This is a fairly middling example of a giallo film, the only difference being that this time it's Spanish instead of Italian. It's best viewed these days as a curiosity only, as it offers up little in the way of originality or thrills, content merely to plod through the familiar plot and offer a few exciting bits every now and then. It's not a particularly bad film, just overly familiar.Paul Naschy stars in this one as a gardener; his character dominates every scene, even if his role is ultimately unimportant. Watching Naschy play a normal character for a change is pretty strange - you keep expecting him to turn into a werewolf and rip somebody's throat out at any minute. To be fair, Naschy is pretty wooden in this film, but he's good to have as a central, masculine presence, and a familiar face always makes these films easier to swallow.The rest of the cast are populated by ladies who are obviously picked for their appearances rather than their acting skills; seeing as the film is dubbed, these aren't really taken into account anyway. They take their clothes off, and that's all that is needed. Sadly there fails to be much atmosphere conjured up, and the only horror occurs in a few night-time sequences where a gloved killer murders off the young women. These provoke a few chills but there's nothing really exceptional here either; apart from a gritty throat-slashing.The killer in this film takes the eyes of his victims, but rather than being disturbing, the poor wobbly bits of jelly substituting for the aforementioned eyeballs provoke laughter rather than chills. The killer's motive seems contrived at best, and everything is explained away/tied up too neatly in the final five minutes. There are a couple of good action bits, but the film's main concern is with dialogue and intrigue/interaction between the four main characters. This is not to say it's bad, but it just feels a bit empty - more action, violence and plot twists would have benefited things greatly. A final verdict for this film? Okay, but not great.

More than anything, 1973's "The Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" seems to pose the question "Can a film be called a giallo if it was not made in Italy?" Well, since this Spanish picture has every attribute of a classic giallo except the Italian soundtrack, let's just say the answer is yes, call it an "amarillo" and move on! This film was my first introduction to the huge oeuvre of the late Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy, an actor/writer/director/producer who in this film contented himself with merely being the lead man. Here he plays Gilles, a likable ex-con in northern France who signs on as handyman at the run-down estate of three very unusual and beautiful sisters: Claude, who is aloof and sports a burnt arm and prosthetic hand; Nicole, a redheaded nymphomaniac; and Ivette, an embittered, wheelchair-bound invalid. When a crazed psycho killer starts slaying women in the area and plucking out their baby blues, Gilles is automatically deemed suspect No. 1. But is he really the guilty party? Anyway, this amarillo, directed by Carlos Aured, provides giallo fans with all the requisite elements they have come to expect. It features any number of grisly and murderous set pieces (although the actual butchering of a pig may be the hardest thing to look at), stylish direction from Aured, some pleasing flashes of nudity courtesy of Eva Leon as the lusty Nicole, and an alternately sprightly and sinuous jazz score from Juan Carlos Calderon that should stick in your head for days. Typical for a giallo, red herrings abound, but the story ultimately manages to cohere very well and make perfect sense, unlike a lot of other gialli that I have seen. You may even be able to figure out the murderer in this one; as usual, the ending came as a complete surprise for me. And I must say that that ending is as pleasingly sick as any viewer could want. "Have a horrible time...and have fun," Naschy urges us during this film's introduction, and a fun time will certainly be had by all genre fans with this one. Oh...the DVD in question here, from the fine folks at Deimos, looks fantastic, is excellently subtitled and comes with some nice extras, too. Gracias, guys!

Oh yes, you have got those people who adore and who hate Paul Naschy. And he's in this flick. I still don't know what to think of him, obvious is that he still can't act in this film, it's just that he's watching for his cues or something especially when he's making love to the girls. The movie itself is a typical who done it in a giallostyle. What annoyed me the most was the use of a stupid score sometimes, made me think of those cheap porn flicks. But when the killings starts they use "Frere Jacob" and that gives the movie a special atmosphere. It isn't bloody, and when the killings happens it's bad acting, watch the girl die in the barn, her eyes flicker when the blood is dropping on her face, don't think you do that when they slash you, and when she dies she looking were to lay down and die. Paul too, when he's running for the cops, the shooting is ridiculous, the bear trap to say the least, anyway. It could have been better done, the three sisters are okay and give a good performance. It's the storyline that made me give this flick a 5. Easy to catch this one full uncut, wondering what the cut version was like, it's never messy or bloody, maybe they cut out the nudity scenes. Anyway, if you can see the broken doll, give me a call.

Certain movies put you at ease and make you feel confident right from the first sequences. "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" opens with moody and enchanting yet remotely ominous musical tunes as Paul Naschy is drifting across a remote and desolate countryside. If you're into 70's and European-made exploitation movies, you know right away this is the ideal intro for a film like this. Naschy – the star and writer and director of numerous movies like this – plays an ex-convict arriving in a secluded house occupied by three eccentric and suspiciously behaving sisters. One is lustful and promptly shows a sexual interest in the new arrival, the second one is wheelchair bound and remains out of sight and the oldest sister (with an impressively mutilated arm) is the bossy and arrogant leader of the pack. With the arrival of yet another ravishing woman – a private nurse to look after the ill sister – Gilles is completely surrounded by lurid women that may not be as defenseless and innocent as they look. One of the more apt and enticing titles of this movie is "House of Psychotic Women"; which gives a slightly more accurate though sadly exaggerated indication of what to expect. Or at least what to expect during the first half! Parallel with the sexual escapades in the mansion, there's a sadistic killer on the loose in town, exclusively prowling for girls with blond hair and bright blue eyes that he/she cuts out and collects in a jar. The perverted killer sub plot, with its vile gore and misogynist violence, makes "Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll" also qualify as a bona fide Giallo next to being a sleazy early 70's Euro-sexploitation feature. It's not the greatest Giallo, since the relevance of the murders in connection with the events at the mansion remains too vague and develops quite late, but it does guarantee a suspenseful and blood-soaked third act. Like the case with so many movies in this genre, it's far more amusing if you don't even bother paying attention to the complete absence of logic and coherence. Enjoy the bloodshed, the fantastic score (courtesy of Juan Carlos Calderón), Naschy's testosterone-laden charisma, the sickening killings and – of course – the various offerings of gratuitous nudity!