Killer Nun (1979)

Well I must say that this movie is certainly an interesting addition to the slasher genre, a movie about a killer nun, well with a title like that I just had to see this, apparently this movie was part of the video nasties list back in the 1980's and well that just made me want to see this movie even more.The basic plot Sister Gertrude (Anita Ekberg) a deranged nun who resides at a gloomy geriatric hospital and rules over her patients with an iron fist, stamping on an elderly woman's false teeth , injecting herself with morphine and even resorting to lesbianism with another nun. But someone starts killing off the patients and all signs point to Sister Gertrude, is it her or is someone out to frame her.Well I must say that this movie is just hilarious, seconds into this movie you know that Sister Gertrude is a villain, thanks to Anita Ekberg's comical overacting performance, and plus it's known very early on that she's a junkie and addicted to sex (kinky sex) as well. It makes you think is how she was even let into the convent and how in the hell she doesn't get thrown out. Obivously this movie lacks big time in logic and sense but once the murders start this movie really gets going. There are major drawbacks in this movie, like it takes way too long to get going and the sickening scene with the old man in the wheelchair and the 20 year old girl was just plain sick and wasn't needed. Killer Nun is certainly stylish and sleazy in almost every way but lacks depth and substance, the supposed twist ending, was easily guessed, I figured it out after the first murder. Anita Ekberg gives her role as Sister Gertrude true elegance, she was hilarious and stole every scene she was in, she was brilliant and Sister Mathieu played by Paola Morra was beautiful and shows true innocence and had great chemistry with Anita Ekberg.All in all "Killer Nun" is a fun ride with interesting murders and certainly shocking, but it doesn't really require more than one viewing and not quite up there with the other Italian shockers that came out during this period.

I first became aware of this via the Blue Underground DVD, though I was not intrigued enough by the online reviews to acquire it; however, coming my way recently while being in a "Nunsploitation" frame-of-mind, I could not very well let the opportunity pass me by (in hindsight, the English dubbing is atrocious – even if the print reverted for a couple of brief scenes to the original Italian language). I have never been a fan of voluptuous Anita Ekberg and watching her as a demented, dope-addicted and sex-starved nun promised non-stop camp; with this in mind, obscure director Berruti lent the proceedings a matching deliriousness – but, alas, the end result is considerably less than the sum of its parts. The rest of the cast is interesting but, apart from Paola Morra – who, perhaps not to give the game away too early, effectively underplays her role as Ekberg's devoted 'room-mate' (incidentally, she would don the habit again that same year for Walerian Borowczyk's BEHIND CONVENT WALLS), clearly operating below-par: Joe Dallessandro (completely out of his element as a young doctor whom Morra effortlessly manages to keep in check at the climax – if you get my drift), Alida Valli (literally phoning in her performance as the Mother Superior), Lou Castel (as a nosy crippled patient) and Massimo Serato (as the irascible elder doctor who, however, continually cuts Ekberg's clumsiness some slack because she was the most valuable assistant he ever had!). Mildly interesting is the fact that THE KILLER NUN is book-ended by two confessional scenes (the second of which abruptly terminates the film without a proper resolution!) in which each of the protagonists spit out their hatred of the male species; for what it is worth, though clearly unbalanced and given to foul-mouthed outbursts, Ekberg is not the homicidal sister of the title but a victim of circumstance and rejected affection. Noted for its blending the "Nunsploitation" genre with the typical Giallo formula, these elements ought in fact to have made for a doubly enticing proposition; yet the two styles never properly jell, so that the film is too often ludicrous as opposed to gripping (much less scathing). In its favor, we do get Alessandro Alessandroni's score – which has an agreeable 'hard rock' vibe to it particularly redolent of Led Zeppelin's music! Unsurprisingly, the film is most memorable when it goes over-the-top – such as the irate Ekberg crushing an old patient's dentures under her feet (with the latter expiring soon after!), all the murder set-pieces but especially the one where a nurse has needles painfully stuck in her face (years before Takashi Miike!), and its two risible sex scenes (an old wheelchair-bound patient being serviced out in the rain by a young nurse and Ekberg herself picking up a man at a café and then making love in the corridor of his apartment-building).

"Suor Omicidi" aka "Killer Nun" of 1978 is a stylish and pleasantly demented Nunsploitation Horror flick that is quite vastly underrated. While it is certainly not very typical for the Nunsploitation-sub-gene, this is a very atmospheric, at times mesmerizing and very well-acted psychological Horror film that lovers of Exploitation cinema should certainly miss. The great Anita Eckberg, cult-actress of the 50s, stars in the leading role of Sister Gertrude, a nun working in a Christian mental hospital. After having a tumor removed, Gertrude is convinced that she still has cancer, and, along with a proceeding morphine addiction, gradually gets more obsessed with this idea. Suddenly, people at the hospital end up dead... Unlike most other Nunsploitation films, "Suor Omicidi" is not about devil-worshiping or satanic possession. While the film does include sex and nudity, as well as a variety of perversions, the sleaze-level is maybe not quite as high as in typical Nunsploitation flicks. It is quite demented, however, and even though sometimes a bit slow, "Killer Nun" always has a tense, creepy atmosphere. The score by Alessandro Alessandroni is downright ingenious and effectively enhances the film's eeriness in a brilliant manner. Anita Eckberg is outstanding in the lead, and beautiful Paola Morra is also very good in the role of her young roommate and fellow nun Sister Mathieu. The supporting cast includes a bunch of familiar faces for fans of cult-cinema, such as Joe Dalessandro ("Blood For Dracula"), Alida Valli ("Suspiria", "Inferno"), Lou Castell ("A Bullet For The General") and Massimo Serato ("Macchie Solari", "Solamente Nero"). Over-all "Killer Nun" is a creepy, atmospheric and effective flick with a very strong lead that I highly recommend to all my fellow fans of Exploitation and Italian Horror!

When I first heard about this movie it was in the video nasty list. As soon as I saw the name i thought oh my goodness that looks very good. and boy was i right. This movie has a very entertaining storyline which was based on a true crime which happened in Belgium. Anita Ekberg i think did the best role as this and she is a very very talented actor, for example when Peter asks her why did she kill Janoh she reacts in a way which i never would ever be able to if i was acting. For some odd reason people think that Joe Dallesandro shouldn't have been picked for his role because this movie isn't what he specializes in but i think it was one of his best roles yet. The sex scenes and the nudity are a bit pointless in this movie but i do feel that they have been placed appropriately through the movie. When you see Anita Ekberg in the rain looking at the old woman and man doing things to each other "wink" "wink". Her facial expression explains everything that is going on in her mind. She is filled with so much rage it looks like she is about to explode like in the movie Contamination. Now, when it comes to the end when everything gets explained. The musical score really put chills up your spine and "IT MAKES YOU BREATHE IN". Also just in the opening shot of the movie, the priest is actually the director of the movie. You must see this movie and if you don't you will go insane and take morphine and become a lesbian and kill the elderly patients in the hospital. Believe me this movie can never ever ever be missed.1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 out of 10.