The
Sister of Ursula
Severin
Films
R1 DVD
Web: http://www.severin-films.com
The Sister of Ursula (La
Sorella di Ursula 1978)
is a rare “eurotrash” classic and has not been available
outside
The storyline is suitably extravagant,
the Sister of Ursula tells the tale of two beautiful Austrian sisters – psychic
and rather neurotic Ursula Beyne (Barbara Magnolfi of Argento's Suspiria) and promiscuous “can’t keep her clothes on”
Dagmar (Stefania D'Amario
of Fulci's Zombie). They have a difficult
relationship not helped by the fact that their mother ran off leaving them in a
boarding house when they were very young and their father committed suicide
after a long bout of depression and impotence. They sign in for some rest and
relaxation at an idyllic Mediterranean retort but things don’t go as planned.
As they begin to relax and experience the ambiance of this beautiful locale
Ursula becomes more and more neurotic and difficult. When Dagmar suggests they
go to the bar to see “Stella Shining”, a cabaret singer who sounds more like a
strangled cat, Ursula begins to get a strange feeling about some of the people
they encounter, especially Filippo and brashly
demands they leave. That night the
killings start. These are not your average killings, mind you, it seems our leather
clad killer likes to watch couples make love (with us experiencing the pleasure
as well vicariously through the screen) and then kill them with what seem to be
a extremely large appendage, but is it ? The way the
killer is shown as firstly watching the couple through the eye-holes of a mask
and then killing them with only a shadow of a large appendage in sight creates
a voyeuristic and edgy feel to each murder.
As the story unfolds we experience a drug
investigation sub plot, as much nudity (Dagmar always seems to be taking off
her clothes!) and sex (straight and lesbian) that the film can hold, a
masturbation scene using a gold chain and, of course, killing via a huge
phallus. All this is presented with the background of the beautiful
What is amazing here is the mixture of
high end photography and explicit sex, Vittorio
Bernini's cinematography is superb, the locations are beautiful and the
soundtrack seems like that of a trendy travelogue and yet this is mixed with
the strangest characters and events imaginable. Indeed, this is what makes this
film so successful, the juxtaposition of the idyllic landscape and the sleazy
sex, the balance of bouncy, groovy music and a killer eviscerating his victims.
The climax of the film is suitably bizarre with a major drug bust interrupted
by the revealing of the killer as Ursula using a large wooden dildo dressed as
her father screaming about the evils of sex !
I cannot imagine how Severin
found such a high quality print of such an unusual film. The soundtrack is
crystal clear, the dialogue is in Italian with removable subtitles and the DVD
also includes the Father of Ursula: An interview with director Enzo Milioni and a trailer.
This is a truly perverse and imaginative Giallo thriller with impeccable cinematography, great music
and a creative and outrageous plot, I heartily enjoyed
this truly sleazy yet stylish eurotrash experience.