Kill, Baby... Kill! backdrop
Kill, Baby... Kill! poster

KILL, BABY... KILL!

Operazione paura

1966 • IT HMDB
July 8, 1966

A 20th century European village is haunted by the ghost of a murderous little girl.

Directors

Mario Bava Mario Bava

Cast

Giacomo Rossi Stuart as Dr. Paul Eswai

Giacomo Rossi Stuart

Dr. Paul Eswai

 Erika Blanc as Monica Schuftan

Erika Blanc

Monica Schuftan

 Fabienne Dali as Ruth

Fabienne Dali

Ruth

 Piero Lulli as Insp. Kruger

Piero Lulli

Insp. Kruger

 Luciano Catenacci as Karl

Luciano Catenacci

Karl

 Giovanna Galletti as Baroness Graps

Giovanna Galletti

Baroness Graps

 Micaela Esdra as Nadienne

Micaela Esdra

Nadienne

 Franca Dominici as Martha

Franca Dominici

Martha

 Giuseppe Addobbati as Innkeeper

Giuseppe Addobbati

Innkeeper

 Mirella Pamphili as Irena Hollander

Mirella Pamphili

Irena Hollander

Valerio Valeri

Melissa Graps

 Quinto Marziali as Inn Patron (uncredited)

Quinto Marziali

Inn Patron (uncredited)
Horror
👍 👎 🔥 🧻 👑

Comments

Comments (0)
Log in to comment

Crew
Production: Nando Pisani (Producer) — Luciano Catenacci (Producer)
Screenplay: Roberto Natale (Screenplay) — Mario Bava (Screenplay) — Romano Migliorini (Screenplay)
Music: Carlo Rustichelli (Music) — Francesco De Masi (Music) — Armando Trovajoli (Music) — Roman Vlad (Music) — Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (Music) — Franco Mannino (Music)
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi (Director of Photography)

REVIEWS (1)

Marco Castellini •
In a small village, a series of deaths seem to occur without any logical reason. To investigate these strange events, a police commissioner and a forensic doctor are sent to the location. The latter, upon arriving in the village, decides to perform an autopsy on a recently deceased woman and discovers a terrible secret: everything seems linked to an elderly noblewoman, some years earlier, devastated by the death of her beloved daughter... A classic by Mario Bava (along with "The Mask of the Demon" and "Blood and Black Lace" it is one of the best by the Italian master of horror) in which all the key elements that characterize the Italian Gothic genre are concentrated: revenge from the Beyond, psychological terror, mystery combined with the fascination for everything that is supernatural, the predominant importance of female characters. Unforgettable are the disturbing appearances of the "avenging" ghost of the child, preceded by the bouncing of her ball that announces her presence but, at the same time, the imminent end for someone. Two curiosities: the protagonist of the film is the excellent Giacomo Rossi Stuart while the disturbing child was none other than a boy, and precisely the son of Bava's doorman, "made up" for the occasion with a blonde wig.
👍 👎 🔥 🧻 👑

Comments

Comments (0)
Log in to comment

COMMUNITY REVIEWS (1)

Wuchak

Wuchak

7 /10

Colorful Italian Gothic/Horror from Mario Bava

RELEASED IN 1966 and directed by Mario Bava, "Kill, Baby, Kill" takes place in a Carpathian village in 1907 where Dr. Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) arrives to perform an autopsy at the request of the inspector (Piero Lulli). The evidence points to the hamlet being cursed with a mysterious ghost girl that compels those who see her to kill themselves, which the doctor thinks is rubbish; at first anyway. Erika Blanc plays a visiting medical student who assists Eswai while Fabienne Dali appears as the village witch and Giovanna Galletti as a bitter baroness. Luciano Catenacci is on hand as the burgomaster (mayor) and the witch’s lover.

The movie has a colorful and haunting Gothic/Horror ambiance, which can be traced to earlier films like the B&W "The City of the Dead" (aka "Horror Hotel") (1960) and, more so, “The Terror” (1963), which was one of Francis Ford Coppola’s early works, although he only directed part of it. Like those flicks, “Kill, Baby, Kill” features mysterious manors, dilapidated churches, ghosts, cobwebs, witches and bell towers in the mold of Hammer flicks of the era, such as the contemporaneous "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" (1966). As far as spooky MOOD goes, “Kill, Baby, Kill” is superb, but the story isn’t as compelling as “The Terror,” except for the last act. Nevertheless, the movie has influenced many artists and their works.

Rossi-Stuart makes for a stalwart protagonist in the mold of James Bond (looks-wise) while Erika Blanc and Fabienne Dali work well on the other side of the gender spectrum, both striking in different ways.

The title of the film is cheesy and recalls Russ Meyer’s “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” from the year before. It was obviously used to give the film a “hip” edge and sell as many tickets as possible. In 1971 it was retitled “Curse of the Living Dead” in the US, which was a 100% improvement. Here are several other sample titles that would be an upgrade, as well as more accurate: “Village of the Laughing Dead”; “Night of the Laughing Dead”; “Child of Vengeance”; “The Ghost at the Window”; “Child Cursed Village”; “Forgotten Daughter”; “Make them Pay”; “Sorceress' Regret”; “Melissa”; and “Melissa’s Curse.”

Okay, now for a few joke titles: “Melissa and her Sissa”; “The Graps of Wrath”; “That Damn Ball” and “Ghost Boy in Drag.” That last one is due to the fact that the ghost girl was played by a boy, one-shot actor Valerio Valeri.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 23 minutes and was shot entirely in Rome, Lazio, Italy. WRITERS: Romano Migliorini, Roberto Natale and Bava.

GRADE: B

Reviews provided by TMDB