Killer Nun

AKA Suor Omicidi / Deadly Habits

Director: Giulio Berruti

If you were to say the term “Nunsploitation” to the average viewer, they would probably think you are talking about a film like the Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane comedy farce “Nuns On The Run”, when in fact this exploitation sub genre is a tad more serious than that… most of the time anyway.

Nunsploitation films tend to originate from fairly catholic countries, in this case Italy, and hidden beneath the sex and violence is often a statement about oppression within the church. This sounds like I might be making trash sound far more intellectual than it actually is but if this blog has taught me anything, even in the sleaziest films there is often something that can provoke a discussion.

“Killer Nun” is slightly different to the majority of Nunsploitation films in that it is set in present day – well the present day if we were still in the 70s anyway – whereas many are set during the Middle Ages. Released in 1978, “Killer Nun” eventually found its way onto the DDP’s legendary video nasty list in 1983 and wouldn’t be released uncut until 2006. Again, seeing the film through the eyes of someone living in 2020 there doesn’t seem to be much that would cause offence, apart from the obvious depiction of the church, which seems less than positive.

The film stars Anita Ekberg as Sister Gertrude, a nun working in a hospital who herself has recently had a brain tumour removed. Chronic headaches ensue and once her course of morphine finishes she finds herself addicted and she seeks to aid her addiction through any means possible. Most notably, a scene where Gertrude steals from a recently deceased woman to then don her “ordinary” clothes and hit the streets to get a hit and some cock!

During her drug fuelled black outs, patients in the hospital begin dying with many of the remaining patients beginning to suspect Gertrude. On top of all of that, Gertrude’s understudy, Sister Mathieu, has an obsessive crush on her and as the plot progresses it seems she may be just as dangerous as Gertrude.

Bizarrely the basic premise of the film is based on a true story but on my very brief search to find more information I couldn’t see a great deal to back this up. Either way, the title “Killer Nun” conjures up images of a nun rampaging a la “Rambo”, mowing people down with an uzi, but it’s very far from the truth. The gore is relatively tame by exploitation standards, apart from one scene of torture which does have a Fulci-esque feel to it. Instead we spend a lot of time with Sister Gertrude as she gradually descends into madness.

The film doesn’t seem to be a commentary on the oppression within the Catholic Church. I will admit it’s not reaching that deeply but it is focused on telling the story of an ill woman fighting her demons and it does that very well. There is a revelation that occurs towards the end of the film which shifted my opinion on some of the characters and to do that smoothly so late into a film is a skill.

The film isn’t scary but manages to be creepy a couple of times, namely the aforementioned torture scene and a sequence where Sister Gertrude breaks down in the corridor as the prayers of the patients ring in her head over and over. It’s an excellent scene and one of the highlights of the film for me.

The direction by Giulio Berruti is pretty good and I was surprised to find out that he only directed one other film which seems a shame. The only criticism I have is the decision to depict Sister Gertrude’s “episodes” by having quick cuts of events. It is disorientating, which I guess is the point, but I don’t think it needed to be so frantically edited. The score by Alessandro Alessandroni is great and suits the film well. The twangy guitar theme is distinctive and of course, choral music is never too far away which doesn’t fail to amp up the drama.

“Killer Nun” is a rare movie in that I could quite happily sit down and watch based on its artistic merit whilst there being enough mad twists and turns to make it prime viewing with a group of friends. Anita Ekberg is excellent as Gertrude and commands your attention whenever she is on screen. Paola Morra is also very good as Sister Mathieu, a character who is always there in the background and as the film progresses she becomes more integral to the plot only to swoop the whole movie from under the audiences feet in the final act.

This is my first experience of Nunspliotation and it was a far classier affair than I was expecting, although I’m under no illusion that will always be the case. I look forward to taking another trip to the convent soon, and seeing what those naughty sisters are up to next!