FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Nick Duguay As many others have noted this is an odd mixture of Hammer style horror and giallo, somewhat similar (though far inferior) to Bava's The Body and the Whip. I really rather enjoyed the atmosphere and found the scenery, especially the castle, to be gorgeous. Unfortunately this was not enough to carry the story which seemed like a rough draft. The entire thing was really very strange but I've got to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit and admired the camera work which was, once again, reminiscent of that found in Bava's films, particularly A Bay of Blood- lots of close ups and fluid voyeur shots; though with an obviously far larger production budget. This film is at times quite beautiful and if you're into giallo you're used to the contrived and often nonsensical plots that they often employ, and so this barely detracts from the entertainment value. This movie has a vibe that I wanted to savor and after the time was up I wanted more. It kept me entertained the entire runtime. I must say that this probably came at quite the right time for me in particular as I've been getting into Hammer horror recently and decided to watch a few slashers/giallo to 'cleanse the palate' as it were- and was very pleasantly surprised by this weird hybrid.

Witchfinder General 666 Nobody could possibly deny that the great late Antoni Margheriti was an absolute master of style and atmosphere. Margheriti's doubtlessly greatest masterpiece is "Danza Macabra" (aka. "Castle Of Blood", 1964), a personal favorite which easily ranks among the most atmospheric Horror films ever made. The man's repertoire includes quite a bunch of other great films, however. Such as the wonderfully demented Gothic tale "La Vergine Di Norimberga" ("The Virgin Of Nuremberg", 1963) or the dark Spaghetti Western "E Dio Disse A Caino" ("And God Said To Cain", 1970). Or this awesome film. "La Morte Negli Occhi Del Gatto" aka. "Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye" (1973) is a delightfully creepy Giallo with an astonishing Gothic atmosphere. The pairing of my two favorite Horror sub-genres, namely Giallo and Gothic tales, is always a delight. Margheriti made only two Gialli, "Nude... Si Muore" (aka. "Naked You Die", 1968) and this one, and it is obvious in both of them that the man is a brilliant creator of Gothic atmosphere. Many of my fellow Giallo-fans seem to prefer "Naked You Die" (not least due to its role as an early specimen of the genre), but I actually like "Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye" better. The Gothic elements are way stronger in this one, and I also found it to be creepier, more suspenseful and less predictable than "Naked You Die" (which is nonetheless also a very good film)."Seven Deaths In A Cat's Eye" is terrifically set in an eerie castle in the Scottish countryside. As usual in a Giallo, bodies of people murdered by a mystery killer pile up in the area. The residents of the castle include the widowed Lady MacGrieff (Francoise Christophe), who owns the castle, her cynical son Lord James MacGrieff (Hiram Keller), the beautiful and innocent niece Corringa (Jane Birkin) and her mother, a seductive French girl (Doris Kunstmann), a Doctor (Anton Diffring), two priests and a bunch of servants. As usual for a good Giallo, (almost) everybody is suspicious. "Seven Deaths In A Cat's Eye" is full of demented characters. The storyline may be a bit confused and not the most elaborate ever, but the mystery part is very good, the atmosphere is wonderfully creepy from the first minute, some of the killings are quite gruesome and the score by maestro Riz Ortolani is excellent and intensifies the suspense. The film includes little to no sleaze for a Giallo, but Jane Birkin, who plays the innocent female lead, and Doris Kunstmann, who plays the more seductive woman, are still both very nice to look at. My fellow Italian Horror fans will like to see regular supporting actor Luciano Pigozzi in the role of one of the servants. Pigozzi was present in various genres throughout the years, and Gialli and Gothic Tales were probably the two (sub-)genres he appeared in most frequently. I could not praise Antonio Margheriti enough. "Seven Deaths In A Cat's Eye" is another great film by this fantastic director, a wonderful mixture of Giallo and Gothic tale, and a film that no Italian Horror buff should miss! Highly Recommended!

lazarillo This a strange movie. It was directed by Anthony Margheretti who specialized in Italian Gothic horror films, but it was made at the height of "yellow (giallo) fever" in the early 1970's. As a result it is kind of a strange cross between a 60's Gothic horror movie and a 70's giallo. It is set in a 19th century Scottish castle rather than in a more modern-day Rome fashion house,for instance, but it has both a number and an animal in the title(the calling card of a giallo) and it features a series of nasty murders right from the opening credits when a man is butchered and his body fed to rats in the cellar. It also has an ape wandering around through secret passages in the castle, which doesn't fit either the giallo or the Gothic horror genre but might be some kind of homage to Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in Rue Morgue". The story starts off when a young woman (Jane Birkin) returns home to her family's castle and is reunited with her neurotic mother, lecherous uncle, and angry young cousin (who owns the ape), and before long people start dying left and right. Oh yeah, there's also a cat wandering around who witnesses (some of) the murders, thus the title.This was OK I guess, but I had a few problems with it. First, off they pretty much wasted the ape. If you're going to have an ape in your movie (or a man in an ape suit anyway) you should do more with him. Second, this is the only movie I've ever personally seen Jane Birkin in where she does NOT take her clothes off. As this made the movie significantly more boring I had a lot of time to ponder why this was and it finally occurred to me that she might have been pregnant with her daughter, the equally sexy actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, at the time. (And speaking of Gainsbourg, Serg Gainsbourg also has a cameo in this movie as a dubbed Scottish detective).Finally, I was disappointed with the titular cat a little bit. It was kind of fluffy white cat like the one Blofeld is always stroking in James Bond movies. They should have used a more sinister black cat like the one named "Satan" that appeared in two gialli the previous year ("Gently Before She Dies" and "Crimes of the Black Cat"), but maybe he'd gone to kitty heaven or just refused to travel to Scotland (at least it wasn't a guy in a cat suit). Anyway, it seemed like they kind of forgot about the cat anyway towards the end. This was an alright movie, but it could have been better.

django-1 SEVEN DEATHS IN THE CAT'S EYE is not really a standard "Giallo" by any stretch of the imagination. It's actually a 1970's Italian variation on the Old Dark House genre--it even hearkens back to early sound films such as THE MONSTER WALKS and silent films such as THE CAT AND THE CANARY--but with a Hitchcock and Tennessee Williams twist, and all done in the stylish Gothic manner that Italians do so well. Jane Birkin is a girl home from boarding school to an old castle with the ultimate dysfunctional family. Hiram Keller, of FELLINI SATYRICON fame, is superb as James, the outcast of the home who turns out to be the only sane one. It's a florid, over-the-top performance that makes me want to search out more of the late Mr. Keller's obscure European films. And it's a hoot to see (but not hear) Serge Gainsbourg as a Scottish police inspector (he's dubbed). The mysterious cat motif works well, and there is a sly sense of humor and good fun throughout the entire film, but enough murders and atmosphere and mystery to make the experience well worth you time. This is not the kind of film to over-analyze--just enjoy it and let yourself go along for the ride as if you are on a roller coaster or in a fun-house. The widescreen transfer looks nice and the beautiful, rich colors come through well. I can imagine pulling this film out again every year or so and still being entertained. Recommended!