenni Director Ferruccio Casapinta Music director Franco Potenza | 5.2/10 IMDb Directed by Ferruccio Casapinta Music by Franco Potenza Initial release 1969 Costume design Giuliana Serano | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Screenplay by Giorgio CristalliniCarlo M. LoriFerruccio Casapinta Starring Erna SchürerRoland CareyAurora BatistaEttore RibottaLucia Bomez Similar La Bambola, Bámbola, La Sapienza, One on Top of the Other, The Murder Clinic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
La bambola di Satana (lit. Satan's Doll) is a 1969 Italian gothic horror film written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta.
Contents
Plot
When her uncle dies, Elisabeth goes back to her family's castle to hear the reading of his will. Her boyfriend Jack suspects there is a plot afoot to steal Elisabeth's inheritance and keeps a close eye on her. She learns the castle is said to be haunted, and her relatives try to get her to sell it cheaply, but she hesitates. Later she is kidnapped and brought to a dungeon where she is tortured by a hooded figure.
Cast
Production
La bambola di Satana was Ferruccio Casapinta only film where he was credited as a director. Emma Costantino described the production as a "troubled shoot", stating that Ferruccio Casapinta's assistant director was the person who "did everything on set" and that Casapinta "was an idiot who couldn't do anything."
La bambola di Satana was filmed at Castle Borghese in Pomezia, Pratica di Mare and in Abruzzo.
Release
La bambola di Satana was released in Italy on June 12, 1969 where it was distributed by Cinediorama. It grossed a total of 118,009,000 Italian lire on its theatrical release. It was released in Germany as Der Satan ohne Gesicht (The Faceless Satan). The film was not dubbed in English, nor released theatrically in the USA.
Reception
Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969 stated that Ferruccio Casapinta "shows no directorial flair at all." and that for a gothic film, it "looks awful." The review noted that editing was poor, with night and day shots alternating within the same scene and that the special effects were terrible noting the thunderstorms and pink clouds that surround the castle. Curti concluded that the film was an "obscure— and deservedly so— addition to the Gothic genre" Louis Paul, author of Italian Horror Film Directors stated that the film is"certainly rooted within the classic gothic atmosphere of early Italian horrors, but the addition of considerable nudity and a black-gloved killer clearly places La bambola at the cusp of the new age. It is an indication of the changing aspects of the Italian horror film to come." AllMovie gave the film a three and a half star out of five rating, finding that the film "benefits from a slicker look and a better sense of humor." and that "It all seems a bit overwrought, but fans of Italian horror don't come to it for subtlety. Indeed, the nearly operatic histrionics on display are immensely enjoyable, for their camp value if nothing else."
