Watch Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

Just perfect...

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Talking to a fellow IMDber on the Film Noir board,I got told about a Gothic Giallo directed by Antonio Margheriti.With having greatly enjoyed Margheriti's Horror-Western God Said To Cain,I decided that it would be a good time to look into the eyes of a deadly kitty.The plot-Scotland:Returning to her family's Dragonstone Castle a week earlier than expected, Corringa discovers that Lady Mary MacGrief is being pushed by all the family and servants to sell the place.Shocked at how almost everyone has turned on her mum,Corringa discovers that the main reasons behind their desperation for the castle to be sold,is an old family legend,which claims that dead members of the MacGrief family will come back from the dead as vampires.Trying to get to grips with her family's "curse",Corringa is given the news that a family member called Lord James MacGrieff has been locked away in a tower of the castle,due to James having gone insane.Dismissing the family's tall tales as nonsense,Coffinga soon finds out that she has stumbled up on a new curse,when the appearance of the MacGrief's pet cat,leads to a family member/servant being brutally murdered shortly after.View on the film:Whilst the films dubbed soundtrack suggest that the dubbing cast have never been anywhere near Scotland,co-writer/ (along with Giovanni Simonelli and Ted Rusoff) director Antonio Margheriti gives the movie a chilly Gothic atmosphere,as Margheriti uses mirrors and shards of light to build a sense of impending doom around the MacGrief's castle.Placed at the front of the movie via a striking score from Riz Ortolani,Margheriti keeps the Giallo elements burning against the Gothic Horror shivers by allowing a cute fur ball to walk along the castles high walls,which leads to all of the castles hidden pathways and crypts being places where the mysterious killer can play deadly games with each of the MacGrif family.For their adaptation of Peter Bryan's novel,the writers drip burning-red melodrama wax across the screen,as the writers dig into the gaps of the family,which go from secret mistresses,to a delightfully cheap-looking pet gorilla (aka:a man in a suit that's been half chewed by a dog.)Along with the melodramatic charm,the writers cover the sly Giallo mystery in brash Gothic Horror paint,as Corringa begins to fear that she may be about to become the latest death seen in the cats eyes.

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!

Quite standard Spaghetti slasher is nowhere near excellent, but also too far from awful to merit serious critical assault. The usual Gothic castle goings-on are given no special treatment here, and the psycho-killer's carnage is strictly PG on the shocks and gore board. This film is, moreover, surprisingly atmospheric. The mossy, rustic exterior of the castle, as well as its rich baroque antique decorum, make for a great looking European horror setting. Too bad, though, that the film never really gains much momentum...I found myself looking around the room after the first 30 minutes. Fortunately, the fairly intense closing scenes make up heartily for these shortcomings.SEVEN DEATHS is a watchable enough seventy-odd minutes, but if you're an unwaning viewer of connate movies, then chances are you've seen all this done before, and probably more successfully.*** Were they feeding that cat bacon-wrapped tater-tots or something? That thing was a freakin' tank!5/10

Antonio Margheriti, director of Gothic horror classics such as "The Virgin of Nuremberg" and "Castle of Blood", strikes again with this wonderfully stylish amalgamation between Gothic and giallo! The young Corringa is brought up to the Scottish castle for a gathering of the MacGrieff family. They have serious financial problems and might have to sell the family castle soon, but there's an even bigger danger lurking. A series of grisly murders takes place in the castle and the only witness to them all is a seemly unimpressed and fat cat. "Seven Deaths in a Cat's Eye" is a little slow and confusing at times, but it's an overall very atmospheric and tense Gothic thriller. The hunt for the killer, on the other hand, is pure giallo-greatness with a couple very effective red herrings and a rather surprising denouement. There obviously wasn't a lot of budget involved, still the murders are quite gory, with some uncanny throat-slitting and the devouring of corpses by hungry rats! The immense castle, imaginatively named "Dragonston", is an excellent filming location with a large number of dark cellars, vaults and secret passageways. The cat itself hasn't got anything to do with the plot – I even think some of the characters weren't even aware of her/his presence – but it's makes a lovely title and the animal looks very cute, a little bit like chubby Garfield. The music (by Riz Ortolani) and the cinematography are both very enchanting and contribute in making this film a must-see for fans of vintage Italian horror.