''The Red Queen Kills Seven Times'' ( it, La dama rossa uccide sette volte) is a 1972 ''
giallo
In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'' film directed by
Emilio Miraglia
Emilio Paolo Miraglia (1 January 1924 – 26 August 1982) was an Italian film director. He began working in film as a director's assistant and technician and worked on many B movies.
Miraglia is known for his two early 1970s giallo films, ''The ...
.
Plot
Two sisters, Kitty and Evelyn, are cursed by a family painting depicting a hundred year-cycle in which a Red Queen is raised from the dead to kill seven times. Hoping to end the cycle, their grandfather, Tobias, orders the painting removed from their sight. Years later, Kitty accidentally kills Evelyn during a fight. Their older sister, Franziska, covers up the death, and everyone, including Tobias, is told that Evelyn immigrated to the United States. This doesn't sit well with Kitty, who is willing to allow Franziska to cover up the murder but feels overwhelming guilt. When their grandfather dies from a fear-induced heart attack, a series of murders begin to occur around Kitty, all of which appear to have been caused by a red-cloaked Evelyn. The police begin to suspect that Kitty and her married lover Martin are the perpetrators of the murders, especially after Martin's institutionalized wife is found dead. It's eventually revealed that Kitty had only stunned Evelyn, who was also not her biological sister - Tobias had adopted her as an additional way of ending the hundred year-cycle. Evelyn's true murderer was Franziska, who murdered her at the start of an impulsive plan to be the only person to inherit Tobias' vast fortune. Resentful that she was not the main beneficiary despite providing his daily care, Franziska recruited some of Kitty's co-workers, who were unhappy with Kitty's station and preferential treatment by Martin. After murdering her female accomplices Franziska tricks Kitty into entering the basement of Tobias' mansion, where she tries to slowly drown her via flooding. Realizing the truth, Martin confronts Franziska and gets a confession, only for the woman to be shot by her own husband, Herbert, who had thus far been complicit with her actions. Before dying, Franziska stabs Martin with a dagger she has hidden in her coat. Herbert then leads the police to Kitty's location, saving her from death but drowning himself in the process. Kitty and Martin are taken to the hospital.
Cast
Production
''The Red Queen Kills Seven Times'' was the final film of director
Emilio Miraglia
Emilio Paolo Miraglia (1 January 1924 – 26 August 1982) was an Italian film director. He began working in film as a director's assistant and technician and worked on many B movies.
Miraglia is known for his two early 1970s giallo films, ''The ...
and his second ''
giallo
In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'' film in a row. The film was predominantly shot in
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
and
Weikersheim
Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Town rights were granted to Weikersheim in 1313. As the one of the seats of the House of Hohenlohe, until 1756 Weikersheim's town center was dominated by ...
in Germany.
Release
''The Red Queen Kills Seven Times'' was distributed theatrically in Italy by
Cineriz
''Cineriz'' was an Italian media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films, founded in the early 1950s by the businessman Angelo Rizzoli. The company catalogue counts also many films directed by Federico Fellini, Gil ...
on 18 August 1972. The film grossed a total of 513,725,000
Italian lire
The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...
in Italy. The German version of the film is 15 minutes shorter than the Italian release.
Arrow Films
Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online, and also operates its own subscription video on-dema ...
released a Region 2 DVD edition & a Region B Blu-ray edition for the British market on 17 April 2017.
Critical reception
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
called it a "standard but solid entry in the giallo genre."
References
Footnotes
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Queen Kills Seven Times, The
1972 films
1972 horror films
1970s psychological thriller films
Italian horror films
Giallo films
West German films
1970s Italian-language films
Films directed by Emilio Miraglia
Films scored by Bruno Nicolai
Italian serial killer films
Films set in West Germany
Films set in 1958
Films set in 1972
Films shot in Germany
1970s exploitation films
1970s Italian films