Killer Nun
Encyclopedia
Killer Nun (1978) is an Italian
nunsploitation
film
directed/co-written by Giulio Berruti and co-written by Alberto Tarallo. The film was originally banned in Britain in 1983, but was subsequently re-released in DVD format there in 2006, after changes in British censorship policy.
as Sister Gertrude, who is recovering from neurosurgery, although her Mother Superior (Alida Valli
) dismisses Sister Gertrude's fears about rushed recovery. Unfortunately, soon enough, it becomes clear that Sister Gertrude's fears were legitimate, as the hapless nun spirals into psychosis and addiction to morphine and heroin at the geriatric hospital where she works.
As well as initiating a lesbian affair with Sister Matthieu (Paola Morra), Sister Gertrude expels concerned Dr Patrick Roland (Joe Dallesandro
) from the hospital, and a reign of terror is initiated, in which Sister Gertrude inflicts humiliating calisthenics on one group of elderly inmates, stomps on an elderly woman's dentures, reads gory hagiographic details of the lives of tortured saints to her hapless charges and is judged to have thrown an elderly man engaged in sex with a nurse out of a window. As if this weren't enough, Sister Gertrude goes into a nearby town, picks up a man at a bar, and has impersonal heterosexual sex as well. Finally, the Mother Superior is convinced that she must do something about the aberrant behaviour of Sister Gertrude... but is she really the perpetrator of murder, or is someone trying to frame her?
genre, which centres on aberrant secularised behaviour from religious women. Unlike other examples of the genre, usually set in medieval or Renaissance locations, Killer Nun is firmly set in the present day, and has no pretensions to social commentary or any remarks about the role of women religious within the Church or the larger society. In the United Kingdom, Mary Whitehouse
denounced it as one of the "video nasties" subgenre of violent horror cinema, which 'might' adversely affect human behaviour.
Although it was originally on a 'DPP list' of 'objectionable' films in the United Kingdom, compiled by the Director of Public Prosecutions
in 1983 as a result of the aforementioned moral panic
, liberalised British film, video and DVD censorship policy meant that the DVD version of the film was re-released there in 2006, uncut.
in America by Blue Underground
, in Germany by Koch Media
and in the UK by Shameless Screen Entertainment
.
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Mono
Certification: Germany:18 / Finland:K-18 / Norway:18 / UK:18 / West Germany:18 / Iceland:(Banned)
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
nunsploitation
Nunsploitation
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed/co-written by Giulio Berruti and co-written by Alberto Tarallo. The film was originally banned in Britain in 1983, but was subsequently re-released in DVD format there in 2006, after changes in British censorship policy.
Synopsis
Killer Nun (1978) was produced in Italy. It features Anita EkbergAnita Ekberg
Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
as Sister Gertrude, who is recovering from neurosurgery, although her Mother Superior (Alida Valli
Alida Valli
Alida Valli , sometimes simply credited as Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, Bernardo...
) dismisses Sister Gertrude's fears about rushed recovery. Unfortunately, soon enough, it becomes clear that Sister Gertrude's fears were legitimate, as the hapless nun spirals into psychosis and addiction to morphine and heroin at the geriatric hospital where she works.
As well as initiating a lesbian affair with Sister Matthieu (Paola Morra), Sister Gertrude expels concerned Dr Patrick Roland (Joe Dallesandro
Joe Dallesandro
Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
) from the hospital, and a reign of terror is initiated, in which Sister Gertrude inflicts humiliating calisthenics on one group of elderly inmates, stomps on an elderly woman's dentures, reads gory hagiographic details of the lives of tortured saints to her hapless charges and is judged to have thrown an elderly man engaged in sex with a nurse out of a window. As if this weren't enough, Sister Gertrude goes into a nearby town, picks up a man at a bar, and has impersonal heterosexual sex as well. Finally, the Mother Superior is convinced that she must do something about the aberrant behaviour of Sister Gertrude... but is she really the perpetrator of murder, or is someone trying to frame her?
Nunsploitation
Killer Nun (Suor Omicida) was an example of the nunsploitationNunsploitation
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual...
genre, which centres on aberrant secularised behaviour from religious women. Unlike other examples of the genre, usually set in medieval or Renaissance locations, Killer Nun is firmly set in the present day, and has no pretensions to social commentary or any remarks about the role of women religious within the Church or the larger society. In the United Kingdom, Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
denounced it as one of the "video nasties" subgenre of violent horror cinema, which 'might' adversely affect human behaviour.
Although it was originally on a 'DPP list' of 'objectionable' films in the United Kingdom, compiled by the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
in 1983 as a result of the aforementioned moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
, liberalised British film, video and DVD censorship policy meant that the DVD version of the film was re-released there in 2006, uncut.
Cast
- Anita EkbergAnita EkbergKerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
.... Sister Gertrude - Paola Morra .... Sister Mathieu
- Alida ValliAlida ValliAlida Valli , sometimes simply credited as Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, Bernardo...
.... Mother Superior - Massimo SeratoMassimo SeratoMassimo Serato, born Giuseppe Segato, was an Italian film actor with a career spanning over 40 years.Serato was born in Oderzo, Veneto, Italy and started appearing in films in 1938. He played leading roles in several historical dramas and sword and sandal epics, mainly Italian, as well as roles in...
.... Dr. Poirret - Daniele Dublino .... Director
- Lou CastelLou CastelLou Castel is a Colombian actor known primarily for his work in Italian films.Born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Castel moved to Europe as a young man. Interested in acting from an early age, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, but was quickly kicked out. His first movie role was an...
.... Peter - Joe DallesandroJoe DallesandroJoseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
.... Dr. Patrick Roland - Laura Nucci .... Baroness
- Alice Gherardi .... Janet
- Lee De Barriault
- Ileana Fraia
- Antonietta Patriarca
- Sofia Lusy
- Nerina Montagnani .... Josephine
- Franco CaraccioloFranco CaraccioloFranco Caracciolo was an Italian conductor. He studied piano and composing at the Conservatoire of S. Pietro a Majella in Naples, and conducting at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome...
Home video and classification details
The film has been released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in America by Blue Underground
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD....
, in Germany by Koch Media
Koch Media
The Koch Media group is a media enterprise started in 1994 by Franz Koch and Dr. Klemens Kundratitz.The Koch Media group produces and markets digital entertainment products and accessories in Europe and North America...
and in the UK by Shameless Screen Entertainment
Shameless Screen Entertainment
Shameless Screen Entertainment is a British DVD label specialising in exploitation films.The label launched on 1 October 2007; the launch was announced in August that year.-Releases:...
.
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Mono
Certification: Germany:18 / Finland:K-18 / Norway:18 / UK:18 / West Germany:18 / Iceland:(Banned)