BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (1973)
Director: Carlos Aured
BCI

Spanish horror star Paul Naschy’s four collaborations with young director Carlos Aured (a former assistant to Leon Klimovsky) were all made during the peak of his career, with 1973’s BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (Los Ojos azules de la muñeca rota) being a favorite among diehard Naschy fans. An obvious homage to the Italian giallos of the time, the film was released in the U.S. as HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN (a title which certainly stood out on marquees and movie posters) by Sam Sherman’s Independent International Pictures. Sadly, this DVD was produced shortly before the death of director Aured, who passed away in February of 2008.

In France, ex convict Gilles (Naschy) is thumbing along the countryside roads, looking for work. After stopping in a café for a cheese sandwich and a glass of wine (of which he takes one sip), he is picked up by beautiful redhead Claude (Diana Lorys, THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF) who has a horribly mutilated hand in which she wears an awkward prosthetic device over. Residing in a large house on a hill, Claude agrees to give the hitchhiker a job as the replacement handyman, and he is then introduced to two other attractive sisters: Yvette (Maria Perschy, THE GHOST GALLEON), a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, and Nicole (Eva León, VOODOO BLACK EXORCIST), whose only handicap is that she’s a nymphomaniac.

With a houseful of disturbed individuals, the barrel-chested Gilles has sexual relations with at least two of the women, while fighting off the demons which represent his violent past (this materializes in surreal visions of him strangling a former lover), though he seems to fall for Claude in spite of her physical disfigurement. In the interim, there is a killer on the loose who has a penchant for blonde-haired blue-eyed victims; his calling card is confiscating the eyeballs from their sockets. Naturally, when the authorities learn of Gilles’ criminal background, he is the prime suspect, but there are plenty of other possibilities, including a pretty blonde nurse (Inés Morales), a friendly doctor (Eduardo Calvo), a police captain (Antonio Pica), a perverted busy body (Luis Ciges) and a nosy barmaid (Pilar Bardem, mother of recent “Best Actor” Oscar winner Javier Bardem).

BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL is one of Naschy’s best efforts, a worthy Spanish imitation of thrillers like THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, with all the usual sensational ingredients and occurrences that only happen in Naschy films, all present and accounted for. Giving himself another interesting character to portray, screenwriter Naschy’s Gilles has obvious psychological problems and uses women like meat, but somehow his good qualities level him out into a kind of antihero. The killings are more sleazy than stylish, but fits the film’s overall grindhouse-like texture, and as a giallo, its multi-leveled with the right amount of suspense and enough quirky characters to keep most Euro trash fans smirking. The film’s exclusive nudity is courtesy of the shapely Eva León, in her love scenes with Naschy and an amusing piece where she peels her top to tease an unaccommodating doctor in his office. Although some find the mostly jazzy, upbeat score by Juan Carlos Calderón as unfitting, it certainly is lively and unforgettable, and the nursery rhyme hymn of “Frère Jacques,” played before several murders and during the tense final moments, is a clever ingredient and a haunting one at that.

BCI’s DVD of BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL is mastered in High Definition from the original negative, and the transfer is another winner in their Spanish horror series. From Diana Lorys’ bright blue dress to Inés Morales’ candy red plastic mack, the colors are bold and detail is excellent, and being that the original negative was used, there’s not a blemish in sight. Apparently, the film was shot open matte and meant for 1.85:1 matting, and even though anamorphic enhancement would have been nice, the compositions don’t look compromised too badly here as presented full frame. Both English-dubbed and Spanish (Castillian) tracks are included, with optional English subtitles for the latter, and both tracks are strong with no noticeable hiss or distortion. The version presented on this disc is fully uncut, restoring a real pig slaughter as well as extra gore applied to most of the murders which was never seen in the U.S. theatrical cut.

Paul Naschy, with hangman’s noose in hand, gives us another humorous on-screen introduction, and Naschy is also on hand for a full length audio commentary (in Spanish with English subtitles, as is the intro) with late director Aured, moderated by Angel Gomez Rivero. The commentary reflects how strongly Naschy feels about the characters he creates for the screen, and how enthusiastic he is about making films, and while Aured’s vocal contributions are of a lesser extent, he still has some good things to say, even mentioning that he likes the American title of the film. More concrete in the first half than in the second, the comments here runs a little ahead of what’s happening on the screen, and this can be a bit frustrating since a lot of what they talk about is scene specific, but it’s still fortunate to have Aured’s participation since his passing was so sudden and unexpected. Other extras are an International trailer in English (not a U.S. theatrical trailer as it's labeled), the Spanish beginning and end credit sequences, and a nice still gallery. Mirek Lipinski supplies the fine liner notes, which not only provide information on the film, but conclude with a kind of love letter to the glory days of New York’s Time Square, where the film often played with other exploitation fodder (ironically, the 1980 film TIMES SQUARE shows a large theater marquee advertising none other than “House of Psychotic Women”). (George R. Reis)

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