Review: Killer Dames (The Night Evelyn Came Out of Grave/The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) BD + Screen Caps

PLOT SUMMARIES

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)
Troubled aristocrat Alan Cunningham (ANTHONY STEFFEN), haunted by the death of his first wife Evelyn, tries to move on by marrying the seductive Gladys (MARINA MALFATTI). Marital bliss is short-lived, however, as various relatives meet untimely and gruesome deaths, prompting speculation that a vengeful Evelyn has risen from the grave…

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
An age-old family curse hits sisters Kitty (BARBARA BOUCHET) and Franziska (MARINA MALFATTI) following the death of their grandfather Tobias (RUDOLF SCHUNDLER). Every hundred years, so the legend goes, the bloodthirsty Red Queen returns and claims seven fresh victims. Was Tobias just the first… and are Kitty and Franziska next?

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5

This double feature box set, each movie is contained in their own HD Keep Case with reversible cover artwork. Each one also contains a standard DVD Copy. These two cases side-slides into a sturdy box in which there is a 60-page booklet.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave — 3.5/5
Audio Commentary – Author Troy Howarth provides a scholar-like track but also manages to be humorous while also giving a historical background on the giallo genre, his opinion on the film and a bit of disdain toward lead actor Anthony Steffen.

Remembering Evelyn (15:12; HD) was recorded exclusively for Arrow Video where critic Stephen Thrower discusses Miraglia’s gothic chiller.

The Night Erika Came Out of the Grave (9:44; HD) is a brand new interview with actress Erika Blanc as she recounts her memories of shooting Evelyn.

Archival Features: 2006 Introduction by Erika Blanc (0:37; SD), The Whip and the Body (20:57; SD) and Still Rising from the Grave (22:49; SD), the latter two are fairly interesting older interviews.

We also get the Italian Trailer (2:44; HD) and English Trailer (2:44; HD).

The Red Queen Kills Seven Times — 3.5/5
Audio Commentary – Authors/Film Historians Alan Jones and Kim Newman provide another academic track dispensing information about the movie, background on the story, actors and the giallo genre.

The Red Reign (13:48; HD) was recorded exclusively for Arrow Video where critic Stephen Thrower discusses Miraglia’s gothic chiller.

Life of Lulu (19:47; HD) is a new interview with actress Sybil Danning as she discusses her career and memories of Red Queen.

Alternate Opening (0:39; HD) – This is an alternate “countdown” opening, used in place of the pre-credits sequence in some territories.

Archival Features: Dead a Porter (13:38; SD), which is an interview with Production Designer Lorenzo Baraldi; Round Up the Usual Suspects (18:24; SD) features an interview with actor Marino Mase; If I Met Emilio Miraglia Today… (4:14; SD) finds Mase, Baraldi and actress Erica Blanc talking about the director; My Favourite… Films (0:59; SD) is an interview with Barbara Bouchet.

Lastly there are the Italian (3:13; HD) and English (3:13; HD) Trailers.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

Both movies are shown in their original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and given a new 1080p high-definition transfer where, as explained in the booklet, had been restored, removing instances of dust marks, dirt, specs and other flaws. Beyond the clean picture, they’re also well-defined while colors are pretty brilliant throughout. There is some natural film grain for both films which only adds to the authenticity.

AUDIO – 4.0/5

Each film received both the Italian and English dubbed versions in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks which showcases some good and clean (dubbed) dialogue while the music/score makes up the bulk of each track. It’s nothing particularly amazing or noteworthy but considering presumably weak sound design, and not exactly great dub work, I found these lossless tracks to be more than adequate for films going on 40+ years.

OVERALL – 3.5/5

Overall, neither The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave nor The Red Queen Kills Seven Times are ‘great’ films, though I’d probably give the nod to Red Queen, they are at least passable Italian giallo flicks however anyone new to the genre would be better served checking out Blood and Black Lace (also available on Arrow Video). Still, technically speaking, the video/audio transfers are both well done and there’s a fair amount of features highlighted by each film’s respective commentary track.