Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (DVD)
Reviewed by Uncle Creepy
Starring Paul Naschy, Pilar Bardem, Luis Ciges, Eva Leon, Diana Lorys, Ines Morales
Directed by Carlos Aured
Distributed by BCI/Deimos Entertainment
Yet another little seen Euro-slasher has made its way uncut to American shores courtesy of BCI/Deimos, and there’s much cause for celebration. Even though these flicks are aged, they still bring a much needed breath of fresh air to our genre. Let’s face it, folks … There’s just so much Prom Night PG13-rated bullshit we can handle before our fragile minds begin to crack. These movies were made in the good old days when adult-themed entertainment was actually tailored for adults. Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll is a dark and savage mini-mystery filled with heaving breasts, fake appendages, killer psychos, and Paul Naschy doing what he does best — getting ass while keeping us off kilter.
Gilles (Naschy) is an ex-con with a sordid past. One that he seeks to escape by hitting the countryside around Algiers. After making it to the nearest village, he eventually finds work at the home of three sisters — one paralyzed, one disfigured, and one nutty and extra horny. In between doing manly things like chopping wood, Naschy does what any red-blooded male living in the Seventies would do … try to sleep with them all despite their maladies. Things couldn’t be better for Gilles until a body count starts to rise, thereby bringing him under suspicion because of his past crimes. Blonde women are showing up dead with their eyes gouged out, and the authorities have nowhere else to turn except to the new guy in town. Is Gilles the killer? Is he being framed? Did he really have to sleep with the chick with the gimpy arm? Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll takes you on a twist-filled ride while answering up until the very last frame of film.
There’s a lot to like about this flick. Naschy as always is in top form, the onscreen gore is plentiful and stylish (although there is a scene in which we see a live pig being slaughtered which was a little on the needless side of the fence), and the story overall will keep you guessing. The only real problem to be found here is that the pacing is a little off. It takes a while to get the viewer where they should be. There’s lots of exposition that could have been excised as a means to tighten up the flick a bit. Still, even being needlessly talky is better than being subjected to a whored out jump-scare-a-thon designed for kids to text each other about on Monday morning during class.
In typical BCI/Deimos fashion, this DVD is packing the usual extras found on these releases: Intro by Naschy, Spanish credit sequence, still gallery, et cetera, but there’s also something new — a commentary track! Paul Naschy is on hand along with director Carlos Aured, and the discussion of the film is moderated by Angel Gomez Rivero. The best part? There are subtitles for the commentary. In retrospect this seems like such a no-brainer of an idea. There are tons of foreign films out there that I would have loved to have come with a commentary track but didn’t because of the language barrier. Subbed commentaries should become a DVD staple. As long as they’re not dubbed. Speaking of which …
There are, as always, two ways to watch the movie … in English and in Castilian with English subbys. You know, I’m a subtitles kind of guy. Normally I like hearing the actor give his performance instead of some American guy’s interpretation of the material, but in cases like this and of course Godzilla films, these dubbed tracks actually add to the good time. One listen and you’ll see what I mean.
If you’re in need of a Euro-slasher fix to wash down the watered down crap we’re being fed here lately, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll should be your chaser of choice! It’s awkwardly sexy and totally maniacal fun! Just try and resist!
Special Features
3 1/2 out of 5
Special Features:
3 out of 5
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