Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Killer Nun Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 8, 2019

Nunsploitation.

If you’re like me (and I won’t blame you if you don’t want to admit it), you kind of have to love the fact that there is such a patently hilarious word, not to mention an equally patently bizarre subgenre of film to which it refers. Nunsploitation gets a lot of mention in various supplements on Killer Nun, and in fact the film itself is mentioned in the very first paragraph of the Wikipedia article about nunsploitation, but that said, a lot of the on disc supplements and even the Wikipedia article hint at the fact that Killer Nun is actually not “really” a nunsploitation film. Kind of interestingly (and my even slightly hilariously, for those with jaded senses of humor, at least), Killer Nun bears one of those "based on a true story" epigrams as it begins, and commentators Adrian J. Smith and David Flint actually confirm that it is in fact based on a true story of a drug addicted nun who went on a bit of a killing spree. The film has some interesting casting subtext, with erstwhile sex symbol Anita Ekberg on hand as the supposedly chaste sister with murderous impulses. Alida Valli is also featured, and the cast also includes Joe Dallesandro. A bit of probably needless nudity and a couple of kinkier moments may in fact give this at least a bit of a tether to more "traditional" exploitation fare, but Killer Nun is a rather interesting film with a serious demeanor a lot of the time, even if it plays things resolutely hyperbolically just as often.

Killer Nun had a previous release on Blu-ray several years ago courtesy of Blue Underground. Those wanting a plot recap are encouraged to read my colleague Svet Atanasov's Killer Nun Blu-ray review of the Blue Underground version. Svet's review is also a good source for screenshot comparisons.

Killer Nun Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Killer Nun is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

Killer Nun ( Suor Omicidi ) is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin registered Arriscan. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, picture instability and other instances of film wear were reapired or removed through a combination of digital restoration tools and techniques. The mono Italian and English language tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio synch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entirely in post production, as per the production standards of the period. In addition, the English version incorpartes a few short sections in which only Italian is spoken.

The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master at R3Store Studios, London.

All original materials used in this restoration were accessed from Surf Film.

Svet gave fairly high marks to the Blue Underground release, and in another example of what I call "different reviewers, different opinions", I should state up front that I may not have been as generous as Svet was in my score of that release. That may help to explain why this release, sourced off an original camera negative, is granted "only" a 4.0, meaning that anyone looking at the relatively slight difference between the scores of the two releases and not recognizing that there are two sets of eyes and opinions involved, may not think there is that much of a difference between the two, which is not the case. There are definite improvements all around in this new transfer in my estimation, including better palette reproduction (with a somewhat warmer overall look), and at least marginally better saturation. It looks to my eyes that the Arrow release is just ever so slightly generally darker in appearance than the Blue Underground, something that can help to elevate fine detail levels at times, but which also can tend to slightly mask what can be a fairly rough looking grain field on occasion (contrast the look of the grain in screenshot 1 of Svet's review with screenshot 2 of this review to get an idea of what I'm talking about). There are some fairly wide variances in grain resolution in this presentation, with some darker material looking considerably grittier than the rest of the transfer (see screenshot 19 for one example). While major damage is commendably missing in action, there are still minor scratches and other blemishes that have made it through the restoration gauntlet (look at screenshot 3 and just to the left of Ekberg's face you can make out a small scratch extending downward over her cowl, which is indicative of the kinds of things eagle eyed videophiles will still be able to spot). There is also some slight wobble still evident in the credits. My score is 4.25.

Killer Nun Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both LPCM Mono tracks on this release sound fine, within the contexts of Italian cinema of this era, and with an understanding that both tracks are unavoidably narrow if not necessarily shallow. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the overall depth of both tracks in terms of reproducing dialogue and sound effects, along with Alessandro Alessandroni's score. Fidelity is fine on both tracks, with no issues with regard to distortion, dropouts or other damage.

Killer Nun Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Adrian J. Smith and David Flint


• Beyond Convent Walls (1080p; 29:19) is an unusually well done and rather far ranging video essay by Kat Ellinger covering nunsploitation in general and this film in particular.


• Our Mother of Hell (1080p; 51:51) is a new interview with director Giulio Berruti, where he discusses his career in films. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Cut and Noise (1080p; 20:31) is a new interview with editor Mario Giacco. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Starry Eyes (1080p; 23:47) is a new interview with actress Ileana Fraja. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Theatrical Trailers

  Italian Trailer (1080p; 2:56)

  
  

  International Trailer (1080p; 2:56)

• Image Gallery (1080p; 3:40)

Additionally, Arrow has provided their typically well appointed insert booklet, in this instance including esssays by Andreas Ehrenreich and Roberto Curti, as well as an original review and other technical data and some archival stills. There's a kind of interesting chart documenting the nunsploitation subgenre in Italy from 1962 to 1978, with a list of films, their directors, and their box office receipts.

Killer Nun Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As ironic as it may sound, Killer Nun may have been more viscerally compelling had it gone completely for the gusto in terms of its kink quotient, instead of only hinting at various naughty behaviors. The film offers a rather interesting later career role for Ekberg, and the supporting cast is similarly colorful. This is probably best approached not as a "true" nunsploitation offering, though it certainly does have at least some elements of broader exploitation fare. Arrow has once again provided a cult release with solid technical merits and some appealing supplements. Recommended.