Kill, Baby, Kill

Kill, Baby, Kill (Italian: Operazione paura, lit. 'Operation Fear')[2] is a 1966 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava and starring Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and Erika Blanc. Based on a story co-written by Bava, Romano Migliorini, and Roberto Natale, the film focuses on a small village in the early 1900s that is being terrorized by the ghost of a murderous young girl.

Kill, Baby, Kill
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed byMario Bava
Produced by
Screenplay by
  • Romano Migliorini
  • Roberto Natale
  • Mario Bava
Story by
  • Romano Migliorini
  • Roberto Natale
Starring
CinematographyAntonio Rinaldi[1]
Edited byRomana Fortini[1]
Production
company
F.U.L. Films
Distributed byInternazionale Nembo
Distribuzione Importazione Esportazione Film
Release date
  • July 8, 1966 (1966-07-08) (Italy)
Running time
83 minutes[1]
CountryItaly
Box office₤201 million

Shot in Calcata in 1965, Kill, Baby, Kill had a troubled production. F.U.L. Films ran out of money during production, the film was shot without a complete script, and the score was compiled from stock music created for earlier film productions. During its domestic theatrical release in Italy, the film grossed 201 million Italian lira. With the re-evaluation of Bava's filmography, Kill, Baby, Kill has been acclaimed by filmmakers and critics.

Plot

In 1907, Dr. Paul Eswai is sent to the Carpathian village of Karmingam to perform an autopsy on Irena Hollander, a woman who died under mysterious circumstances in an abandoned church. Monica Schufftan, a medical student who has recently returned to visit her parents' graves, is assigned as his witness. Upon performing the autopsy, they finds a silver coin embedded in Hollander's heart.

The local villagers are accustomed to medicinal practices and superstitions Eswai finds preposterous, and claim that Karmingam is haunted by the ghost of a young girl who curses those she visits. After Nadienne, the daughter of local innkeepers, is visited by the girl, a ritual to reverse the curse is performed by Ruth, the village witch. That evening, Eswai goes to meet with a colleague, Inspector Kruger, at the villa of Baroness Graps. When he arrives at the large, decrepit house, the Baroness informs him that she knows of no such Kruger. Upon leaving, Eswai encounters the ghostly young girl.

Meanwhile, Monica has a nightmare about the child, and awakens to find a doll at the foot of her bed. She runs into Eswai in the street, and he offers to take her to the inn so she can sleep. At the inn, Eswai discovers that Nadienne is wearing a leech vine around her body as part of Ruth's treatment. Believing this procedure to be causing her greater suffering, he removes the vine despite her family's concerns. In the local cemetery, Eswai finds two gravediggers burying Kruger's corpse, who has been shot in the head. Simultaneously, Nadienne is awoken by the young girl at her window, who compels her to impale herself with a candelabra.

Eswai and Monica are informed by Karl, the burgomeister, that the ghostly girl is Melissa Graps, the dead daughter of the Baroness, and that she is responsible for the deaths of Hollander and Kruger; he also reveals to Monica that the Schufftans were not her real parents. When he goes to retrieve evidence proving so, he is compelled by Melissa into destroying the documents and killing himself. Turned away by Nadinne's father due to her death, Monica and Eswai attempt to get the reluctant villagers' attention by ringing the church bell. Inside the church, they find a secret passageway, where Monica experiences déjà vu. They discover the Graps' family tomb, which includes that of Melissa, who died in 1887, aged seven.

They find a staircase leading out of the tomb, which takes them inside the Villa Graps, where the Baroness confronts them in the hallway. She reveals that Melissa was trampled to death while fetching a ball during a drunken festival. Melissa appears in the room, and Monica suddenly vanishes through a doorway. Eswai chases after her through a series of doorways before finding himself locked in a room, and is subsequently spirited out of the villa. He loses consciousness, and awakens in Ruth's home. Ruth explains that the coins found in the hearts of the victims have been placed there by her as talismans to ward off supernatural powers of the Baroness, who has invoked her daughter's ghost to punish the villagers, and that she intends to kill the Baroness to avenge Karl, who was her lover.

In the villa, the Baroness reveals to Monica that she is her daughter, and Melissa her older sister; following Melissa's death, the Baroness' servants, the Schufftans, sent Monica to be raised and educated in Gräfenberg for her protection. Melissa's ghost appears, chases Monica down the staircase into the tomb, and urges her to throw herself from a nearby balcony. Ruth arrives and confronts the Baroness. The Baroness stabs her through the chest with a fire poker, but Ruth manages to strangle her to death before dying, thus laying Melissa's soul to rest; Eswai arrives in time to save Monica. Reunited, the pair leave Villa Graps as the sun rises in the distance.

Cast

Production

Development

Kill, Baby, Kill marked Mario Bava's return to gothic horror, having previously directed Black Sabbath and The Whip and the Body in 1963.[1] The film was funded by the small Italian company F.U.L. Film.[1] Mario Bava biographer Tim Lucas has estimated that the budget for the film was lower than those of his films that were distributed by American International Pictures in the United States, estimating it as well below $50,000.[3]

Actress Erika Blanc was cast as Monica Schuftan in the film, and claimed the film was only her second feature she made, despite filmographies suggesting otherwise.[4][5] Bava auditioned hundreds of young girls to play the part of Melissa Graps, but was unable to find one. Bava eventually cast the son of his concierge, Valerio Valeri.[6] Blanc stated Valeri was not happy with the role, specifically wearing the dress and that Bava would goad his performance by referring to him as Valeria.[6]

Filming

Lucas described the production of Kill, Baby, Kill as being plagued by "bad luck" as the film ran out of money while filming.[7] Blanc stated that the cast and crew were only paid for their first two weeks working on the film, and agreed to complete it without pay due to their affection for Bava.[8] Bava's friend Luigi Cozzi stated that Bava was never paid for his work on the film.[8] According to Bava, the film was shot in 12 days in 1965.[1][9] The exterior scenes were filmed on location in the medieval town of Calcata,[10] while interiors were shot at Titanus Appia Studios, where it was one of the last films shot before it predominantly became a distribution company.[9]

Kill, Baby, Kill's story is officially credited to Romano Migliorini and Roberto Natale with a screenplay credited to Migliorini, Natale and Mario Bava.[1] Migliorini and Roberto Natale were a screenwriting team, who had previously collaborated on the horror film Terror-Creatures from the Grave.[11] Bava stated in an interview that the film was improvised on the spot from a script of only 30 pages.[12] Lucas has suggested the screenplay for the film may have been based on an early screenplay for La vendetta di Lady Morgan by Natale and Migliorini.[13] Film historian Roberto Curti refuted this, noting that Kill Baby Kill's shooting script titled Le macabre ore della paura (lit. 'The Macabre Hours of Fear') featured detailed dialogue and a completed storyline.[13] The screenplay stored in Rome's Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia was deposited there on April 5, 1966, as screenplays are generally deposited there before shooting has started.[13] Curti noted that La vendetta di Lady Morgan began shooting on 26 July 1965 and was submitted to the Ministerial Censorship Commission on October 1 and was released on December 16. This screenplay also revealed that ideas had already been used in Bava's previous films that had been discarded, such as victims returning from the dead as zombies.[13] The film's screenplay also includes scenes that remain in the film, such as the scene of the spiral staircase and the scene where Dr. Eswai chases his doppelganger over and over into the same room.[13]

The special effects, such as the distorted vision at the beginning of the film, were created using a piece of distorted glass, a technique developed by Bava's father Eugenio Bava when he was a silent film camera operator.[14] Other budgetary concerns led to Bava shooting the film without a crane, leading him to film with a makeshift seesaw to shoot certain scenes.[15]

The film's score is credited to Carlo Rustichelli,[1][16] but is actually a collection of library music, featuring works by Rustichelli and other composers who had worked with Bava.[16] Lucas suggested that the use of stock music, as opposed to an original score, was due to the low budget of the production.[17] Other music includes Francesco De Masi music from The Murder Clinic, the lullaby piece of music heard in the films titles was composed by Armando Trovajoli originally used in the comedy film What Ever Happened to Baby Toto?.[16][18] Music from previous films includes pieces composed by Rustichelli for The Long Hair of Death, Blood and Black Lace, The Whip and the Body and Roman Vlad's music from I Vampiri.[19][16][20][16][21]

Release

Kill, Baby, Kill was released in Italy on July 8, 1966 and was distributed by I.N.D.I.E.F.[1] By the time the film was released, Blanc was known for appearing in various spy films. One film, titled Agente S 03: Operazione Atlantide led to Kill, Baby, Kill being released as Operation paura in Italy.[5] The film was released during the height of the Italian vacation season.[7] It was shown in Rome for only four days and then vanished from circulation.[7] It grossed a total of 201 million Italian lira domestically on its initial theatrical release,[1] a figure described by Roberto Curti as "nondescript".[22] Bava chose not to direct another horror film until 1968, when he shot Hatchet for the Honeymoon.[22][23]

It was released on October 8, 1967 in the United States, where it was distributed by Europix Consolidated Corporation.[1] In the United Kingdom, it was titled Curse of the Dead and released by Marigold Films in 1967.[1][24] It was re-issued in 1971 with one reel removed from it in the United States as Curse of the Living Dead.[1][25]

Home media

Kill, Baby, Kill was released on DVD in September 2000 by VCI.[26] In 2007, the home video company Dark Sky Films attempted to release Kill, Baby, Kill on DVD in North America.[27] After assuming the rights had been secured, the company proceeded to purchase the licensing rights to the film for the United States.[27] Dark Sky Films was then sued by Alfredo Leone, who stated that he owned the rights to the film and had recently sold the rights to the company Anchor Bay Entertainment.[27] The courts sided with Leone and Anchor Bay, while Dark Sky Films who had already pressed DVDs of the film had to cancel the release.[27] The film was then released on DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in one of two five-film boxed sets of Bava's horror films,[28] alongside Black Sunday (1960), Black Sabbath (1963), The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963), and Knives of the Avenger (1966).[29]

The film was released on Blu-ray and special-edition DVD for the first time in North America on October 10, 2017 by Kino Lorber.[30]

Critical reception

From contemporary reviews, Tim Mulne of the Monthly Film Bulletin noted that though "narrative has never been Bava's strong point, but with Operazione Paura he has happily found a story in which atmosphere is everything, and the result is even more splendid visually that Sei Donne per l'Assasino"[31] The review also compared the film to that of Beauty and the Beast and The Turn of the Screw and the work of Georges Franju.[31] "Byro." of Variety commented that "every element of light and color has been carefully orchestrated by Bava to achieve a tantalizing and dramatic effect" and "plot details are juggled expertly to achieve needed scare effects" while "there's no attempt to the especial original here - it's just the same old Gothic elements, but handled so skillfully as to revitalize the genre."[32] The review concluded that "perhaps his pix will remain in the province of buffs, but Bava - whose sole international success was with Black Sabbath - deserves a small but firm niche in film history."[32] According to actress Erika Blanc, when the film opened in Rome it received a standing ovation from director Luchino Visconti.[33]

From retrospective reviews, Slant Magazine called it "arguably Bava's greatest achievement", giving it four stars out of a possible four.[34] Slant also ranked it number 55 on their list of the top 100 horror films of all time.[35] Bava biographer Tim Lucas described the film as a "mixture of pure poetry and pulp thriller, distinguished by vivid, hallucinogenic cinematography...jolts into the realms of free-form delirium and dementia. The spectre of little Melissa Graps, with her white lace dress and bouncing white ball, is perhaps the most influential icon of Italian horror cinema, having been copied in countless other films, notably Federico Fellini...and the film itself has been an admitted influence on such directors as Martin Scorsese and David Lynch."[36] In the 2010s, Time Out polled authors, directors, actors and critics who had worked in the horror genre to vote for their top horror films.[37] Kill, Baby, Kill at number 56 on the top 100.[37]

Taste of Cinema observed that "Martin Scorsese called this Bava's best film...probably the most successful realization of Gothic horror-meets-bad-acid-trip."[38] Scott Beggs said "This might be Bava’s greatest achievement, and he doesn’t hold out on the lush production design or the trippy camera tricks."[39] Derek Hill designated Kill, Baby, Kill! as "one of his best efforts and what is arguably one of the most effective and chilling supernatural gothic horror films of all time. It has influenced Federico Fellini...Martin Scorsese...Kill, Baby, Kill! creates such a palpable mood of dread and oppression in its first few minutes and so effectively sustains the momentum until the last frame that it is easy to see why it has cast such a quiet legacy on other filmmakers."[40] Patrick Legare of AllMovie called the film "an eerie and atmospheric effort that reflects many of the elements that have made the popular Italian director's films so compelling: excellent cinematography and strong performances from the talented cast."[41]

Pablo Kjolseth of Turner Classic Movies praised the film's visuals, writing: "If you value mood and atmosphere over modern visceral thrills there's a good chance you'll land in the latter camp. Rich color schemes, crumbling elegant buildings, mist-covered cobble-stoned streets, dusty taverns, swirling spiral stairs, and endless halls with creepy décor and art all help establish a handful of the exteriors and interiors that make the film magical."[28]

Influence and analysis

Kill, Baby, Kill has been credited as an inspiration on numerous filmmakers, specifically the image of the young girl with a bouncing ball utilized as a symbol of wickedness, which has been referenced in several contemporary horror films. Federico Fellini was inspired by the image, and used it in his segment "Toby Dammit," from the anthology film Spirits of the Dead (1968).[42] The motif of the young girl with the bouncing ball was also utilized extensively in the 2002 horror film FeardotCom.[43] Visually, the film has been noted as an inspiration on Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977).[44] The film's use of color has also been noted as an inspiration on the visuals of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).[28]

Scholar David Sanjek also noted the film's use of the child symbolizing evil as a pioneering motif in the genre: "[Kill, Baby, Kill], a film of genuine poetic power and visual ingenuity, successfully inverted gothic stereotypes of good and evil by having the power of good embodied by a dark-haired witch while evil is represented by an angelic, blonde young girl."[45]

Footnotes
  1. Curti 2015, p. 159.
  2. Brunetta 2009, p. 201.
  3. Lucas 2017, 0:10:50.
  4. Curti 2015, p. 163.
  5. Lucas 2017, 0:15:00.
  6. Lucas 2017, 0:38:05.
  7. Lucas 2017, 1:19:28.
  8. Lucas 2017, 0:10:13.
  9. Lucas 2017, 0:6:10.
  10. Hughes 2011, p. 82.
  11. Lucas 2017, 0:54:20.
  12. Lucas 2017, 0:9:40.
  13. Curti 2015, p. 162.
  14. Lucas 2017, 0:1:02.
  15. Lucas 2017, 0:16:10.
  16. Lucas 2017, 0:1:54.
  17. Lucas 2017, 0:19:30.
  18. Lucas 2017, 0:35:20.
  19. Lucas 2017, 0:17:30.
  20. Lucas 2017, 0:52:50.
  21. Lucas 2017, 0:55:30.
  22. Curti 2015, p. 165.
  23. Curti 2017, p. 20.
  24. Lucas 2017, 1:20:43.
  25. Lucas 2017, 0:2:45.
  26. "Title Wave". Billboard: 146. May 27, 2006 – via Google Books.
  27. Shipka 2011, p. 27.
  28. Kjolseth, Pablo. "Mario Bava Boxed Set". Turner Classic Movies. Home Video Reviews. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  29. Kehr, David (April 10, 2007). "New DVDs". New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  30. Webmaster (March 28, 2017). "Kill, Baby, Kill! Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  31. Mulne, Tim (July 1967). "Operazione Paura (Curse of the Dead), Italy, 1966". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 34 no. 402. The British Film Institute. p. 104.
  32. Variety's Film Reviews 1968-1970. 12. R. R. Bowker. 1983. There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "October 30, 1968". ISBN 0-8352-2792-8.
  33. Lucas 2017, 0:3:08.
  34. Gonzalez, Ed (June 15, 2003). "Kill, Baby...Kill!". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  35. "The 100 Greatest Horror Films of All Time". October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  36. Thompson, Lang. "TCM Imports - The Films of Mario Bava". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  37. Clarke, Cath; Calhoun, Dave; Huddleston, Tom (August 19, 2015). "The 100 best horror films: the list". Time Out. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  38. Mason, Scot. "10 Essential Mario Bava Films Every Horror Fan Should See". Taste of Cinema. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  39. Beggs, Scott. "Mario Bava's 'Kill, Baby, Kill!'". Film School Rejects. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  40. Hill, Derek. "Kill, Baby...Kill!". Images Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  41. Legare, Patrick. "Kill, Baby, Kill (1966)". AllMovie. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  42. Karola 2003, p. 228.
  43. Acerbo & Pisoni 2007, p. 227.
  44. Heller-Nicholas 2015, p. 23.
  45. Sanjek 2007, p. 426.

References
  • Acerbo, Gabriele; Pisoni, Roberto (2007). Kill Baby Kill!: Il cinema di Mario Bava (in Italian). Un mondo a parte. ISBN 978-8-889-48113-4. OCLC 860440097.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Brunetta, Gian Piero (2009). The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its Origins to the Twenty-first Century. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11988-5. OCLC 436979203.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969. McFarland. ISBN 1476619891. OCLC 946552693.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 1476629609.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (December 1, 2015). Suspiria. Devil's Advocates. New York: Auteur. ISBN 978-0-993-23847-5. OCLC 936308469.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hughes, Howard (2011). Cinema Italiano - The Complete Guide From Classics To Cult. London - New York: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-608-0. OCLC 961684174.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Karola (2003). "Italian Cinema Goes to the Drive-In: The Intercultural Horrors of Mario Bava". In Rhodes, Gary Don (ed.). Horror at the Drive-in: Essays in Popular Americana. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-41342-3. OCLC 606934557.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lucas, Tim (2017). Audio commentary with Tim Lucas (Blu ray). Arrow Films. FCD1573.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sanjek, David (December 1, 2007). "Fans' notes: The horror film fanzine". The Cult Film Reader. Open University Press. London. ISBN 978-0-335-21923-0. OCLC 746250976.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980. McFarland. ISBN 0786486090. OCLC 746880411.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
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