11 December 2024
The Sister of Ursula (1978)
91 min.
Directed by Enzo Milioni.
With Barbara Magnolfi, Stefania D'Amario, Vanni Materassi, Marc Porel, Anna Zinnemann, Antiniska Nemour, Yvonne Harlow, Giancarlo Zanetti, Roberto De Ruggeriis.
Don't expect much from this late entry Italian giallo, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

(Well, "surprised" in a sleazy way, at least.)

After the death of their father, Ursula (Magnolfi) and her sister Dagmar (D'Amario) head to a seaside resort for some rest and recreation. The two beautiful young women should be assured an enjoyable vacation.

But Ursula is extremely high strung - a nervous little thing - and she can't seem to relax long enough to enjoy herself.

And frankly, Dagmar is weary of caring for her sister, as it leaves her little time to carry on a dalliance with handsome Filippo (Porel).

But bother of all bothers, it doesn't help matters that there's a mad killer on the loose, stalking and offing unsuspecting lovers.

Could the maniac possibly be Dagmer's new beau Filippo? Or could it be Roberto (Materassi), the owner of the inn where Ursula and Dagmar are staying? Who knows?

By now, perhaps you've heard that in Sister of Ursula, the killer's weapon of choice is a huge, wooden dildo.

Yup. It's true. We won't deny it.

But strangely, as silly as it all sounds, director Milioni keeps that cheeky detail rather low key, preferring instead to exploit a few humdrum soft core sequences, and some folderol subplot involving Porel, drugs, and nightclub singer Harlow.

Although Sister of Ursula comes late in the giallo cycle, to its credit, it still has the ever-so-faint echoes of earlier pleasing entries such as A Quiet Place to Kill (1970) or Spasmo (1974).

And for that, it's worth a watch.

Also known as Curse of Ursula.

Italian: La sorella di Ursula.

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