The Killer Reserved Nine Seats

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats is based upon an Agatha Christie mystery and there are hints of this throughout the film; in fact prior to understanding that it was influenced by a Christie novel I remember thinking early on that the characters were like Clue: The Movie except with only half the wit and twice the obnoxiousness. L'assassino ha riservato nove poltrone is maybe a 6.5, I debated rating it as a 7 (at least as far as giallos go) but there are too many weird, lame flaws in an otherwise atmospheric and entertaining Italian murder mystery which takes place in an apparently abandoned theater.

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This giallo is one which does not occupy the upper tier of the genre but is a solid example of a mid-tier entry. It sports a recycled Ten Little Indians plot, where a group of people who all seem to hate each other wind up at an abandoned theatre in the middle of the night; the find themselves locked in and a masked killer pitches up and starts knocking them off. In some respects, this is a giallo whose plot more closely resembles one of the later American slasher movies than most of its Italian brethren, what with its stripped back plot and set-up; however, its characters, décor and music are pleasingly giallo all the way! The setting, while basic, is a pretty good one, with the theatre adding an attractive and gothic atmosphere to proceedings. Not only that but there is also a supernatural curse thrown in too for good measure! This ensures that this is even less concerned with realism than most other gialli, and given that this is a genre not concerned with realism at all in the first place, you will get the general idea of how mad this one is at times. Characters often act gloriously ridiculously, such as going off on their own when its perfectly clear than a homicidal maniac is on the loose. On the debit side, there is quite a bit of extraneous chat at times and that does slow the pace down on occasion. But thankfully this is punctuated by several moments of giallo excess which keeps things on the right path, including one pretty sleazy and nasty murder scene - you'll know it when you see it.

Sep 22. So here we have "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats", a very decent giallo, and if you are familiar with gialli, you know exactly what you are gonna get with that title. Yep, its exactly as it sounds, another variation on the "And Then There Were None" theme, we even get a book showing how the killings should happen like the rhyme in the Agatha Christie story. You should be familiar with most of these actors, and a bit like "And Then There Were None" expect a red herring or too, it may not be quite as straighforward as expected as to who the villain or villains maybe. I do like it, its definitely my type but its still not right at the top tier. I will give it 8.5/9 theatre seats out of 10.

source: The Killer Reserved Nine Seats

To celebrate his birthday, wealthy Patrick Davenant (Chris Avram, The Eerie Midnight Horror Show, Emanuelle in Bangkok) brings his friends to his family's unused theater - empty for a century, which is how long his family has been cursed, which in no way is taken from The Red Queen Kills Seven Times. There's his sister Rebecca (Eva Czemerys, Escape from the Bronx) and her lover - look how ahead of its time Italian giallo in 1974 was - Doris (Lucretia Love, who was in The Arena and the astoundingly titled When Men Carried Clubs and Women Played Ding-Dong). And he's also decided to bring his ex Vivian (Rosana Schiaffino, once called the Italian Hedy Lamarr) and her new husband Albert (Andrea Scotti, Terror Express), along with Patrick's daughter Lynn (Paola Senatore, Ricco the Mean Machine, Emanuelle in America (1977) and Eaten Alive!; due to an unplanned pregnancy and being hooked on drugs, she ended her career by appearing in an adult film, Non Stop... Sempre Buio in Sala before being arrested for possession and trafficking of drugs) and her boyfriend Duncan (Gaetano Russo, Crazy Blood), as well as Patrick's fiancee Kim (Janet Agren, City of the Living Dead), her ex-boyfriend Russell (Howard Ross, otherwise known as Renato Rossini, The New York Ripper) and finally, to finish off this cast of gorgeous people who all hate one another, some dude no one can really figure out where he belongs (Eduardo Filpone, Flavia the Heretic). Oh yeah - there's also a caretaker played by Luigi Antonio Guerra from Spasmo. Before you know it, everyone starts getting killed, including one death via stabs to the lady business and their cranium being nailed to a board. You'd think with all this mayhem, the movie would be pretty interesting, but sadly, it drags. The mysterious stranger - when he's not looking funky fresh in blue blazer and fancy medallion - is given to saying things like, "You know what I like about you people? ... You're so civil to each other as you tear each other apart." and "I spent a night here a hundred years ago" and "The actors are present and now the play may start..." Janet Agren gets to act out a scene from Romeo and Juliet before she dies at least. You know how people decry American slashers because they punish anyone who enjoys sex or drugs or any behavior deemed aberrant? This movie takes that notion and delivers it in spades. Of course, it also presents sin in all its glory but uses violent death as the square up reel. This is the last movie that Giuseppe Bennati made. It fits in with post-Argento giallo, but doesn't add much to the form other than a great title and poster.

A whole bunch of reprehensible people turn up at a disused theatre on the night of rich aristocrat Patrick Devenant. These people are your usual Euro-film bunch of double crosser and promiscuous deviants: there's a few lesbians, a married couple, a couple who want to get married. That kind of thing, plus all the usual infidelities. The theatre is run by a creepy guy who turns up to spout something dodgy about the people or the theatre, then disappears again. It comes as no surprise that a black-gloved killer or killers is/are on the prowl and the first guy to nearly get it is Patrick, who narrowly dodges a huge wooden block that's dropped on his head. Naturally this prompts a lot of discussion from everyone about how much money Patrick has and who would want it. When the first victim is stabbed in the back while performing Romeo and Juliet on stage, the rest of the folks discover the phone lines cut and the door locked. They now have to spend the whole night together and one of them may be the killer... I've got to admit to being a bit underwhelmed with this one. Too much jibber jabber and not enough...err...dibber stabber. Overlong to considering the premise, with many scenes content to have the actors endlessly discussing what's going on, blaming each other, putting the moves on each other, or wandering off alone to get murdered by a killer who wears a mask that makes him/her look like Alan Sugar. There's plenty of nudity however, but that just serves to slow down things even more. It's not a total loss, however. There's a nice supernatural angle to the film where the curator of the theatre might be a ghost, disembodied voices call to the actors, and there's a confusing bit where a dummy looks alive...for a second or two. We also get a strange painting that depicts the fate of the character and the whole theatre setting gives the film a nice gothic horror feel. What it needed more of was random daftness and poor taste - we do get one character throwing caution to the wind, necking a bunch of pills, and dancing around naked in the middle of this murder fest, and there's a bit of nastiness when someone has their hand nailed to a post, but there's too much talk for me. An okay giallo, but not a great one.

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, originally titled L'assassino ha riservato nove poltrone, is a giallo that combines elements of a psychological thriller with mild softcore *. The plot is closely inspired by the works of Agatha Christie which should certainly please genre fans but has prevented the movie from leaving a mark upon release. The movie revolves around Patrick Davenant who invites a group of family members and friends to visit an elegant theatre in his lush villa. However, there are tensions among the nine visitors who are consumed by greed, jealousy and resentment. Patrick Davenant only just survives an attempt to murder him but can't prevent one of his visitors getting stabbed to death upon the theatre stage. As the survivors attempt to get help, they realize that the telephone lines have been cut, that all the windows and doors have been shut and that the set of keys that helped them entering the theatre has disappeared. What started as a short visit following a party has now become a fight for survival. This giallo convinces on several levels. First and foremost, the movie takes its time to introduce the nine different characters in a detailed way as viewers learn about their strengths, flaws and convictions. Up next, the ways the different characters meet their grisly fates are quite diversified and keep the film's tense atmosphere elevated. The different locations inside the claustrophobic theatre have been chosen with care and vary from colourful dressing rooms over dusty attics to sinister basements. The moody soundtrack blends in perfectly and has an amazingly nostalgic vibe. The movie convinces with fluid pace as it entertains from start to finish. The plot is solid and will keep you guessing until the very end. The conclusion comes around with surprising supernatural elements that make this film stand out among similar genre films. On the other side however, there are significant reasons why this film has been overlooked and forgotten for such a long period of time. Except for its quirky conclusion, the plot lacks creativity and shamelessly copies the works of Agatha Christie. Up next, the negative traits of the nine characters are quite predictable, similar and by the numbers, making it difficult to empathize with any of them. The acting performances are at times wooden, slow and exaggerated, especially in the first third of the movie before atmosphere, pace and tension take a much better turn. At the end of the day, this obscure giallo convinces with interesting characters, gloomy locations, excellent pace, diversified killing techniques and a surprising ending that pardon for an overall weak plot, predictable negative character traits and a somewhat slow start in the first third of the movie. Genre fans should certainly appreciate this rediscovered gem that oozes with atmosphere and entertains from start to finish.

The music of Carlo Savina is good and there are some scary scenes. But, overall, it's a big boredom. The story is predictable and mundane. The best performance is of the beautiful Rosanna Schiaffino, who, as a character, is also the only one who... but I don't want to divulge what is happening. Tits lovers will be happy, they will see a lot, they will even see a woman's pubis.

In THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS, zillionaire, Patrick Davenant (Chris Avram) invites a group of eight acquaintances to his castle-sized theater for the evening. As the night progresses, sensuality fills the air, as well as a sense of impending doom. Patrick is suspicious of everyone, and for good reason. His guests all seem to be treacherous people, full of guile. A mystery man arrives, dressed in blue. He appears to possess knowledge that defies explanation. When one of the guests is murdered, the man disappears. The rest are locked in the theater. The phones are dead. TKR9S is an interesting giallo / horror film. It's loaded with female nudity, especially since the killer likes his victims sans attire. In addition, there's ample opportunity for non-homicidal frivolity of the naked sort. One scene, involving a dance in front of a mirror, is quite memorable indeed! The one drawback to this film is its length. It could have easily been trimmed by about 20-30 minutes of padding. There are some chatty parts that feel eternal! Still, there's enough general weirdness going on to make it all work. The fitting, comeuppance ending is worth the wait..