Wow! You ever wonder why you are who you are, and how you got this way? I saw this movie in 1973 when I was 12 years old. Didn't know it at the time, but it was happily inappropriate for a group of impressionable pre-teens. My day camp counselor who was about 17 at the time took us to see this along with a karate flick ("The Hong Kong Cat"). It was classic - the counselor and his girlfriend drinking beer & sitting five rows behind nine raucous and rowdy 12 year olds. Then when the first solo shower scene of one of the inmates comes on, followed by a pretty sizzling interracial lesbian vignette, we were dead silent. "Slaughter Hotel" is a roller coaster ride of wood-inducing soft core action, followed by well, slaughter. There are spots where they try to make sense of the story, but its basically a maniac loose in a hospital where all of the female patients are lusty and attractive. I remember thinking how I could get a job at a place like that? Years later it reminded me of the Richard Speck episode from the sixties, where he killed 8 nurses in Chicago. I got this on VHS from Amazon a few years ago, and it maintains its ability to stimulate. Yeah we were all marked after that movie. We later graduated to hard core flicks on 42nd St in NYC, but I digress..Rent this if you can, and see if doesn't maintain your ah, interest. Klaus Kinski probably removed this from his resume, but I consider this one of the godfathers of there slasher genre.
50 Reviews
It is Sleazy, but not a Giallo
carlykristen9 October 2006
I will start by saying that in the Director's Interview, Di Leo admits outright that he did no research on mental institutions when he decided to make a film based on, well, mental institutions. When asked how he got along with the actresses on set, he replies, "They had good bodies." He also admits that he didn't like the film, but he is glad others do. This is really all you need to know about the film. No, wait
there is more.
Slaughter Hotel's original ad campaign played upon the idea that the film is "Based on a True Story", which means it really wasn't. It was compared to the crimes of Chicago mass-murderer Richard Speck (who actually killed student nurses and not patients), but is technically unrelated.
The premise of the film is to not be grounded in reality. Or that is my interpretation at least. Basically, this is a mental institution running in a castle complete with armored knights. The only patients they admit are young, beautiful women with a problem of running around naked for no apparent reason. The film has about 20 sex scenes, which are repeated in flashbacks as though I would forget, so I guess it is more like 115 times people have sex on screen. Ugh, there is no mystery here. I think Di Leo forgot he was making a horror film. I guess a couple girls die later leading to a tacked on, lame ending.
The major problems with the flick are many. There is highly inappropriate music resembling The Love Boat. The sound quality is bad with constant thudding and a poor transition between music and background noise. Klaus Kinksi, the lead actor, stands around with nothing to do. Di Leo has no idea what mental stability and instability is.
The scenes in this film are beyond bizarre. My favorite of which is when a Black patient hearing drums says, "This must be from my native country. I must have danced to this when I was a child." Yes folks, that's right, she proceeds to dance like a chicken and finish it off by having lesbian sex with her nurse. The rest of the film is pretty much the same. Nude massages & sponge baths, full-on female masturbation sequences, etc.
I felt like I was watching porn with bad dialogue, but I guess that would be redundant because that's what porn is. Sex, bad dialogue, and some more sex.
Nothing in this film makes sense. There is no linear plot, no mystery, and no one cares. I honesty think this was a wet dream Di Leo had. I was waiting for the flying unicorn to tackle the leprechaun for his pot of gold. And then have sex with it.
Favorite Quote Doctor says to Female Patient, "Your desire to make love is excessive. Now go take a shower."
Extras: Well, I guess there was a Still Gallery, Trailers, and Interviews. As stated before, it includes educational commentary from the director.
Bottom Line: Ultimate sleazefest with minimal gore and zero intelligence. If you like sleaze, I recommend buying it. You will be happy. If you want a good giallo, then set this on fire, do a dance around it, and hope that God will send you anything from Argento, the Bavas, or anyone else that is Italian.
Rating: I guess it depends on your mood. Either 3/10 or 7/10.
Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook
Slaughter Hotel's original ad campaign played upon the idea that the film is "Based on a True Story", which means it really wasn't. It was compared to the crimes of Chicago mass-murderer Richard Speck (who actually killed student nurses and not patients), but is technically unrelated.
The premise of the film is to not be grounded in reality. Or that is my interpretation at least. Basically, this is a mental institution running in a castle complete with armored knights. The only patients they admit are young, beautiful women with a problem of running around naked for no apparent reason. The film has about 20 sex scenes, which are repeated in flashbacks as though I would forget, so I guess it is more like 115 times people have sex on screen. Ugh, there is no mystery here. I think Di Leo forgot he was making a horror film. I guess a couple girls die later leading to a tacked on, lame ending.
The major problems with the flick are many. There is highly inappropriate music resembling The Love Boat. The sound quality is bad with constant thudding and a poor transition between music and background noise. Klaus Kinksi, the lead actor, stands around with nothing to do. Di Leo has no idea what mental stability and instability is.
The scenes in this film are beyond bizarre. My favorite of which is when a Black patient hearing drums says, "This must be from my native country. I must have danced to this when I was a child." Yes folks, that's right, she proceeds to dance like a chicken and finish it off by having lesbian sex with her nurse. The rest of the film is pretty much the same. Nude massages & sponge baths, full-on female masturbation sequences, etc.
I felt like I was watching porn with bad dialogue, but I guess that would be redundant because that's what porn is. Sex, bad dialogue, and some more sex.
Nothing in this film makes sense. There is no linear plot, no mystery, and no one cares. I honesty think this was a wet dream Di Leo had. I was waiting for the flying unicorn to tackle the leprechaun for his pot of gold. And then have sex with it.
Favorite Quote Doctor says to Female Patient, "Your desire to make love is excessive. Now go take a shower."
Extras: Well, I guess there was a Still Gallery, Trailers, and Interviews. As stated before, it includes educational commentary from the director.
Bottom Line: Ultimate sleazefest with minimal gore and zero intelligence. If you like sleaze, I recommend buying it. You will be happy. If you want a good giallo, then set this on fire, do a dance around it, and hope that God will send you anything from Argento, the Bavas, or anyone else that is Italian.
Rating: I guess it depends on your mood. Either 3/10 or 7/10.
Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook
Still Delivers the Goods! [Spoiler's A'Plenty!!]
Steve_Nyland29 March 2004
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER ALERT: This essay contains more spoilers than a copy of the film's script, was originally intended for a fan site, and assumes a working knowledge of the movie beforehand. --
After almost a year of obtaining examples of this long lost [and apparently soon to be resurrected] sex thriller I finally sat down with an old drinking buddy last night, assaulted an 18 pack of Molson's, and about halfway through we turned to Fernando diLeo's nasty little film for a couple of laughs, and it delivered.
I say "nasty" only to play into the movie's sordid reputation. Known variably as ASYLUM EROTICA, SLAUGHTER HOTEL, the original title of La Bestia uccide a sangue freddo, THE COLD BLOODED BEAST and a French title translating out roughly as THE INSATIABLE EROTIC DOLLS OF PROFESSOR HITCHCOCK, SLAUGHTER HOTEL [as we will refer to it here] was one of the most effective of the post LA RESIDENCIA/HOUSE THAT SCREAMED thrillers to come off of the continent that began mixing graphic sexual content with increasingly graphic violence: the only question became how to narratively justify the sex & blood. Fernando diLeo chose an amusingly satisfactory angle that actually sounds like the premise for a porno film: A masked, ruthless killer runs amok at a "rest home"/insane asylum catering to sexually insatiable wealthy nymphomaniacs, all of whom are naturally a standout elite corps of Eurohorror's sex queens: Margaret Lee, Rosalba Neri, Jane Garret, with the always willing Monica Strebel on hand as a ravishingly gorgeous asylum staff member who gives new meaning to the term "Wet Nurse". Eurohorror heavyweight [and frequent Italian sleaze co-enabler extraordinaire] Klaus Kinski plays the kind Professor Keller who has a haircut that makes him look like a member of Yes and is onscreen for maybe 15 of the movies 90 minutes or so of activity, during which [on the Gorgon tape, at least] he gets to smoke two or three cigarettes, speak a few lines of psychobabble, and have Margeret Lee fall in love with him. Pretty good for a couple week's work, I'd say. A somewhat confused and elderly looking John Carlson plays the clinic's lead physician, with various other orderlies and groundskeeping staff rounded out by the sinister Dr. Hyde, actor Fernando Cerulli made up to look somewhat like an alter-ego to Kinski's good Professor. A kewpie doll to those who can guess whom the killer turns out to be.
This is one interesting asylum: the "guests" are free to come & go as they please -- although since the villa it is located in is in the middle of nowhere they are effectively trapped in a guilded cage -- and the delightful patients seem to spend the vast majority of their time playing croquet [which must have some subtextural meaning about knocking balls through hoops that I am missing], lounging around having cocktails & chatting with each other about their common ailments, luxuriating in bubble baths while helpful attractive female nurses soap their breasts for them, seducing the "good-meaning but gosh darn it he's a man" gardener, trying to initiate group sex encounters with the orderlies, smoking and endless supply of cigarettes, and above all else, masturbating.
There is more masturbation in SLAUGHTER HOTEL than most straight-up porno movies. Since the Gorgon tape of SLAUGHTER HOTEL is a cut R rated version, the masturbation is implied/suggested/depicted in anticipation of or the laborious aftereffects thereof. While my buddy & I chugged beers and let the film unfold I had to step outside for drags off a series of half-smoked cigarettes, and the question I'd keep yelling from the door would be "HOW'S THE MASTURBATION LOOKING?" "CUT." Would be the reply. THE INSATIABLE EROTIC DOLLS OF DR. HITCHCOCK apparently has the graphic inserts used to more fully depict this plot-dependant activity, and I'll review that version as soon as I have built up the resolve to subject myself to it.
Between various orgasms, the killer brutally murders his way through the cast, using the medieval axes, knives, spiked maces, swords, and even a crossbow that are used as wall decorations down in the main hallway. Like most modern Americans I have myself been to see counsellors for one reason or another during my life, and not one of them had double handed battle axes as wall decorations in their buildings. Curious.
Of all the cast members, Rosalba Neri seems to be the one who actually allowed herself to become involved with the production and endows her character with a feline, predatory awareness that probably results in the fanatical cult following that this film has engendered. Her steamy, psychedelic shower scene is almost brilliant in depicting an almost pure, pornographic vision of a woman with such a cosnuming sense of nymphomania that she is driven to distraction. Her striptease & sex scene in the greenhouse is probably the film's high point for me, and there was a sense of disappointment to her murder, since none of the surviving ladies was as interesting, and her genuine attempt to coaxe her murderer into at least screwing her first was perhaps the movie's most effective moment. Everything that woman touched was golden.
The film's other main noteriety is for the scene where blond Jane Garret first "interferes with herself", as the nuns at school would say, and then is done in by the killer in what is the most graphic murder of the film: He first stabs her, then slices her abdomen from neck to pubis & off to the side in what can only be an edited attempt to eviscerate the woman. While I will agree that the sight of her intestines might be necessary to diLeo's vision for the film I was glad to be spared the moment. Perhaps the Italian and French versions will contain the entire disembowling, and I'll make note if warranted in a future posting.
On the whole I found the production to be an interesting mix of kink, sleaze and gory killings, with the subplot involving Rosalba Neri's incestous relationship with her brother providing an extra layer of filth that I wasn't expecting. While the dubbing & picture quality of the Gorgon tape reviewed is not up to standards, I found the movies' color schemes to be compelling, and director diLeo's camerawork definitely showing a ready pre-curser to what would become the slasher film's structure of switching to the Darth Vader breathed killer's perspective. I also liked how diLeo was able to combine the elements of a gothic thriller with a lurid modern day sex picture so effortlessly: the scenes of the killer lurking around in the dark, selecting weapons and then having to scamper about to remain unnoticed had a nice quality to them that actually sort of put us in the killer's shoes, though one does wonder why a health clinic if any variety would have what seens to be an inexaustible supply of cigarettes for characters to puff away on so copiously, but whatever: 1971 Italy, everybody smoked.
It's interesting to add as a footnote that none of the "Fernando deLio Scholars" whom I have queried about this movie to claim to be particularly fond of it, and all of us have expressed a dismay to each other at understanding why the film has such a violently ferverant cult following. One of my experts -- who personally knew diLeo and has met Ms. Neri & spoken with her -- stated catagorically that neither was fond of discussing the film or considered working on it to have been a pleasant experience. This may be because of the notorious post-production editing that pushed the film into the area of genuine pornography in at least one form, or it may be that they were intelligent artists who understood that while they did the best with what they had to work with, SLAUGHTER HOTEL basically sucks once you get down to it, though it does have some moments that add up to more than the sum of it's parts.
Of additional interest: The villa used for at least some of the filming is the same building used in Anthony Margheriti's WEB OF THE SPIDER; The upstairs hallway is exactly the same set, only with the walls painted white and the furniture re-arranged. Check it out.
SQ032904 **1/2 out of a possible ****
After almost a year of obtaining examples of this long lost [and apparently soon to be resurrected] sex thriller I finally sat down with an old drinking buddy last night, assaulted an 18 pack of Molson's, and about halfway through we turned to Fernando diLeo's nasty little film for a couple of laughs, and it delivered.
I say "nasty" only to play into the movie's sordid reputation. Known variably as ASYLUM EROTICA, SLAUGHTER HOTEL, the original title of La Bestia uccide a sangue freddo, THE COLD BLOODED BEAST and a French title translating out roughly as THE INSATIABLE EROTIC DOLLS OF PROFESSOR HITCHCOCK, SLAUGHTER HOTEL [as we will refer to it here] was one of the most effective of the post LA RESIDENCIA/HOUSE THAT SCREAMED thrillers to come off of the continent that began mixing graphic sexual content with increasingly graphic violence: the only question became how to narratively justify the sex & blood. Fernando diLeo chose an amusingly satisfactory angle that actually sounds like the premise for a porno film: A masked, ruthless killer runs amok at a "rest home"/insane asylum catering to sexually insatiable wealthy nymphomaniacs, all of whom are naturally a standout elite corps of Eurohorror's sex queens: Margaret Lee, Rosalba Neri, Jane Garret, with the always willing Monica Strebel on hand as a ravishingly gorgeous asylum staff member who gives new meaning to the term "Wet Nurse". Eurohorror heavyweight [and frequent Italian sleaze co-enabler extraordinaire] Klaus Kinski plays the kind Professor Keller who has a haircut that makes him look like a member of Yes and is onscreen for maybe 15 of the movies 90 minutes or so of activity, during which [on the Gorgon tape, at least] he gets to smoke two or three cigarettes, speak a few lines of psychobabble, and have Margeret Lee fall in love with him. Pretty good for a couple week's work, I'd say. A somewhat confused and elderly looking John Carlson plays the clinic's lead physician, with various other orderlies and groundskeeping staff rounded out by the sinister Dr. Hyde, actor Fernando Cerulli made up to look somewhat like an alter-ego to Kinski's good Professor. A kewpie doll to those who can guess whom the killer turns out to be.
This is one interesting asylum: the "guests" are free to come & go as they please -- although since the villa it is located in is in the middle of nowhere they are effectively trapped in a guilded cage -- and the delightful patients seem to spend the vast majority of their time playing croquet [which must have some subtextural meaning about knocking balls through hoops that I am missing], lounging around having cocktails & chatting with each other about their common ailments, luxuriating in bubble baths while helpful attractive female nurses soap their breasts for them, seducing the "good-meaning but gosh darn it he's a man" gardener, trying to initiate group sex encounters with the orderlies, smoking and endless supply of cigarettes, and above all else, masturbating.
There is more masturbation in SLAUGHTER HOTEL than most straight-up porno movies. Since the Gorgon tape of SLAUGHTER HOTEL is a cut R rated version, the masturbation is implied/suggested/depicted in anticipation of or the laborious aftereffects thereof. While my buddy & I chugged beers and let the film unfold I had to step outside for drags off a series of half-smoked cigarettes, and the question I'd keep yelling from the door would be "HOW'S THE MASTURBATION LOOKING?" "CUT." Would be the reply. THE INSATIABLE EROTIC DOLLS OF DR. HITCHCOCK apparently has the graphic inserts used to more fully depict this plot-dependant activity, and I'll review that version as soon as I have built up the resolve to subject myself to it.
Between various orgasms, the killer brutally murders his way through the cast, using the medieval axes, knives, spiked maces, swords, and even a crossbow that are used as wall decorations down in the main hallway. Like most modern Americans I have myself been to see counsellors for one reason or another during my life, and not one of them had double handed battle axes as wall decorations in their buildings. Curious.
Of all the cast members, Rosalba Neri seems to be the one who actually allowed herself to become involved with the production and endows her character with a feline, predatory awareness that probably results in the fanatical cult following that this film has engendered. Her steamy, psychedelic shower scene is almost brilliant in depicting an almost pure, pornographic vision of a woman with such a cosnuming sense of nymphomania that she is driven to distraction. Her striptease & sex scene in the greenhouse is probably the film's high point for me, and there was a sense of disappointment to her murder, since none of the surviving ladies was as interesting, and her genuine attempt to coaxe her murderer into at least screwing her first was perhaps the movie's most effective moment. Everything that woman touched was golden.
The film's other main noteriety is for the scene where blond Jane Garret first "interferes with herself", as the nuns at school would say, and then is done in by the killer in what is the most graphic murder of the film: He first stabs her, then slices her abdomen from neck to pubis & off to the side in what can only be an edited attempt to eviscerate the woman. While I will agree that the sight of her intestines might be necessary to diLeo's vision for the film I was glad to be spared the moment. Perhaps the Italian and French versions will contain the entire disembowling, and I'll make note if warranted in a future posting.
On the whole I found the production to be an interesting mix of kink, sleaze and gory killings, with the subplot involving Rosalba Neri's incestous relationship with her brother providing an extra layer of filth that I wasn't expecting. While the dubbing & picture quality of the Gorgon tape reviewed is not up to standards, I found the movies' color schemes to be compelling, and director diLeo's camerawork definitely showing a ready pre-curser to what would become the slasher film's structure of switching to the Darth Vader breathed killer's perspective. I also liked how diLeo was able to combine the elements of a gothic thriller with a lurid modern day sex picture so effortlessly: the scenes of the killer lurking around in the dark, selecting weapons and then having to scamper about to remain unnoticed had a nice quality to them that actually sort of put us in the killer's shoes, though one does wonder why a health clinic if any variety would have what seens to be an inexaustible supply of cigarettes for characters to puff away on so copiously, but whatever: 1971 Italy, everybody smoked.
It's interesting to add as a footnote that none of the "Fernando deLio Scholars" whom I have queried about this movie to claim to be particularly fond of it, and all of us have expressed a dismay to each other at understanding why the film has such a violently ferverant cult following. One of my experts -- who personally knew diLeo and has met Ms. Neri & spoken with her -- stated catagorically that neither was fond of discussing the film or considered working on it to have been a pleasant experience. This may be because of the notorious post-production editing that pushed the film into the area of genuine pornography in at least one form, or it may be that they were intelligent artists who understood that while they did the best with what they had to work with, SLAUGHTER HOTEL basically sucks once you get down to it, though it does have some moments that add up to more than the sum of it's parts.
Of additional interest: The villa used for at least some of the filming is the same building used in Anthony Margheriti's WEB OF THE SPIDER; The upstairs hallway is exactly the same set, only with the walls painted white and the furniture re-arranged. Check it out.
SQ032904 **1/2 out of a possible ****
Murder and sex in the loony bin
SMK-36 August 1998
With the retreat of film censorship in Europe and the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s the makers of exploitation films were left loose on the somewhat unsuspecting cinema goer. Both gore and sex content of such films increased dramatically, while less care was taken to embed the spectacle in a coherent, gripping and believable story. This was particularly obvious in the Italian Giallo, a genre that emerged in those years from the traditional Italian horror film and the German Edgar Wallace thrillers.
Here we have a typical example of the genre: a serial killer is on the loose , we see gruesome and gory (but stylish) killings that do not reveal the identity of the murderer, have some sex thrown in at good measure, and are finally rather disappointed when the murder mystery is solved.
Asylum Erotica is set in a mental hospital for the very rich, on some isolated location in the countryside. The asylum is run by Dr. Keller -- played by Klaus Kinski in one of his many personifications of psychiatrists. The patients are busy having a good time, including the inevitable hanky -panky (come in Rosalba Neri as the resident nymphomaniac), when suddenly corpses are starting to pile up. Apparently, they have been killed with some medieval weapons that are conveniently on open display in the lounge. Why has nobody considered them a safety hazard -- this is a mental hospital , after all? Why aren't they tucked away after the first killing(s)? We shall never know.
Clearly, this isn't a great film, but it is still quite watchable, certainly if you like Eurosleaze. For fans of Kinski and Neri this is a 'must'.
Here we have a typical example of the genre: a serial killer is on the loose , we see gruesome and gory (but stylish) killings that do not reveal the identity of the murderer, have some sex thrown in at good measure, and are finally rather disappointed when the murder mystery is solved.
Asylum Erotica is set in a mental hospital for the very rich, on some isolated location in the countryside. The asylum is run by Dr. Keller -- played by Klaus Kinski in one of his many personifications of psychiatrists. The patients are busy having a good time, including the inevitable hanky -panky (come in Rosalba Neri as the resident nymphomaniac), when suddenly corpses are starting to pile up. Apparently, they have been killed with some medieval weapons that are conveniently on open display in the lounge. Why has nobody considered them a safety hazard -- this is a mental hospital , after all? Why aren't they tucked away after the first killing(s)? We shall never know.
Clearly, this isn't a great film, but it is still quite watchable, certainly if you like Eurosleaze. For fans of Kinski and Neri this is a 'must'.
Wow....what a totally pointless movie!
Coventry13 December 2005
"Slaughter Hotel" is quite a perplexing film experience
Not so much because of its brilliance, uniqueness or professionalism but because it's so damn addictive despite being one of the most poorly scripted horror film ever made. This is one giant trashy mess in which story-logic, atmosphere and character drawings have all been skipped in favor of more luscious nudity and sleaze. We're welcomed in a resting home for hot & wealthy ladies, with mental problems going from burnouts to nymphomania. There's a team of strange doctors, unprofessional nurses and even a hunky gardener at these ladies' service to help them get over whatever problems they got. In order to make "Slaughter Hotel" at least somewhat resemble to a giallo, director Fernando DiLeo also introduces a mad-raving murderer, typically dressed in black and using the institution's old-fashioned armory decoration as slashing tools. All put together, this results in extended sequences of females having any form of sex (masturbation, lesbian action or actual sex) before brutally getting killed. The basics of exploitation cinema, maybe, but nonetheless a bad movie with too many tedious moments and totally wasting a great cast. I don't think you're meant to care for the killer's identity as his/her motivations largely remain unexplained at the end. There are a lot of things that don't make the least bit of sense (butt-massages??) and the girls, for some reason, all have extended flashbacks with completely irrelevant contents. I suppose that was done to reach a playtime of 90 minutes. Klaus Kinski looks terrifically vicious with his long blond hair but even his presence can't bring much redemption. The murders are gory (especially the grand finale!) but not the least bit disturbing. "Slaughter Hotel" is worth watching for fans of Italian horror but I'm sure everyone will acknowledge that it's nothing more than a poor man's Sergio Martino, Dario Argento or Mario Bava.
Extremely sleaze and bloody Italian Slasher with a lot of grisly killings
ma-cortes15 April 2021
A psychiatric clinic located in the quiet countryside is run by Doctor Clay : Klaus Kinski , there stays various female patients. This is a hospital with an inferno of femine desires where people die murdered one after another, piling up a number of corpses . As a heinous cloaked murderer is executing a criminal spree by using medieval weapons against the unfortunate victms who he has previously stalked . Who is the killer ? . Carved out today's headlines ! A place where nothing is forbidden ! Where the sick get sicker... Murder by murder ! Victim by victim ! All 8 died !
An Eurosleaze slasher with thrills , chills , high body-count , nudism , ominous stabbing and lots of blood and gore . A crime movie set at a rehabilitation hospital for women suffering mental disorder in which see see the slashing massacre of eight innocent nurses , as they are killed one by one . The psychological clinical has several female patients with disturbing illness as nymphomany , agarophobia , and other lesbian women , that's it displays lots of nudism in charge of beautiful scream girls as Margaret Lee , Monica Strebel, Desideri , Jane Garret , Carla Mancini and special mention for gorgeous Rosalba Neri who played various exploitation movies and here she provides some really erotic naked scenes by playing a nymphomanic patient .
In addition , it displays a strange and mysterious musical score . As well as atmospheric cinematography by Franco Villa , though a perfect remastering being necessary . Shot on location in Castel Fusano, Lacio , Rome , Italy . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Fernando Di Leo . Fernando was an expert writer and director . Firstly , he wrote notorious Spaghetti Westerns as Fistful of dollars , For a Fistful of Dollars more , Ringo , The return of Ringo , Johnny Yuma , 7 Guns for the McGregor , 7 women for the McGregor , Sugar Colt , Johnny Yuma , Joe the Implacable , The Ruthless four . Turning in filmmaking he made all kinds of genres as sex comedies : Loaded guns , Italian Sex , La Seductione and Victims of Lust . Outstanding in Poliziesco subgenre such as : I Boss , The American connection , La Mala Ordinaria , Shoot first die later , Running Guns , Madness , Razza Violenta , Killers vs Killers , among others . Rating : so-so and mediocre Giallo .
An Eurosleaze slasher with thrills , chills , high body-count , nudism , ominous stabbing and lots of blood and gore . A crime movie set at a rehabilitation hospital for women suffering mental disorder in which see see the slashing massacre of eight innocent nurses , as they are killed one by one . The psychological clinical has several female patients with disturbing illness as nymphomany , agarophobia , and other lesbian women , that's it displays lots of nudism in charge of beautiful scream girls as Margaret Lee , Monica Strebel, Desideri , Jane Garret , Carla Mancini and special mention for gorgeous Rosalba Neri who played various exploitation movies and here she provides some really erotic naked scenes by playing a nymphomanic patient .
In addition , it displays a strange and mysterious musical score . As well as atmospheric cinematography by Franco Villa , though a perfect remastering being necessary . Shot on location in Castel Fusano, Lacio , Rome , Italy . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Fernando Di Leo . Fernando was an expert writer and director . Firstly , he wrote notorious Spaghetti Westerns as Fistful of dollars , For a Fistful of Dollars more , Ringo , The return of Ringo , Johnny Yuma , 7 Guns for the McGregor , 7 women for the McGregor , Sugar Colt , Johnny Yuma , Joe the Implacable , The Ruthless four . Turning in filmmaking he made all kinds of genres as sex comedies : Loaded guns , Italian Sex , La Seductione and Victims of Lust . Outstanding in Poliziesco subgenre such as : I Boss , The American connection , La Mala Ordinaria , Shoot first die later , Running Guns , Madness , Razza Violenta , Killers vs Killers , among others . Rating : so-so and mediocre Giallo .
Little suspense , no medical credibility, dull.
dave13-130 April 2012
This minor shocker from Italy has a few fairly brutal slayings and several nude scenes involving b-movie veteran Rosalba Neri, but little else to recommend it, even to jaded schlock seekers.
The setting, a high-end sanatorium set in a remote château, is completely unbelievable, as are the doctors and nurses who work there (or more accurately commit malpractice there). Who puts a psychiatric facility in an old château filled with scary medieval weaponry and doesn't keep the dang things locked up? And why is the grounds keeper always wandering around on upper floors where the patients rooms are? The average weekly ER viewer has more medical savvy than is in evidence here, and the worst offender is Klaus Kinski, who looks WAAYYY too creepy to be a psychiatrist. A patient? Yeah, maybe. Anyway, most of the screen time is taken up with patients demonstrating strange compulsions while the staff cluck tolerantly and promise to make them well. Yeah, right. I would not trust any of them to treat a cold sufferer. The main problem is the script, which has the feel of having been made up on the spot, with no research time spent to acquire a feel for how psychiatric medicine is practiced, or what a sanatorium should look like, or how psychiatric patients with real disorders act or anything. With little credible drama to drive the story forward and almost no suspense, the viewer has just about nothing of interest to watch between slayings. This is a common problem with many slasher movies: a few moments of shock punctuate long stretches of unwatchable dead time. In a well made thriller, the viewer is carried from one high point to the next by developing a suspenseful or creepy atmosphere, but there is none of that here. Boring!
The setting, a high-end sanatorium set in a remote château, is completely unbelievable, as are the doctors and nurses who work there (or more accurately commit malpractice there). Who puts a psychiatric facility in an old château filled with scary medieval weaponry and doesn't keep the dang things locked up? And why is the grounds keeper always wandering around on upper floors where the patients rooms are? The average weekly ER viewer has more medical savvy than is in evidence here, and the worst offender is Klaus Kinski, who looks WAAYYY too creepy to be a psychiatrist. A patient? Yeah, maybe. Anyway, most of the screen time is taken up with patients demonstrating strange compulsions while the staff cluck tolerantly and promise to make them well. Yeah, right. I would not trust any of them to treat a cold sufferer. The main problem is the script, which has the feel of having been made up on the spot, with no research time spent to acquire a feel for how psychiatric medicine is practiced, or what a sanatorium should look like, or how psychiatric patients with real disorders act or anything. With little credible drama to drive the story forward and almost no suspense, the viewer has just about nothing of interest to watch between slayings. This is a common problem with many slasher movies: a few moments of shock punctuate long stretches of unwatchable dead time. In a well made thriller, the viewer is carried from one high point to the next by developing a suspenseful or creepy atmosphere, but there is none of that here. Boring!
Sleazy giallo, loved it!
Stevieboy66620 February 2018
AKA Slaughter Hotel, Italian giallo set in a country villa which is a clinic for rich, beautiful women with mental issues. Naturally there is a masked killer who is murdering these women in gruesome ways, one by one. Unlike many other giallo movies the plot here is a simple one, which is no bad thing as they can often be too confusing and unbelievable.
This film also throws in a great deal of sex and nudity, some of which is very sleazy & graphic but personally I think that it added to it's charm, or should I say notoriety! As with so many Italian movies from this era it is beautifully shot & having just seen this on blu ray (as Cold Blooded Beast) it really looked good. Add in Klaus Kinski, one of my favourite actors, and this film ticks all the right boxes for me.
You bloody beast!
morrison-dylan-fan25 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Despite having heard of him for a number of years,I have somehow never got round to seeing a film by Fernando Di Leo.Taking a look at a DVD sellers page,I was pleased to spot an uncut edition of an early Slasher/Giallo hybrid that Di Leo had made,which led to me getting ready to check into the slaughter hotel.
The plot:
Credited with being the best doctor to treat mental illness, Dr. Francis Clay finds his mental hospital to get filled with women who are sent there by their husbands over stress-related issues.As Clay tries to treat the women in the best way possible,a masked stranger begins walking round the hospital killing patients & staff.
View on the film:
Whilst the rather graphic sex scenes with the gorgeous actresses create an alluring mood,co-writer/(along with Nino Latino) director Fernando Di Leo sadly destroys any offer of potential excitement by tugging every element of the movie to breaking point,with a terrible, feedback heavy psychedelic score from Silvano Spadaccino drying up any sense of mysterious tension,or steamy sexuality.Aiming for an episodic structure by focusing on a different patient every 10 minutes or so,the writers fail to give the characters the slightest distinctive feature,and also push the murder mystery plot right to the sidelines,which along with a very bored performance from Klaus Kinski,makes this hotel a terrible booking.
The plot:
Credited with being the best doctor to treat mental illness, Dr. Francis Clay finds his mental hospital to get filled with women who are sent there by their husbands over stress-related issues.As Clay tries to treat the women in the best way possible,a masked stranger begins walking round the hospital killing patients & staff.
View on the film:
Whilst the rather graphic sex scenes with the gorgeous actresses create an alluring mood,co-writer/(along with Nino Latino) director Fernando Di Leo sadly destroys any offer of potential excitement by tugging every element of the movie to breaking point,with a terrible, feedback heavy psychedelic score from Silvano Spadaccino drying up any sense of mysterious tension,or steamy sexuality.Aiming for an episodic structure by focusing on a different patient every 10 minutes or so,the writers fail to give the characters the slightest distinctive feature,and also push the murder mystery plot right to the sidelines,which along with a very bored performance from Klaus Kinski,makes this hotel a terrible booking.
There is a fascination in watching such a car crash
christopher-underwood20 November 2019
Another reviewer refers to this as being 'sensationally sleazy and spectacularly silly,' a view with which I must concur. Sad though this is for a film directed by Fernando Di Leo and starring Rosalba Neri and Klaus Kinski, it does not mean that it is not entertaining. Di Leo has made fine films and written even more but there is little evidence of the director here apart from the odd flourish of curious angles or startling overhead shots. Kinski spends his time smoking, looking suspicious or waiting for some dialogue. Neri probably works harder than anyone, is probably out of her clothes more than she is in them and has fairly protracted and explicit scenes. Overall then, a mess but with such absurd and extreme elements that for the broad minded it can be quite irresistible. There is a fascination in watching such a car crash or as here, in particular, the blood ooze from within an iron maiden or a naked woman being enthusiastically axed to death.
SLAUGHTER HOTEL (Fernando Di Leo, 1971) *1/2
Bunuel197621 August 2006
I knew beforehand that Di Leo's sole foray into the giallo subgenre didn't have a good reputation, but I couldn't have anticipated that it would be so lame! As a matter of fact, it almost challenges Riccardo Freda's TRAGIC CEREMONY (1972) for the title of the poorest and most bewildering vintage film by a renowned Euro-Cult director I've ever watched!
Despite its violent outbursts - mostly confined to the second half - typical of Di Leo (one particularly vicious episode at the very end, which leaves numerous victims, has to be seen to be believed), he shows no real feeling for - or even much interest in - this type of film! In fact, a good deal of the running time is devoted to exploitative erotic content featuring nymphomaniac Rosalba Neri and a lesbian relationship between a nurse and a black patient!
With respect to technique, the editing is particularly sloppy: sometimes it seems like the editor has fallen asleep on the job, with several scenes going on for much longer than is required (beginning with the very first scene of the killer prowling the asylum grounds - though before the credits had even rolled, more than just my brain cells had suddenly snapped to attention with the appearance of a fully naked Margaret Lee {one of my favorite Euro-Cult starlets} tossing and turning in bed; regrettably, this is her only nude scene in the entire film!); occasionally, however, there are disorientating tilted shots and a series of pointless - and irritating - rapid cuts of two converging locations (for instance, the killer approaching a victim's room); besides, we get all kinds of people having flashes to earlier scenes, but the shots are so randomly chosen as to make no sense whatsoever!
The score, usually a prominent feature in a giallo, occasionally delivers but it's too uneven (the killer's theme is dreadful, for instance) to really count as a success; indeed, the only worthwhile element to the whole film is the casting of three Jess Franco alumni in the lead roles: the aforementioned Lee (despite the fact that her role doesn't give her much scope) and Neri (who, at least, gets to shed her clothes quite often and takes a shower memorably), and Klaus Kinski as an enigmatic and wild-looking doctor who becomes romantically involved with Lee - even if his contribution is a listless take-the-money-and-run turn, seemingly there only to serve as a red herring!
By the way, the notorious and mystifying audio glitch found on the version (horrendously dubbed in English and actually bearing the on-screen title of COLD-BLOODED BEAST) released by Media Blasters - which also plagued the copy I watched - is a real pain in the neck...
Despite its violent outbursts - mostly confined to the second half - typical of Di Leo (one particularly vicious episode at the very end, which leaves numerous victims, has to be seen to be believed), he shows no real feeling for - or even much interest in - this type of film! In fact, a good deal of the running time is devoted to exploitative erotic content featuring nymphomaniac Rosalba Neri and a lesbian relationship between a nurse and a black patient!
With respect to technique, the editing is particularly sloppy: sometimes it seems like the editor has fallen asleep on the job, with several scenes going on for much longer than is required (beginning with the very first scene of the killer prowling the asylum grounds - though before the credits had even rolled, more than just my brain cells had suddenly snapped to attention with the appearance of a fully naked Margaret Lee {one of my favorite Euro-Cult starlets} tossing and turning in bed; regrettably, this is her only nude scene in the entire film!); occasionally, however, there are disorientating tilted shots and a series of pointless - and irritating - rapid cuts of two converging locations (for instance, the killer approaching a victim's room); besides, we get all kinds of people having flashes to earlier scenes, but the shots are so randomly chosen as to make no sense whatsoever!
The score, usually a prominent feature in a giallo, occasionally delivers but it's too uneven (the killer's theme is dreadful, for instance) to really count as a success; indeed, the only worthwhile element to the whole film is the casting of three Jess Franco alumni in the lead roles: the aforementioned Lee (despite the fact that her role doesn't give her much scope) and Neri (who, at least, gets to shed her clothes quite often and takes a shower memorably), and Klaus Kinski as an enigmatic and wild-looking doctor who becomes romantically involved with Lee - even if his contribution is a listless take-the-money-and-run turn, seemingly there only to serve as a red herring!
By the way, the notorious and mystifying audio glitch found on the version (horrendously dubbed in English and actually bearing the on-screen title of COLD-BLOODED BEAST) released by Media Blasters - which also plagued the copy I watched - is a real pain in the neck...
Delicious Italian sleaze.
HumanoidOfFlesh27 October 2005
A long-haired Klaus Kinski plays the doctor in charge of an isolated lunatic asylum.Of course the patients are all beautiful women with various sexual problems.And of course they're being killed off in various gruesome and sadistic ways.Writer/director Fernando Di Leo specialized in violent,sleazy mafia movies like "The Italian Connection" or "Mister Scarface"."Slaughter Hotel" is his only giallo,but it contains tons of sleaze and misogynistic violence.Euro-horror goddess Rosalba Neri is amazingly sensual as the resident nymphomaniac.Her sex scene with the gardener is hotter than hell.The film was originally released in Europe as "The Cold Blooded Beast".All the actresses including Rosalba Neri, Margaret Lee,Monica Stroebel,Jane Garret and Gioia Desideri are very attractive and provide lots of female flesh.There is obligatory lesbian sequence between Stroebel and Garret and strikingly sleazy Neri's masturbation scene.The action drags sometimes,but the climax is a suitably frenzied and audacious.Give this sleaze classic a look.10 out of 10.
Nymphoid schizophrenics in slaughter hotel
Red-Barracuda14 August 2006
Slaughter Hotel is a sensationally sleazy and spectacularly silly giallo. It involves a mystery killer who stalks and slashes in a clinic for mentally disturbed women. This clinic is ideal for the purposes of a homicidal maniac as it contains a room with an arsenal of medieval weapons and torture devices. The film-makers find no reason to explain this. It does seem a trifle irresponsible considering some of the inmates have murderous tendencies. But there you go. The clinics other feature is a croquet green - I can honestly say I have never before seen a movie where croquet and medieval weaponry share the billing.
The doctors include a Peter Fonda lookalike and the legendary Klaus Kinski. In the Shriek Show DVD Klaus has a really silly English accent but it isn't as distracting as it might be as Kinski basically sleepwalks through this movie. The women are pretty hot though. Rosalba Neri turns up and delivers classic dialogue like 'I'm not one of those mad people who need you, I just want to make love' before going off for a soft-core shower. Generally speaking the dialogue in this movie is atrocious, it's not exactly helped by the appalling dubbing but it is very (unintentionally) funny in places. However, the cinematography is pretty decent, incorporating a great deal of angular camera-work. And the set itself is pretty lush, recalling the colourful interior decor from Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace. A good thing. The mix of Gothic and giallo imagery is unusual and occasionally arresting. The music by Silvano Spadaccino is pretty forgettable, incorporating Euro-cheese and an insistent piano soundtrack when the killer is on the prowl. When the murders do happen they are impressively unconvincing. Occasionally laughably so. But they are often super-sleazy. In most giallos the sex interrupts the violence, in this film Di Leo takes the opposite approach. There is a very high sleaze factor. It occasionally even enters (if you excuse the pun) hardcore territory with some really graphic female masturbatory action. There is copious other soft-core fumblings, including a memorable butt massage. In fairness, Di Leo handles the sex better than the violence. Ultimately, Slaughter Hotel falls into the same category of giallo as Renato Polselli's Delirium, i.e. it's basically a bad movie that sort of gets away with it by way of its unrestrained Euro grind-house excess.
The doctors include a Peter Fonda lookalike and the legendary Klaus Kinski. In the Shriek Show DVD Klaus has a really silly English accent but it isn't as distracting as it might be as Kinski basically sleepwalks through this movie. The women are pretty hot though. Rosalba Neri turns up and delivers classic dialogue like 'I'm not one of those mad people who need you, I just want to make love' before going off for a soft-core shower. Generally speaking the dialogue in this movie is atrocious, it's not exactly helped by the appalling dubbing but it is very (unintentionally) funny in places. However, the cinematography is pretty decent, incorporating a great deal of angular camera-work. And the set itself is pretty lush, recalling the colourful interior decor from Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace. A good thing. The mix of Gothic and giallo imagery is unusual and occasionally arresting. The music by Silvano Spadaccino is pretty forgettable, incorporating Euro-cheese and an insistent piano soundtrack when the killer is on the prowl. When the murders do happen they are impressively unconvincing. Occasionally laughably so. But they are often super-sleazy. In most giallos the sex interrupts the violence, in this film Di Leo takes the opposite approach. There is a very high sleaze factor. It occasionally even enters (if you excuse the pun) hardcore territory with some really graphic female masturbatory action. There is copious other soft-core fumblings, including a memorable butt massage. In fairness, Di Leo handles the sex better than the violence. Ultimately, Slaughter Hotel falls into the same category of giallo as Renato Polselli's Delirium, i.e. it's basically a bad movie that sort of gets away with it by way of its unrestrained Euro grind-house excess.
Totally Ridiculous
Gafke2 April 2004
This film begins with a shot of a guy walking...and walking...and walking some more...and climbing some stairs...and walking again...and then walking some more...GAH! Somehow, I managed to stay awake long enough to see the first in a very long line of beautiful young women who sleep in the nude, the camera zooming in on her naughty bits. At that point, I gave up any hope I may have had of being entertained. Not even a badly dubbed Klaus Kinski could save this wretched mess.
An isolated countryside mental institution, which only admits young, oversexed, stunningly beautiful women with no less than a C cup bra size, is being terrorized by a masked killer. Conveniently, the asylum is packed with weapons! Crossbows, axes, antique daggers, iron maidens...you name it, it's here, all within reach of the seriously disturbed patients. Yeah. Right.
The DVD box claims that Kinski was at his manic best in this film. BS!!! Kinski sleepwalks through the entire film with a smug half smile on his face and a cigarette in one hand. He doesn't do much else. The rest of the film is filled with voluptuous women who enjoy bathing each other, dancing in the nude and pleasuring themselves, complete with shocking camera close- ups of their lady places. This is a porno film with a couple of bloody murders thrown in at the end. The identity of the killer is absurd, the "shocking murders of 8 nurses!!!" is really really lame, the blood looks like Tabasco sauce, even the sex scenes are ridiculous. If you really have a need to see Sarah Bay tonguing a couple of orderlies shortly before she's chopped up with an antique ax, hey, go for it. But if you like Klaus Kinski as much as I do, stick with Werner Herzog and stay far away from this mess.
An isolated countryside mental institution, which only admits young, oversexed, stunningly beautiful women with no less than a C cup bra size, is being terrorized by a masked killer. Conveniently, the asylum is packed with weapons! Crossbows, axes, antique daggers, iron maidens...you name it, it's here, all within reach of the seriously disturbed patients. Yeah. Right.
The DVD box claims that Kinski was at his manic best in this film. BS!!! Kinski sleepwalks through the entire film with a smug half smile on his face and a cigarette in one hand. He doesn't do much else. The rest of the film is filled with voluptuous women who enjoy bathing each other, dancing in the nude and pleasuring themselves, complete with shocking camera close- ups of their lady places. This is a porno film with a couple of bloody murders thrown in at the end. The identity of the killer is absurd, the "shocking murders of 8 nurses!!!" is really really lame, the blood looks like Tabasco sauce, even the sex scenes are ridiculous. If you really have a need to see Sarah Bay tonguing a couple of orderlies shortly before she's chopped up with an antique ax, hey, go for it. But if you like Klaus Kinski as much as I do, stick with Werner Herzog and stay far away from this mess.
Bad giallo, good softcore porn
lazarillo11 September 2004
As a giallo this movie is a real disappointment. The plot is virtually non-existent, the suspense is nil, aside from the widescreen compositions the cinematography is unimpressive, and I'm sure the occasionally interesting score was recycled from a better movie. Klaus Kinski obviously phoned in his performance (long-distance with a very bad connection) and Rosalba Neri (aka Sarah Bay) is pretty much wasted.
On the other hand, if you're looking for softcore porn, this movie is a relative masterpiece. The crisp cinematography is superior to just about anything else in that genre, and you have an elegant Italian instrumental score as opposed to the usual, grating wah-wah synthesizer. The plot may be anemic, but it certainly doesn't interfere with any of the action. Even sleepwalking through their respective roles, Neri and Kinski can act circles around your typical softcore sex performer. Kinski, of course, does not actually perform any sex scenes (which is good--we're talking Klaus here, not Natassia). Neri, on the other hand, has done many sex scenes in much better movies, but I'm confident no one will complain about her scenes here, even if they don't exactly show off her considerable acting talent. As in many European movies, Neri's "solo" sex scene really pushes the line between softcore and hardcore, but in the best possible way. Only the ending is terrible regardless. It comes out of nowhere and will appeal only to fans of medieval weaponry and/or the Richard Speck student nurse murders.
On the other hand, if you're looking for softcore porn, this movie is a relative masterpiece. The crisp cinematography is superior to just about anything else in that genre, and you have an elegant Italian instrumental score as opposed to the usual, grating wah-wah synthesizer. The plot may be anemic, but it certainly doesn't interfere with any of the action. Even sleepwalking through their respective roles, Neri and Kinski can act circles around your typical softcore sex performer. Kinski, of course, does not actually perform any sex scenes (which is good--we're talking Klaus here, not Natassia). Neri, on the other hand, has done many sex scenes in much better movies, but I'm confident no one will complain about her scenes here, even if they don't exactly show off her considerable acting talent. As in many European movies, Neri's "solo" sex scene really pushes the line between softcore and hardcore, but in the best possible way. Only the ending is terrible regardless. It comes out of nowhere and will appeal only to fans of medieval weaponry and/or the Richard Speck student nurse murders.
Delusional movie.
stefanozucchelli21 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It starts very slowly and only towards the end is something interesting glimpsed but it all ends with an unmotivated massacre and a madman who sneaks into a madhouse. I think there is a certain irony in all of this.
There is no acceptable explanation given for the characters' behavior and the fact that they are labeled as mentally ill is not an explanation.
There is no acceptable explanation given for the characters' behavior and the fact that they are labeled as mentally ill is not an explanation.
Brilliant fun!
woolyboy7625 August 2000
I saw the version entitled "Slaughter Hotel," although this movie has been retitled multiple times in order to have appeal in multiple genres.
Slaughter Hotel tells the story of a group of wealthy women who have been committed at an institution to rid themselves of their problems. There is one woman who is a nymphomaniac (which means that she jumps any guy she can, and rubs herself against walls when no one is around). Then, there is the lesbian woman (who conveniently has a lesbian nurse to take care of her). Also, there is a suicidal, homicidal woman, who serves no purpose. Finally, there is the "cured" woman who has had her rest, and will be going back into the real world shortly. All of these woman get completely naked. So, if you are looking for naked women, this is the film for you.
Then a killer comes and starts killing them. That's all.
The most hilarious aspect of this film is how these women are treated. They stand around, drinking and smoking, while the doctors come around and chat with them. The patients can come and go as they please, and do what they like. Also for their amusement, there are a series of torture devices placed around the room -- knives, swords, ball and chain, etc. It seems as though all the patients are sexually involved with the doctors or employees in one form or another.
I think the camara man was drunk in this movie. At random periods throughout the film, the camara would move randomly from side to side or fall forward to the ground, giving the impression that the camara man had tripped.
This film was utterly hilarious. One of the all-time great bad movies. If there wasn't so much sex and violence, this movie would be a prime candidate for MST3K. I strongly recommend it, if you like unintentionally bad movies. I gave it a 10 out of 10!
Slaughter Hotel tells the story of a group of wealthy women who have been committed at an institution to rid themselves of their problems. There is one woman who is a nymphomaniac (which means that she jumps any guy she can, and rubs herself against walls when no one is around). Then, there is the lesbian woman (who conveniently has a lesbian nurse to take care of her). Also, there is a suicidal, homicidal woman, who serves no purpose. Finally, there is the "cured" woman who has had her rest, and will be going back into the real world shortly. All of these woman get completely naked. So, if you are looking for naked women, this is the film for you.
Then a killer comes and starts killing them. That's all.
The most hilarious aspect of this film is how these women are treated. They stand around, drinking and smoking, while the doctors come around and chat with them. The patients can come and go as they please, and do what they like. Also for their amusement, there are a series of torture devices placed around the room -- knives, swords, ball and chain, etc. It seems as though all the patients are sexually involved with the doctors or employees in one form or another.
I think the camara man was drunk in this movie. At random periods throughout the film, the camara would move randomly from side to side or fall forward to the ground, giving the impression that the camara man had tripped.
This film was utterly hilarious. One of the all-time great bad movies. If there wasn't so much sex and violence, this movie would be a prime candidate for MST3K. I strongly recommend it, if you like unintentionally bad movies. I gave it a 10 out of 10!
Was the killer paid to off rich men's wives?
rlcsljo28 January 2001
This is not hinted at in this movie, but it seems that rich husbands dropped off their (not so) crazy wives (hey! is nymphomania really that bad when the woman is this great looking?) in this asylum where they are mysteriously knocked off. I do not want to reveal the killer, but his position makes you wonder what his real motives must have been. I think this is the movie Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make when he did "Psycho".
Seriously sleazy fun
Prof-Hieronymos-Grost8 August 2007
A host of Italian beauties with psychological problems, varying from stress to nymphomania are resident in an isolated country mansion for the mentally disturbed. A masked and cloaked killer is at large within the house, using varieties of medieval weapons that bedeck the walls of the old Gothic mansion, his victims are the both the guests and the nurses, but what is his/her motive? First off, any film that casts Klaus Kinski as doctor in charge of the insane has got to be worth a watch, Di Leo gathers a decent cast of Giallo regulars that also includes Rosalba (Fingers) Neri, Margaret Lee Jane Garret and Monica Strebel, all of whom are happy to get their kit off and let their lustful needs be catered for by whatever means available, for this institution is rather lax in security and it would seem ethics, as staff and patients get together for regular steamy liaisons. The pace is slow to begin with as we are awkwardly introduced to the main characters with some truly atrocious dubbed dialogue, but the killings and sleazy sex that verges of hardcore, soon help relieve that oversight. The Gothic location is superb and adds immensely to the atmosphere with its many medieval weapons, torture devices and suits of armour that adorn its many corridors, very inappropriate for a mental hospital with violent patients freely roaming the building, but this is a giallo and suspension of disbelief is required. There is little in the line of a cohesive plot and as a viewer you won't even care about the identity of the killer, whose motives are left rather unclear when finally revealed, but this is a fun sleazy film, I didn't think I'd like it after about 15 minutes but it soon grew on me. The film other than that has a superb print, but very poor quality sound that seems to have been taken from many copies of the film in an attempt to get any sort of quality. The score by Silvano Spadaccino sounds familiar and its main sinister theme is excellent, some of the lesser compositions seem to be from another film though and don't quite suit the visuals, but I have to say it's a film that is better than the sum of its parts and certainly more entertaining than some reviewers might have you believe.
Total Garbage
dopefishie27 February 2022
I'm not sure how this is sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the works of Fulci and Argento. What a joke. It's like the difference between a car and a matchbox car.
You'd be hard pressed to find redeeming qualities about this stinker. The script, the acting, the special effects... it's all garbage. What's worse is the blatantly extended scenes of someone just walking around a house. I don't need the play by play of someone walking through every single room to get to their destination.
Many people (like me) will be suckered into watching this because Klaus Kinski is in it. Don't bother. He is criminally underused. He's not given anything interesting to do or say. Literally anyone could have been cast for his part.
Stay away from this turd.
You'd be hard pressed to find redeeming qualities about this stinker. The script, the acting, the special effects... it's all garbage. What's worse is the blatantly extended scenes of someone just walking around a house. I don't need the play by play of someone walking through every single room to get to their destination.
Many people (like me) will be suckered into watching this because Klaus Kinski is in it. Don't bother. He is criminally underused. He's not given anything interesting to do or say. Literally anyone could have been cast for his part.
Stay away from this turd.
Sleazy giallo fun from Fernando Di Leo.
BA_Harrison10 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A mysterious killer, clad from head to toe in black, breaks into a loony bin that seemingly caters exclusively for rich beautiful women. Utilising a variety of medieval weapons, that conveniently and rather unbelievably decorate the huge institution, the maniac proceeds to slice, chop and stab his way through the patients and staff.
Hampered by a simple story and rather unimaginative deaths, The Cold-Blooded Beast isn't a particularly great giallo; but with a good cast (including Klaus Kinski) and a bevy of gorgeous hotties willing to shed their clothes at the drop of a hat, the film is still worth a watch if you enjoy sleazy Euro-horror.
Director Fernando Di Leo wisely packs his otherwise unremarkable film with so much full nudity and soft-core sex that one can easily forgive the pedestrian plot and lacklustre kill scenes. The women (who aren't exactly the shy and retiring type) all get nekkid at one point or another, and some of them are even kind enough to indulge in a spot of lesbianism, and, occasionally, graphic masturbation (at least in the uncut European version that I saw).
Margeret Lee is drop-dead gorgeous as Cheryl, ultimate target of the killer, whilst scorching hot Rosalba Neri (French Sex murders, Amuck) stars as nymphomaniac Anne (who steals the show with a spot of explicit self-gratification). Also unmissable are Jane Garret and Monica Strebel as a pair of rug-munchers who, in the film's funniest and most memorable scene, indulge in a spot of tribal dancing before getting down to business.
Klaus Kinski isn't required to do an awful lot; he doesn't spend much time on screen and, thankfully, he keeps his clothes on.
Although the violence in the film is fairly frequent and quite nasty in tone (an axe attack, a stabbing, a crossbow bolt through the neck, a body trapped in an iron maiden), the actual gore level is fairly low (we see quite a bit of blood, but not much else). Towards the end of the film, things get a bit stronger and eventually when we are treated to a fabulous moment where the killer goes crazy with a mace and does away with a whole group of nurses in seconds.
Shortly after this, he is shot to death by trigger happy police officers in a squib-tastic finalé.
The Cold Blooded Beast gets a fairly decent 7/10 from me, for it's gratuitously sleazy vibe and for not worrying too much about letting a decent story get in the way of all of the sex and violence.
Hampered by a simple story and rather unimaginative deaths, The Cold-Blooded Beast isn't a particularly great giallo; but with a good cast (including Klaus Kinski) and a bevy of gorgeous hotties willing to shed their clothes at the drop of a hat, the film is still worth a watch if you enjoy sleazy Euro-horror.
Director Fernando Di Leo wisely packs his otherwise unremarkable film with so much full nudity and soft-core sex that one can easily forgive the pedestrian plot and lacklustre kill scenes. The women (who aren't exactly the shy and retiring type) all get nekkid at one point or another, and some of them are even kind enough to indulge in a spot of lesbianism, and, occasionally, graphic masturbation (at least in the uncut European version that I saw).
Margeret Lee is drop-dead gorgeous as Cheryl, ultimate target of the killer, whilst scorching hot Rosalba Neri (French Sex murders, Amuck) stars as nymphomaniac Anne (who steals the show with a spot of explicit self-gratification). Also unmissable are Jane Garret and Monica Strebel as a pair of rug-munchers who, in the film's funniest and most memorable scene, indulge in a spot of tribal dancing before getting down to business.
Klaus Kinski isn't required to do an awful lot; he doesn't spend much time on screen and, thankfully, he keeps his clothes on.
Although the violence in the film is fairly frequent and quite nasty in tone (an axe attack, a stabbing, a crossbow bolt through the neck, a body trapped in an iron maiden), the actual gore level is fairly low (we see quite a bit of blood, but not much else). Towards the end of the film, things get a bit stronger and eventually when we are treated to a fabulous moment where the killer goes crazy with a mace and does away with a whole group of nurses in seconds.
Shortly after this, he is shot to death by trigger happy police officers in a squib-tastic finalé.
The Cold Blooded Beast gets a fairly decent 7/10 from me, for it's gratuitously sleazy vibe and for not worrying too much about letting a decent story get in the way of all of the sex and violence.
An oddball comedy about dancing lesbians?
Phalanx66613 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have to confess, I bought this movie only for two reasons: Rosalba Neri and Klaus Kinski. I have some kind of weird Kinski-fetish I think, I have to own every single movie Kinski starred in. Unfortunately der Klaus starred in a lot of cinematic garbage too, this is definitely one of them.
According to the extra's on the DVD this movie was shot in less than two weeks and it wouldn't surprise me if the plot was written in less than two minutes. In an asylum filled with sexually frustrated women, the wet dream of any self-respecting psychiatrist, someone is killing the inmates. I hope I haven't given away too much because that's actually the complete plot. Maybe I should check the "containts spoiler" box now... There, I did it. There's the usual running around and panicking of naked women, the ridiculous setting (complete with swords, axes and other medieval weapons on the walls, just what kind of asylum are we running here?) and off course Mr. Kinski is his usually scowling self. The "surprise" ending shows just how creative one can be with a flail and a lot of half-naked women.
There are a lot better giallo's around. This movie can be fun when you're drunk or when you have a hormonal problem, but mind you there's almost 90 minutes of this tedious nonsense. Unless you have to see everything Kinski starred in, leave this one alone.
According to the extra's on the DVD this movie was shot in less than two weeks and it wouldn't surprise me if the plot was written in less than two minutes. In an asylum filled with sexually frustrated women, the wet dream of any self-respecting psychiatrist, someone is killing the inmates. I hope I haven't given away too much because that's actually the complete plot. Maybe I should check the "containts spoiler" box now... There, I did it. There's the usual running around and panicking of naked women, the ridiculous setting (complete with swords, axes and other medieval weapons on the walls, just what kind of asylum are we running here?) and off course Mr. Kinski is his usually scowling self. The "surprise" ending shows just how creative one can be with a flail and a lot of half-naked women.
There are a lot better giallo's around. This movie can be fun when you're drunk or when you have a hormonal problem, but mind you there's almost 90 minutes of this tedious nonsense. Unless you have to see everything Kinski starred in, leave this one alone.
A satisfyingly sleazy slice of Italian slasher trash
Woodyanders18 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
A murderous mystery maniac wearing a hood and cape brutally butchers staff and patients alike at a posh all female asylum run by Dr. Keller (the one and only Klaus Kinski sporting modish long hair). Director Fernando Di Leo (who also co-wrote the sordid script with Nino Latino) really pours on the hardcore raunchy and explicit scuzziness in this alarmingly fetid flick, delivering extremely ample and explicit amounts of seamy sex and gory violence with jaw-dropping go-for-it slimy abandon. There's a real leering, nasty, rub-your-nose-in-the-filth grimy and graphic edge to this picture that's a terrifically trashy wonder to behold. Delectable brunette beauty Rosalba "The Devil's Wedding Night" Neri as the resident insatiable nympho ain't the least bit bashful about baring her sleek, shapely body in a much-appreciated steamy shower scene; she later strips in order to seduce the hunky gardener and gets killed while writhing naked in bed. The equally tasty Margaret "Venus in Furs" Lee, Jane Garret, Monica Strebel, and Giora Desideri all likewise dutifully doff their duds in the name of gleefully lowbrow exploitation. Silvano Spadaccino's groovy score neatly alternates between funky, percussive prog-rock and lush orchestral jazz. Franco Villa's snazzy cinematography goes gloriously overboard with crazy tilted angles, sinuous prowling tracking shots and crude, shaky hand-held camera-work. The murder set pieces are every bit as bloody, vicious and sleazy as they ought to be. The seriously sick and twisted over-the-top nutty ending concludes things on a perfectly putrid note. Good lowdown gritty and unapologetically scroungy fun.
"You cleaned up the bodies and put the murder weapons away?"
Bezenby19 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
At a very plush mental hospital in Italy, a masked intruder is stalking the halls at night. Various Euro-beauties sleep off their various mental illnesses while others strike up 'relationships' with the staff. Sounds like the makings of a giallo to me...
Asylum Erotica, as this film was embarrassingly titled when I bought it, hasn't really got much of a plot, but it's a fairly interesting giallo packed full of Euro-Babes and atmosphere, and daftness. There's very little by way mystery or investigation when it comes to the murders, rather is pans out like a three act play. In the first part, we're introduced to our various mental patients, all of which are stunning (including Rosalba Neri! Lady Frankenstien herself!), and the staff, and therefore we get to know the victims and our suspects. In the second part of the movie, we get a very long stalk and slash sequence where the killer carves his way through some of the cast, and the last part of the film there's the police intervention and resultant catching of the killer. Very simply played out, but not without it's entertaining quirks.
Rosalba Neri (Lady Frankenstien! Worth saying twice!) is a nympho with an unhealthy fixation on her brother, who has sensibly put her in the asylum out of harms way. She does however still peel her clothes of and go out on the prowl for men. Then there's Klaus Kinski in a very ill fitting suit, and his love interest. And the budding relationship between patient and nurse (another stunner), which is sadly cut short by a crossbow just before it was going to get interesting.
It's not a pervy as the title suggests, just more of a mid-range giallo that keep you entertained through seventies sexual values (Rosalba Neri!), mild violence, and a pretty good, although stupid ending.
Can be picked up for a quid in the UK - not sure if it was cut, but the pan and scan cropped the picture a bit.
Asylum Erotica, as this film was embarrassingly titled when I bought it, hasn't really got much of a plot, but it's a fairly interesting giallo packed full of Euro-Babes and atmosphere, and daftness. There's very little by way mystery or investigation when it comes to the murders, rather is pans out like a three act play. In the first part, we're introduced to our various mental patients, all of which are stunning (including Rosalba Neri! Lady Frankenstien herself!), and the staff, and therefore we get to know the victims and our suspects. In the second part of the movie, we get a very long stalk and slash sequence where the killer carves his way through some of the cast, and the last part of the film there's the police intervention and resultant catching of the killer. Very simply played out, but not without it's entertaining quirks.
Rosalba Neri (Lady Frankenstien! Worth saying twice!) is a nympho with an unhealthy fixation on her brother, who has sensibly put her in the asylum out of harms way. She does however still peel her clothes of and go out on the prowl for men. Then there's Klaus Kinski in a very ill fitting suit, and his love interest. And the budding relationship between patient and nurse (another stunner), which is sadly cut short by a crossbow just before it was going to get interesting.
It's not a pervy as the title suggests, just more of a mid-range giallo that keep you entertained through seventies sexual values (Rosalba Neri!), mild violence, and a pretty good, although stupid ending.
Can be picked up for a quid in the UK - not sure if it was cut, but the pan and scan cropped the picture a bit.
Awful
JasparLamarCrabb18 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
An absolute piece of junk. Someone is using a sickle to murder nurses at a posh mental hospital for what seem to be only swinging women. It takes so long for anything to happen, the viewer is left to marvel at the patients (all of whom look like bug-eyed drag queens) in various states of undress. The bad dubbing only serves to highlight their otherworldliness. Director Fernando Di Leo pulls out a lot of camera pyrotechnics (fish eyed lenses, zooms, hand-held) but it's for naught. The movie is so awkwardly paced, it's ridiculous. The constant strings of the music by Silvano Spaddaccino don't help matters. It sounds like the film was made on a carnival midway. While Di Leo has the good sense to cast Klaus Kinski (also dubbed) as a chain-smoking "world famous" psychiatrist, he gives him nothing at all to do. An unfortunate case of real Euro-trash! Di Leo, a master at making crime thrillers, has rightly deemed this his worst film.
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