"Watch Me When I Sleep" would be a more fitting English title for this second-rate giallo, made during the declining years of the genre (the "cat" in the original Italian title has absolutely nothing to do with the story either, it just seems that it was a fashionable word to use in the title of many gialli). The story sort-of makes sense, if you're OK with the fact that the killer appears in about 2 scenes in total. The killings are few, and sometimes more comical than shocking (a woman has her face pressed on....hot meat and potatoes!). The male lead does not have enough charisma to be a lead. The strongest asset of the film is the weird, discordant score. It's still somewhat of an ordeal to watch - it took me two separate sittings to make it. *1/2 out of 4.

As a huge fan of Italian Gialli, I am rarely disappointed when seeing a particular Giallo for the first time, but I regret to say that this was the case with Antonio Bido's "Il Gatto Dagli Occhi Di Giada" aka. "Watch Me When I Kill" / "The Cat With The Jade Eyes" (1977). Maybe it was that I expected too much, because a fellow Giallo-buff had recommended this film to me as particularly great. However, I really didn't see a lot of qualities to make this film particularly recommendable, other than a brilliant score, some grisly murders, nice settings and an elegant (but in no way outstanding) photography. As opposed to most Gialli (even many of the weaker ones) "Watch Me When I Kill" isn't terribly suspenseful, I regret to say that it even gets boring throughout the middle parts. It isn't style that is the problem here. The film does feature the Genre-typical murders from the killer's perspective, and they are very well-made. The film is quite beautifully shot in nice locations in Rome. And, as stated above, the utterly fantastic score is doubtlessly the film's greatest aspect. However, none of the characters are likable or even interesting, and that makes it very hard to care about whether they're killed or not. When a pharmacist is murdered by an unknown killer, a young dancer (Paola Tedesco) hears the killer's voice. Soon thereafter, she is also being stalked by the culprit, at which point her detective boyfriend (Corrado Pani) begins to investigate... The murders are grisly, but, especially for a late 70s Giallo, not very gory, and the film doesn't feature any sleaze. The mystery is not predictable, but, apart from some genuinely creepy moments, the film still isn't very suspenseful. I would not say that "Watch Me When I Kill" is a bad film as such, but, as far as I am concerned, it is a weak one by the usually high standards of the wonderful Italian Giallo. It has its redeeming qualities, the greatest of which is doubtlessly the brilliant score. However, I do not understand how some people can compare this to Gialli by Argento or Sergio Martino. I haven't seen Bido's other Giallo, "Solamente Nero" (1978) so far, but I do expect it to be better than this one. "Watch Me When I Kill" is worth watching for my fellow Giallo-fans, but, in my humble opinion, it's in no way very memorable or recommendable.

Those familiar with Antonio Bido anyway, the director of WHO SAW HER DIE? & THE BLOOD STAINED SHADOW, understand that his giallo thrillers are always leisurely paced(..to say the least)with LOTS of plot. And, there's always a sense of real sadness behind the plot, real tragedy often motivates the story with characters uncovering horrible truths. And, WATCH ME WHEN I KILL is no different, it is insanely convoluted yielding such a melancholy conclusion when our detective hero finally figures out the painful reasons behind a series of murders in(..and outside of) Rome. Three characters share a secret involving the Nazis and a family they betray and this fuels the killer who hunts each down, waiting for the right time, when they are most vulnerable, slaying them from behind. The first is a pharmacist stabbed in the back, the killer slicing his throat. The second, a female character named Esmeralda(Bianca Toccafaondi), who is friends with Giovanni Bozzi(Fernando Cerulli), a businessman with corrupt lending practices, she has a history with. Bozzi seeks aid from neighbor, Lukas(Corrado Pani) regarding disturbing phone calls featuring a collage of loud, random sounds which mean little to him, yet are enough to cause concern. Lukas is also assigned to protect his actress girlfriend, Mara(Paola Tedesco)who came across a crime in progress(..the pharmacy as the killer escaped quickly)and has been targeted for possibly seeing too much. Lukas begins his own investigation into the murders, and soon realizes that his girlfriend's pursuer and the killer behind the others are related. Soon, a judge(Giuseppe Addobbati), a wrongfully accused escaped con(Franco Citti), and a screenplay writer(Paolo Malco)all have their own part within the convoluted story.I will admit that I labored through WATCH ME WHEN I KILL, even though I respect director Bido for the ambitious story and it's chilling finale when we get all the facts after a lot exposition. I thought the score, supplied to us by Trans Europa Express was fabulous, good mixture of styles which often provide the film with a texture complimenting the shifts in tone(..while also making the long haul a little more bearable). I wasn't as critical of the acting and think the important characters were handled reasonably well. I agree with others that the dubbing and dialogue effects the impact of the film because characters are often saddled with cringe-worthy words that were perhaps more articulate in the Italian language. I for one liked Pani as the lead detective..he had the look down, and the cigar was a nice touch, and he never, to me anyway, ever committed a dopey characterization which would make him unsympathetic or unworthy of interest.The trademark giallo POV shot for the killer is often relied upon, and there's really nothing particularly stylish or fresh..that could be looked at as perhaps a positive for Bido, his conscious decision to bare more emphasis on the story, not dependent upon certain camera angles or imaginative methods at keeping our attention. The murders themselves are vicious affairs(..especially the final strangulation using a shower head's extension cord)which correspond with what their past mistake resulted in..the savagery with which the killer conducts his work(..such as the grisly sequence where Esmeralda's face is buried in a beef stew she was preparing on a skillet)correlates with how certain family members fell to the Nazis. Also important is a family photo with faces cut representing lost lives.

(aka: WATCH ME WHEN I KILL) Much better than Antonio Bido's other giallo, SOLAMENTE NERO (THE BLOOD STAINED SHADOW) Pharmacist in Rome is murdered. A woman who saw the killer leave is then stalked by the killer. Her boyfriend tries to find out why, and stop him. Three more murders follow. They are murdered because they are all tied to the betrayal of a Jewish family to the nazis during WWII.The killings are gruesome but not particularly bloody. In fact Bido goes out of his way to tone down the blood and not look too Argento-ish, imo. This is an excellent non-Argento giallo, one of the best of the 1970s. The plot flows pretty smoothly and it has an element of mystery and surprise at who the killer is. That's a nice touch considering that many Italian giallos reveal too many clues ahead of time, making the killer's identity a foregone conclusion. The music's ok, too. The only big negative is at the very end where the film wraps itself up way too fast, not leaving much for the viewer after the climax takes place. The VCI DVD print is kinda grainy and scratchy, not up to the usual standards Anchor Bay and Synapse have with their releases. Not many extras other than a bio of Bido along with some trailers to some other VCI DVD releases. I'll give it a 6 out of 10 for being better than a lot of the other films of the giallo genre...