The Killer of Dolls aka El asesino de muñecas is a 1975 Spanish horror feature film written and directed by Miguel Madrid (Necrophagus) [as Michael Skaife]. The Huracán Films production stars David Rocha, Inma de Santis, Helga Liné (The Loreley’s Grasp; Horror Rises from the Tomb) and Elisenda Ribas.
Plot:
A young man named Paul (David Rocha) is thrown out of medical school due to his inability to deal with the sight of blood. He returns home to Montpellier in France where his father is gardener on a huge estate belonging to Countess Olivia (Helga Liné). It transpires that fear of blood is not Paul’s only quirk. He was raised as a girl after his sister died and likes to play with dolls, performing strange operations on them, attempting to extract their hearts.
Meanwhile, in the park surrounding the Countesses’ home, a number of young girls have been found murdered. The killer seems to be a mysterious individual wearing a black wig, a white doll mask and speaking with a woman’s voice. As the killings multiply around him, Paul sinks ever deeper into a world of hallucination and nightmare…
Reviews:
A real hidden gem of Spanish horror cinema […] it’s quite surprising that it doesn’t seem to have much more of a reputation in Eurocult circles. David Rocha’s performance as Paul ranges from the subtle to the hysterically unhinged, but it’s Miguel Madrid’s direction that offers such a colourfully warped peek into the killer’s doll obsessed mind.” Laurie Jed, Letterboxd
“Killing of the Dolls is rife with harsh jump cuts and exaggerated dialogue, and the lead performance might be one of the most gender-aloof portrayals of a killer I’ve yet seen. The persistent tone-shifts make it difficult to settle into the plot, but if you like your slashers weird this is near the tip top.” Street, Letterboxd
Release:
The Killer of Dolls is being released for the first-time ever on Blu-ray by Mondo Macabro.
A limited ‘red case’ edition will come with a unique reversible cover and a booklet with brand new writing on the film by Spanish film expert Ismael Fernandez.
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original negative
- Region free
- Spanish audio track with newly created, optional English subtitles
- Brand new interview with actor David Rocha
- Brand new interview with Dr Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, author of the book Spanish Horror Film
- Brand new audio commentary by Kay Ellinger
- Brand new audio commentary by Robert Monell and Rodney Barnett
Order from June 27, 2019, direct from Mondo Macabro
Technical details:
- 98 minutes
- Gevacolor
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1
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