Killer Nun
Shameless Screen Entertainment
Certificate 18
Coming late into the Nunsploitation explosion, Killer Nun is actually more reserved than some of the more extreme titles and relies on chilling violence rather than softcore sequences.
Anita Ekberg is a troubled nun consumed by madness who begins a spree of extreme violence whilst presiding over a regime of lesbianism, torture and death within a Church-run Care Home. As the bodies pile up, suspicion falls on the disturbed nun, whose twisted desires and dark secrets unravel in a chilling tale.
Originally banned in the UK during the Video Nasties debacle, Killer Nun is a strong movie thanks to its casting of Ekberg who delivers an unhinged and mesmerising performance of someone on the edge of reality. Inspired by a true story she gives her damaged character a soul, she’s brain damaged from a failed operation, she’s addicted to drugs and every now and again succumbs to desires of the flesh. She’s supported by fresh faced Paola Morra who plays the oppressed Sister Mathieu. Morra played another naughty nun the previous year in Behind Convent Walls but here is given far more to do. The other main member of the cast Joe Dallesandro who arrives halfway through as the hunky Dr. Patrick Roland and though he has little to do he adds a touch of coolness to the movie.
The visuals for the murders are trippy and bloody. Sequences such as the censor bothering “pins in the face” moments are truly toe-curling and created to have maximum impact. Director Giulio Berruti manages to put into images the mental torture Ekberg’s character is experiencing. He also ramps up the tension during each kill, each one taking slightly longer than the last.
The score from Alessandro Alessandroni, the talented creative who gave us many of the prime musical moments from the Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s delivers a soundtrack which helps keep you guessing which way the movie is going to go.
The transfer is something to behold, solid, colourful and detailed. Can’t say I’ve seen it this clear before. The soundtrack compliments this visual clarity perfectly.
Extras wise the disc contains a unique Anita Ekberg who goes into detail about how she wanted to remove herself from the image director Fellini created of her and perform in more challenging movies, plus an interview with director Giulio Berruti. The superb audio commentary by UK Film-Critic and Genre-Expert Rachael Nisbet is worth the price of the disc alone.
Killer Nun is one of the better Nunsploitation movie made as well as being genuinely creepy.
