4. Nunsploitation - Killer Nun (1978)
Okay. Those of you who follow my writing are probably sick to death of me constantly talking about a crazy 1970s exploiter called Killer Nun. But it is the ultimate nunsploitation movie! Anita Ekberg's portrayal of the demented Sister Gertrude is one of the highlights of 1970s Italian schlock cinema. She is wicked, lustful and seriously deranged. Poor Sister Gertrude had brain surgery and the Mother Superior forces her back to work too soon. Gertrude has a mighty morphine addiction and her brain affliction has turned her into a vicious psychopath. She proceeds to get rid of the doctor in the geriatric hospital where she works and institutes a reign of terror. Gertrude throws a man out of the window for having sex with a nurse, she enforces vigorous calisthenics on the poor elderly patients and she even crushes a poor old lady's false teeth under her feet. But she doesn't stop there. A lesbian love affair with a fellow nun and patrolling the city for sex with anonymous men are also on the agenda for Gertie. Who can stop this force majeure? Famously banned as a Video Nasty in the UK, Killer Nun will provide exploitation fans with ample entertainment. Despite the fact that the film criminally wastes Joe Dallesandro in the role of a doctor, the acting is pretty good. The gore is slight and the nudity is infrequent, but you will be so busy laughing at Sister Gertrude's maniacal antics that you won't care about the lack of bare flesh and carnage. The whole affair is so silly and melodramatic, Ekberg can chew the scenery with relish thus providing us with a highly memorable trash film classic. And the score is brilliant too. For its sheer enjoyment factor, Killer Nun stands head and shoulders above the rest of nunsploitation fare.