Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974) by Carlos Aured


Director: Carlos Aured
Year: 1974
Country: Spain
Alternate Titles: Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota; House of Psychotic Women; The House of Doom
Genre: Giallo

Plot:
Arriving in a secluded village looking for work, a stranger accepts a job at a house with several women as their handyman, but as he spends time working on the house a savage serial killer strikes women in the village which he gets blamed for causing the police to look at him as the main suspect.

Review:

This one turned out to be a solid enough Spanish giallo entry. The fact that this one plays quite well with the unsettling nature of the women and their relationship with each other for as much as it does is a rather enjoyable aspect here. Given that we’re dropped into their relationships immediately with the various situations and all the various neuroses they share, from the bed-ridden wheelchair-bound sister to the reclusive, withdrawn handicapped individual with the broken hand the outgoing nymphomaniac who all live together in the reclusive house, there’s a fine setup at work here to allow the various tension setpieces to develop. Both the suspense and the sexual variety emerge from this which is what makes the film fit neatly into the genre.

Though both aspects work well, it’s unquestionably the sexual tension that comes off much better. Playing off the nympho sister is undoubtedly the easiest, simply letting him do what he normally does which is what provides all the sexual energy required but when it turns to the seduction of the other sisters there the film does pick up some fine and genuinely erotic moments.in that relationship. Given all this provides the film with plenty of sensual nudity and sexual activity, it works nicely not just for the sleaze but also helping to setup the sense of distrust amongst each other that plays out with the series of savage murders that occur in the other genre aspect. These stalkings are incredibly fun, from the victim being stalked through the cemetery to the farm girl attacked on her property to the various victims knocked off in the underground cellar that is shocking enough and gives the film a great measure of sleaze and gore. For the most part, these are the film’s good parts.

There isn’t much to dislike with this one overall. The main disappointing aspect is the wholly clumsy and jangled screenplay that tries so incredibly hard to paint him as a suspect in the crimes that it never pays off. The idea of having him conflicted with the memory of strangling women which happens to coincide with the spate of murders around the village barely constitutes any kind of admission of guilt and the seasoned genre fan will have spotted that as a red herring a mile away. Likewise, the killer’s revelation and admission of committing the spree is a generally underwhelming effort that won’t be in the slightest bit reasonable or rational in how it plays out. These end up lowering this one slightly.


Overview: ****/5
An underrated and highly entertaining Spanish giallo effort that ranks among one of Naschy's better efforts overall, this is a fun and engaging piece that has plenty to like about it. Give it a look if you're a Eurohorror fanatic, fan of gialli or of the creative crew, while those that don't appreciate any of those qualities should heed caution.

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