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| The Red Queen Kills Seven Times is an interesting giallo that gets a great blu-ray from Arrow |
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A fantastic commentary here. Since this was the first time that I had seen Red Queen, I learned a lot about the film and the genre itself. For those who are seasoned pros, this track will still give you a lot of info that you may not already know.
The Red Reigns (13m 48s, HD)
Here we have an interview with film historian Stephen
Thrower who gives us a history of the film and background on the making of the
film. He mentions that director Emilio Miraglia disappeared after finishing
work on the film and that no one knows where he is. In response to this Thrower
says that Miraglia probably died. In other features found on this disc, people
who are interviewed say that Miraglia did die. I don’t know if this is a
mis-step for Thrower or if he honestly believes that no one knows what happened
to Miraglia. Kind of weird though. Outside of that comment, Thrower gives us a
lot of great information on The Red
Queen and giallos in general.
Life of Lulu (19m 47s, HD)
Sybil Danning talks about her life before The Red Queen, where she did a slew of
different jobs and lived what many would consider an entire life, before
landing the part of Lulu. She also talks about the differences between American
casting (a cattle call) and European casting (a nice sit-down). She loves the
film, but hates the dubbing of her character. Danning comes off as really nice
and incredibly smart, who loves being in films.
Alternate Opening (39s, HD)
This is a “countdown” opening that was used in place of the
pre-credits sequence shown in the film
proper.
Trailers
-Italian
Trailer (3m 13s, HD)
-English Trailer (3m 13s, HD)
Both trailers are exactly the same; they are just dubbed
into different languages. They are also very spoiler heavy. I am glad that I did
not watch the trailer before the film.
Archival Special Features
-Dead á
Porter (13m 38s, SD)
Interview
with production designer Lorenzo Baraldi. In Italian with English subtitles.
-Round
Up the Usual Suspects (18m 24s, SD)
Interview
with actor Marino Masé. In Italian with English Subtitles.
-If I
Met Emilio Miraglia Today (4m 14s, SD)
A few
of the people from the film talk about
the title of this special feature.
-My
Favorite…Films (59s, SD)
A too
brief interview with star Barbara Bouchét. In German with English subtitles.
THE PACKAGING N/A
THE PICTURE ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Coming to blu-ray with a brand new 2K restoration, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times looks great. The dvd was a washed out mess and this blu-ray corrects the mistakes of before. The color palette looks correct, with the blood looking the reddest, as it should. There is a nice layer of grain and detail is nice, especially in close-up. Also, the dvd was cropped, while the blu-ray retains the correct framing.
Coming to blu-ray with a brand new 2K restoration, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times looks great. The dvd was a washed out mess and this blu-ray corrects the mistakes of before. The color palette looks correct, with the blood looking the reddest, as it should. There is a nice layer of grain and detail is nice, especially in close-up. Also, the dvd was cropped, while the blu-ray retains the correct framing.
THE SOUND ⭐⭐⭐
We are give both the Italian and English mono tracks in lossless sound. The tracks have too much to do so there is no interference with too much going on. Dialogue is clean and clear, with only a few instances of a hissy sibilance. It happens every now and again, but shouldn’t take away from the enjoyment of the film like the sibilance problem with Scream Factory’s Black Christmas. The soundtrack and score are equally as nice, with the score coming through slightly louder than the dialogue.
THE FILM ⭐⭐1/2
This is the third giallo that I have seen (following Black and Black Lace and Deep Red) and I can tell you that this is the lessor of the three films. That is not to say that the film is bad. The direction by Emilio Miraglia is spot on and the cinematography by Alberto Spagnoli is gorgeous, capturing the gothic castle in Germany beautifully.
The problem that I had with the film lies in the script.
Giallos are like film noirs and thus are supposed to be confusing until the end
where everything is revealed. The thing is The
Red Queen is really confusing because there is an added element to the
story that is with us from 20 minutes in until the end of the film. This added
element is so confusing that it is brought up in the special features as a
problem with the film.
I know that it is very hard to talk about this film without
giving away the ending, but trust me when I say that you won’t see this one
coming.
Outside of that problem, I enjoyed the film. This is definitely
a “proto-slasher”. There is a nice body count and the kills are a bit
inventive. Of course someone gets killed with a gun, but rest of the kills are
nice and bloody. The director also does a nice job at building suspense,
although the suspense is hard to maintain because of the confusing elements,
but Miraglia still gives us something to be afraid of.
For me, I would say that The Red Queen Kills Seven Times is a mid-range giallo. The
characters are well defined and the kills are bloody, but the story is
confusing, which make the film feel longer than it is. The score by Bruno
Nicolai is gorgeous and adds to the atmosphere of the film, but I still can’t
recommend the film because of the problems explained above. There is nothing
worse than sitting in a theater or at home trying to figure out what the hell
is going on in a film. Good filmmakers try to soften the burden and others want
you to be confused. The Red Queen is
of the latter category.
OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐1/2
I am glad that I saw The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. The film is enjoyable to a fault, but the overly confusing nature throws the film off. The blu-ray from Arrow is excellent with top notch video and audio and enough special features to keep you busy for a while. The director also directed The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (which I have to watch) so there are two more giallos out there for the world to discover.
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