killer nun

If you're reading this then you already know nunsploitation is an actual thing, not some phony film genre dreamed up by precocious cinephiles. And director Giulio Berruti's Killer Nun (1979) is one of the more palatable entries in the sadomasochistic sub-category. Starring former pin-up Anita Ekberg (with a bit more baggage under her eyes...and everywhere else) as a mentally unstable, drug addicted, hot-to-trot physicians assistant who leaves a trail of dead bodies after her rounds on the psychiatric ward, the film steers into giallo territory with admirable results. Of course, there's still a good bit of sloppy sexual escapades, scandalously sacrilegious imagery and Joe D’Alessandro as a greasy MD, but the murderous set-pieces are surprisingly well done, set to a superb score by Alessandro Alessandroni.

Arrow Video's Blu-ray special edition makes for the film's second appearance on hi-def (Blue Underground's version debuted in 2012). The transfer here, made from a new 2K restoration, is noticeably sharper, with only slight haze that may very well be inherent to the negative. Besides the optional English and Italian tracks, a new audio commentary, interviews and collector's booklet are packaged for your twisted enjoyment. But special credit should go to critic Kat Ellinger whose video essay, Beyond Convent Walls, dissects the nunsploitation genre from its earliest beginnings in medieval literature to the trashy exercises in cinematic excess we all know and love today!