The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974) User Reviews

Nine very silly people and one sadistic killer!

[The_Void · 7/10 · 7 January 2007]

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats apparently takes influence from Agatha Christie's classic novel 'Ten Little Indians'. Unfortunately I've not got round to reading Christie's story yet, although I'm guessing that in her writing, all the women weren't so keen on taking their clothes off, the murders weren't so grisly and there wasn't such an emphasis on sleaze! While The Killer Reserved Nine Seats can't be described as the nastiest Giallo to come out of Italy, it certainly has its moments and one scene in particular is likely to please any fan of this sort of film! The plot focuses on an old theatre where an entire family were killed for reasons unknown. The rich aristocratic owner invites nine people there, but it's not long before they start being picked off by an incognito assailant in a sinister mask. Naturally, every one of the guests has a motive; and since the doors are locked, it's obvious that the murderer is one of the guests. And not only that, but just when you thought things couldn't get any more complicated, it turns out the theatre is under the power of some ancient family curse!

I would like to state clearly that this film is heavily flawed...but I'm such a big fan of this stuff that things such as the poor narrative, questionable character actions and the needless and silly supernatural sub-plot really didn't bother me too much. The film certainly has a lot of plus points, and the claustrophobic setting is one of them, as director Giuseppe Bennati does well at ensuring the atmosphere is always sinister and unsettling. There's plenty of action between the central characters, and a particularly pleasing element is the fact that the women aren't too shy when it comes to getting undressed, and getting off with the other female characters! As you might expect since the title promises a possible nine murders, the film isn't short of people being killed. Many of the murder scenes are underdone and not memorable, but one will stand out as an unlucky lady is slashed, stabbed in the nether regions and eventually has her hands nailed to the wall! It all boils down to a daft conclusion, but it sort of works as the sickness increases and the motive for murder is a lot better worked than the motives in some similar films. Overall, this is hardly the greatest Giallo you're ever likely to see; but if Gothic atmosphere, lesbians and grisly murders are what you like; there's lots of fun to be had here!

Definitely not a masterpiece, but still interesting

[lord_ruthven · 6/10 · 14 December 2006]

Interesting, although not completely well-made, example of the Italian supernatural thriller, "L'assassino ha riservato nove poltrone" is a movie that suffers from a lot of shortcomings, but still it moves and after all convinces the spectator. It has to its credit the well-built atmosphere of discomfort and psychological perversion, the good art direction and the costumes. The script suffers from a lot of holes and clear improbabilities, but still it can hold the spectator's breath with a plot that is quite original, although the spooky theater under a curse is a fairly recurrent element in the tradition of Italian horror (I remember Renato Polselli's "Il mostro dell'Opera", Michele Soavi's "Deliria", as well as the well known "Opera" and "Il fantasma dell'Opera", directed by Dario Argento). Apart from this, there's a good dose of pleasant and sexy female nudes and the usual lesbian background to whom no Italian thriller can renounce. Taking everything into consideration, I can say this is a quite good movie, charmingly rough in the development of the plot, in the direction and in the acting (all the actors are habitué of the popular genres of Italian cinema), but it's also an interesting and amusing movie you can enjoy.

The Murder-Show Must Go On!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 3 August 2006]

Despite suffering from many flaws and shortcomings, "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats" is still warmly recommended to fans of the Italian giallo (and we know their number increases every day!). The absolute greatest and most inventive titles of this wonderful Italian horror sub genre pretty much all received fancy DVD-editions by now, so there must be some very good reasons why this film is still obscure and hard to find. And yes, it doesn't take the slightly experienced giallo-fanatic very long to figure out that Giuseppe Bennati's effort is far inferior to – let's say – the work of Sergio Martino or Dario Argento. Gialli are almost fundamentally blessed with a fantastic musical score, yet the opening tune in "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats" is ugly as sin and suggests an entirely wrong ambiance. The music isn't the biggest shortcoming, but it's definitely what bothered me the most as I expect a giallo-score to haunt my dreams for several more nights. On the night of his birthday, millionaire Patrick Davenant invites eight of his acquaintances to an abandoned theater that he owns but never visits. The atmosphere in the group is hostile, yet they stay close to Patrick as they all depend on his fortune. After a bit of wandering around the old theater, the first girl is brutally murdered with a dagger and the rest of the group discovers that the place carries an ancient curse. Is there really some kind of evil supernatural force luring from within the walls? Or is one of these nine people an old-fashioned flesh & blood killer? Let's just say the answer to this question is not hard to predict, but it'll still take many corpses before the characters know for sure...

Let's start with discussing the BEST elements about this film! "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats" is a decent and straightforward murder-mystery with a reasonably fair amount of plot-twists and intrigue. Not nearly as convoluted as most gialli, but compelling enough to keep you alert and hoping for a surprising denouement. Undoubtedly the greatest aspect about this film is the claustrophobic theater setting, which provides the story with an uncanny almost Gothic atmosphere. This same original setting offers the opportunity to make the murders ingenious and somewhat special. The deaths of the lesbian lovers, whose mutilated bodies are exhibited like some kind of stage tableau, are the finest examples to state this. There are several insurmountable problems with the script, however. There's way too much talking about irrelevant stuff and the characters do incredibly stupid things, like leaving the group to investigate the dark and secret corridors of the theater all on their own. Not smart. The supernatural sub plot is overall stupid and definitely not very efficient as a red herring, but I suppose it was a worthwhile attempt. The acting performances are surprisingly adequate and – very important – there's a fine share of genuine Euro-sleaze. Every actress takes her clothes off at least once and they all have ravishing bodies. That HAS to count for something, right?

Surprisingly entertaining and with a great exploitation cast

[lazarillo · 31 December 2006]

This is a surprisingly entertaining Italian giallo that resembles a lot of later American slasher movies more than it does the earlier or contemporary Italian thrillers. As in slasher films like "Stage Fright" (both versions), "Popcorn", and "Clown at Midnight" this film is basically about nine people who attend a showing at a mysteriously deserted theater and find themselves trapped inside and picked off one-by-one by a mysterious masked killer, who may be motivated by revenge. Really though the plot here is pretty inconsequential. This movie is much closer to the stylish gialli than amateurish slasher movies in quality, and instead of having a cast of adolescent American nitwits, the cast is made up of sumptuous European beauties who spend much of the movie in various states of undress--oh yeah, and the male lead from "South Pacific".

The most recognizable actress might be the Swedish Janet Agren who later appeared in Fulci's "City of the Living Dead", but she (and her obvious body double) are only in the movie briefly. The lead actresses are Paola Senatore (who later appeared in Italian porn movies) and Lucretia Love (who might as well have). Neither are great actresses but they easily fulfill the requirements of their roles here. (Senatore and Agren would appear together again later in Umberto Lenzi's cannibalism opus "Eaten Alive" where hilariously the blonde Aryan Swede and the swarthy Italian were supposed to be sisters). You may wonder what Rosanno "South Pacific" Brazzi is doing in a movie like this, but this is actually a step up from his previous appearance in "Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks" (and personally I'd rather watch either of these again than "South Pacific").

You might wait for this to be legitimately released on DVD, but unlike a lot of obscure gialli there are good-looking copies of it floating around out there.

Not the best

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 15 March 2018]

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.

When You Don't Care if the Characters Die

[thalassafischer · 6/10 · 25 March 2023]

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.

These have to be some of the dumbest people ever assembled

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 21 May 2006]

The Killer Reserved Nine Seats is the Italian/Giallo take on Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. A group of people are gathered together and one by one murdered. In this case, nine people find themselves locked inside an large, old theater with a masked killer on the loose. Each person comes under suspicion as each seems to have had some sort of motive for the killings. While some of the bloody mayhem occurs off-screen, the murder scenes are the highlight of the movie.

Unfortunately, the rest of The Killer Reserved Nine Seats isn't nearly as good as the murder scenes. There's far too much talk. These people spend an inordinate amount of time discussing things which have no bearing on the film. And these have to be some of the dumbest people ever assembled. One at a time, they seem determined to investigate the dark passageways and poorly lit rooms of the theater, making themselves easy prey for the killer. Searching the theater might seem like a good idea, but how about taking someone with you? After a while, it just becomes tedious waiting for the next victim to go off alone. The plot also includes some supernatural elements that are out of place for this kind of movie. It just doesn't fit. Finally, the ending is a mess. Maybe it was just the cut of the film I saw, but nothing was made clear in the end. A woman thought to be dead wakes up, realizes she's okay, and walks out of the theater. Uh, whatever!

I'm a Giallo junkie. I've seen the best and the worst that the genre has to offer. I had been looking forward to seeing The Killer Reserves Nine Seats, so it pains me to place this one near the bottom of the heap.

Enoyable Giallo Romp

[acidburn-10 · 7/10 · 3 August 2022]

If you ever wondered what a giallo version of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians' would look like, then Giuseppe Bennati's 1974 flick 'The Killer Reserved Nine Seats' is probably the closest you'll ever get to one, except with added nudity, incest, gruesome murders and a supernatural edge all of which lensed in raunchy sleaze, all of which makes this a hell of a lot of fun.

The plot follows a rich man Patrick Davenant (Chris Avram) who gathers together friends and relatives at an old opera house owned by the Davenant family which has been abandoned for many years due to its strange history and its not long before history starts repeating itself when the party guests starts getting murdered one by one, could one of them be the killer or is someone else there waiting for them.

The movie was a thrilling ride through and through with writer and director Giuseppe Bennati clearly having fun by bringing together a raunchy cast in a single location the opera house with its stunning and creative set pieces which creates an unnerving atmospheric tone and the rather unexpected supernatural subplot lends a gothic flair to the proceedings. The camerawork by Giuseppe Aquari is top notch with some interesting shots and the score by Carlo Savina is fantastic and really adds to the tension.

But there are a few downsides like firstly while the supernatural angle is quite unique, it does make things very confusing to an already haphazard production, but there's enough excitement and suspense to keep things moving along at a solid pace. Overall 'The Killer Reserved Nine Seats' is an enjoyable romp that's pleasing enough for fans of the genre.

Effective theatre setting, otherwise this is a below average giallo

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 13 August 2016]

THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS is a giallo with a difference – instead of focusing on a murderer targeting a string of women around a city, the plot of this one harks back to classic murder mysteries a la Agatha Christie as it has a bunch of people trapped in a single location and being offed one by one by an unknown killer. Here, the setting is an effectively spooky old theatre, and the killer is somebody who wears an eerie disguise when carrying out his crimes. If this set-up sounds familiar, it's because Michele Soavi virtually remade this as a slasher film in 1987, entitled STAGE FRIGHT. However, while Soavi's film is packed with tension, drama and violence, and as a result is a very good film, THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS is one of those overly talky films that it's a real chore to sit through.

Director Giuseppe Bennati only made this one giallo film and it seems that he's uncomfortable with the genre. The scenes are all very staged and the dialogue seems to go around in circles; when the eventual identity of the killer(s) is revealed at the film's climax, it all seems unbelievable and contrived, not the effect it was supposed to have, I imagine. The cast is packed with familiar faces – Lucretia Love from THE SHE-BEAST, Paola Senatore and Janet Agren from EATEN ALIVE, Chris Avram from A BAY OF BLOOD, Andrea Scotti and Howard Ross from absolutely tons of Italian genre flicks – but nobody seems to be making much of an effort here in the acting stakes and it all feels distinctly so-so.

The murders are routinely staged and there's the typical genre cliché of having the women strip off before they die (and this wouldn't be a giallo without a couple of lesbians in it, would it?). Expect murky stabbings and one unpleasantly sexualised murder which really pushes the boundaries of bad taste. While the theatre setting is always effective in these type of films, the action that plays out just isn't interesting enough to bother with – which is why this giallo flick is so hard to come by.

10 little ...

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 2 May 2023]

Actually not that little - I mean I have not looked up their height/sizes, but I doubt the actors here are little. So no pun intended - of course you probably have guessed where I was going with my summary line. In America they use the other word for native Americans - I think most countries has that story. And slashers or in this case an exploitation giallo use that principle too.

Not the biggest fan of giallos - that would be myself, but this was quite entertaining. Now it does not make much sense and there are many things that ... well are arguably just plain wrong (one of the characters not remembering his own birthday/date? Come on!) ... but suspend your disbelief and go with the flow ... and you'll be ok. A lot of nudity and some violence - nothing too explicit though ... in case that matters to you.

Ten Little Indians giallo style.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 27 July 2017]

Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians serves as the basis for giallo The Killer Reserved Nine Seats, which sees a group of bickering friends, relatives and acquaintances, all of whom have complex relationships and serious character flaws, assemble at a deserted theatre where they find themselves locked in and killed off one-by-one by a masked assailant. Is the murderer flesh and blood or a malevolent spirit driven by a centuries old curse?

If the film had stuck to a simple murder-by-numbers plot, it could have been a very effective thriller— after all, the same basic set-up served Michele Soavi well for his excellent '80s slasher Stagefright (1987)—but the supernatural element makes The Killer Reserved Nine Seats way too bewildering for its own good, with a frustrating finale that fails to make matters clear. Thank heavens, then, for those mainstays of the giallo, violence and nudity…

With such a collection of disagreeable characters, there are plenty of well deserved deaths, although they are less graphic than I had expected: some reviews have remarked on the nastiness of the murders, but barring the nailing of one woman's arm to a wooden beam (an effect that uses a hilarious plastic-looking fake hand), the violence seemed rather tame to me (I definitely didn't see any crotch stabbing), leading me to wonder whether the version I watched was shorn of some gore.

Thankfully, all of the nudity seemed intact, with virtually all of the female characters getting nekkid at some point, either willingly, or by having their clothes torn off by the killer before being brutally dispatched. This certainly helps to make the film more entertaining, especially the scene in which one woman takes time out amidst all the murder to dance topless to some funky music.

night of the Hunter

[andrabem · 8/10 · 1 April 2008]

"L'Assassino ha riservato nove poltrone"(The killer reserved nine seats) is one of those films that stayed with me.

I've seen a copy with Greek subtitles. According to IMDb, the film has a running time of 99 minutes and this copy I've ordered runs around 92 minutes. So 7 minutes were cut out from the original film and now maybe the cut footage is lost forever. The DVD was visibly taken from a VHS tape and even if the colors are a bit drab and the images sometimes a bit jittery, the film is still quite watchable. Anyway it would be wonderful to see the film in a restored and remastered edition (uncut if possible).

The film drew inspiration from Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians" – Ten people are invited to an abandoned theater in an out-of-the-way place. The theater looms gigantic in the night when they arrive. A sense of foreboding underlined by the soundtrack creeps in. These people know each other and are linked by love/hate relationships – greed, love, sex, bitterness are their companions. The camera shows the chandeliers, the pictures on the wall show faces were luxury and greed meet, the decors.... Everything takes us back to a glorious past – lust, grandeur, suffering, intrigues ... – all gone now....

The killings begin. Where is the killer hiding? Long corridors, dressing rooms, the backstage, the imposing stairs that lead to upper floors.... Is He or She one of them? Later on we get to know that there's a family curse hanging over the theater. Are supernatural forces at work? This is a very atmospheric thriller in which the camera and the soundtrack work well together. The story somehow doesn't make much sense. The behavior of the characters (like other reviewers already pointed out) is far from logical. They wander alone in badly lit corridors, enter dark rooms, almost like they were inviting the killer to take care of them. And the killer is very, very sadistic.

The action of the "The killer reserved nine seats" takes place during the night. It's a "long night's journey into day", but it's a day that maybe no one will reach alive (as one of the characters dejectedly says). The film is tense and claustrophobic, but also lighthearted and ironical, like all good gialli. There are also the moments of sleaze, something very good to release the tension – the women undress themselves whenever they can, and there's also a lesbian couple among the lot: Rosanna Schiaffino, Paola Senatore, Lucretia Love, Eva Czemerys, Janet Agren – take your pick. There's a moment of surrealistic sleaze that would have made even Buñuel take his hat off – many people had already been knocked off and what Paola Senatore does? She puts on some music, takes off her clothes, and dances semi-naked in front of a mirror. What?! Well, anyway I enjoyed the scene a lot. Thanks, Paola!

Something that I want to stress again is the atmosphere conveyed by the film – the characters and decors, underlined by the imaginative soundtrack, seem to join their hands to paint a picture of lust, desire, decadence and tired joie-de-vivre. One can go back to the time when some Italian renaissance masters were able to portray luxury and ambiguity living together with virtue (whatever that means:).

"The killer reserved nine seats" is an interesting film that deserves more recognition and to be presented to the public in a restored and remastered edition. It's creative, bizarre and intriguing. It's certainly not a run-of-the-mill giallo. It's a worthy film to check out.

Interesting idea - mediocre result

[rundbauchdodo · 5/10 · 27 December 2000]

This rather rare giallo traps nine adults who are connected with each other in a particular way (e.g. by blood, intrigue or rivalry) in an abandoned theatre. Needless to say that one by one falls victim to a masked killer who seems to have staged their unplanned meeting in the old building, where 100 years before terrible murders had happened. The real problem is that supernatural forces are also involved in the events that haunt the nine victims-to-be. Is the killer human or something beyond?

The setting of a spooky old theatre is ideal to unfold an intense, haunting atmosphere. Therefore it's no surprise that there are some genuinely creepy scenes here. Unfortunately, the movie is overall too talky to keep the suspense, and the well staged murder scenes just don't really fulfill their immense potentials (they are still nasty, though).

All in all, the interesting, claustrophobic story sadly becomes mediocre through the slow direction, but this film is still recommended for all those who admire gialli - there are many thrillers that are by far inferior.

"He's Just An Idiot, Drugged Up To The Eyeballs!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 29 May 2021]

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..

Slow moving but sleazy

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 22 February 2020]

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.

Eine kleine Horror film!

[RodrigAndrisan · 4/10 · 20 October 2021]

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.

Leisurely-Paced Variation on "Ten Little Indians"

[jfrentzen-942-204211 · 5/10 · 9 February 2024]

Patrick (Chris Avram) invites seven wealthy friends and colleagues to a spooky country villa, which he recently inherited. The vast estate includes a built-in theater, which is fitting as Patrick and his guests are in show business. The odd man out is an apparent servant who wears a Nehru jacket and acts suspiciously.

Almost immediately, these well-groomed stereotypes start bickering ("You're so civil to each other while you tear yourselves to pieces"). Patrick relishes the opportunity to bring together people who are attached to him financially, such as his ex-wife and her husband, and enemies who owe him money.

The fun and mind games halt abruptly when Patrick is attacked by a black-gloved man. Unseen hands bolt the doors, trapping the inhabitants, and the most innocent of the group (Janet Agren) is butchered on the theater stage, in front of everyone, but no one sees the killer.

THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS quickly settles into a leisurely-paced variation on "Ten Little Indians." After Agren dies, the remaining characters foolishly split up and search for a way out of the building. With the evocative stage set as an background, they wander the atmospheric corridors and stairwells to no good effect. In addition, they continue to complain at one another ("One day I'm going to screw you, Doris").

When the killer finally gets down to business, screenwriters Biagia Proietti, Pablo Levi, and (director) Giuseppe Bennati opt for an "everything but kitchen sink" approach to resolve the who, why, and how aspect of their story.

Stabbings, a garroting, a touch of incest, and an incongruous supernatural subplot keep the drama lurching forward. There's a lot going on in THE KILLER RESERVED NINE SEATS, but the pace is too slack to generate much suspense.

The film is not without its share of clever moments -- such as an effective scene of a man disappearing into thin air -- but the characters are such a turn-off I thought most of them deserved to get shiskabobbed. The director reserves a spectacular death set piece -- a gratuitous crotch stabbing -- for the most unpleasant character, who happens to be a lesbian.

Great fun!

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 8 February 2013]

Great fun! Indeed, great title, great poster, great costumes for all the ladies and great how easily they just slip off. Actually, the poster is a heavily censored and cropped impression of what really happens in the film. There are many and varied kills but the one depicted here was by far the most extreme. Saddled with the hoary old Ten Little Indians plot, we have, of course, a whole bunch of people we are not interested in and who cannot be fully explained to retain the possibility that any one of them could have killed the rest. Possibly needlessly, on top of this we have a concurrent supernatural plot suggestion, that doesn't particularly improve things. But never mind, the theatre is a wonderful setting giving endless nook and crannies, corridors and overhead and subterranean spaces for the victims to be chased and caught and spectacularly killed. The chit chat gets a bit tedious but the sudden clinches and arch performances a hoot. Must have been as much fun to make as it is to watch.

A Lesser Agatha Christie adaptation

[dopefishie · 4/10 · 1 December 2023]

This giallo borrows heavily from Agatha Christie. However, other giallos have done it better like Five Dolls for an August Moon and Nine Guests for a Crime for example.

Pros: Wardrobe spent time making the characters look distinct, and it pays off. The acting is better than it has to be. The setting in the theater is gorgeous and used well here. It must have been a dream to film there!

Cons: The script. While the actors and wardrobe did a good job at distinguishing characters, the script did not. Everyone here is a jerk. There is nothing else to them. It's hard to care about any of these people. But worse than that is how dumb their decisions are. Even the "smart" characters wander off alone into danger with no plan or way to defend themselves. I just didn't believe it.

At the end of the day, you can skip this one.

Fantastic Italian giallo set in an empty playhouse.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 6 August 2010]

A group of wealthy and obnoxious people are invited to a legendary deserted playhouse and start getting killed by a mysterious black-gloved killer.Giuseppe Bennanti's "The Killer Reserved Nine Seats" is a suspenseful Italian giallo with some gore,sleazy nudity,incest and lesbianism.The story told in Michele Soavi's "Stagefright" aka "Deliria" is quite similar.Almost every female in the cast takes their clothes off and the killer hides behind truly creepy mask.There is fairly nasty crotch stabbing in the vein of Mario Landi's "Giallo a Venezia" and other sadistic killings.The use of claustrophobic theatre location is perfect as is the use of mannequins.There is also a supernatural angle in Bennanti's sleazy giallo including a painting that seems to depict the events of the night before they happen.8 out of 10.

Talky but enjoyable.

[parry_na · 8/10 · 12 September 2018]

Giuseppe Bennati's somewhat overlooked thriller/horror features an effective theatrical setting, and some very 1970s clothing which, although extravagant and dated, looks generally great. Distinctive looking Eva Czemerys from 1972's 'The Cat in Heat' plays Rebecca, wife of rich Patrick (Chris Avram) and jealous lover of Doris (Lucretia Love). Inspired by Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians', 'Nine Seats' features a group of rather prickly people, often having some rather casual affairs, who are all in the thrall of Patrick because of his money. Enter a black clad villain, whose murderous intent seems to be treated rather arbitrarily by the characters.

This is a very talky film and for a production dubbed in English, there are lengthy scenes spoken in Italian with subtitles. Strange. However, there is enough incident to keep things interesting. True to the giallo genre, whilst the women are uniformly beautiful (especially Kim, played by Swedish Janet Ågren, typically the first to be dispatched), the men are no less coiffured and glamorous.

The only element that lets the production down in any way is Carlo Savina's unusually unmemorable music score. The characters behave somewhat stupidly at times too: at one point, lone Doris tells the killer she knows of his activities, but not to worry, because she won't tell anyone. Do you think she lives to see the final curtain call? The irrationality of the players is, however, nothing new in horror, and with that in mind, I thoroughly enjoyed this.

A fun time for giallo fans

[Red-Barracuda · 8/10 · 30 September 2022]

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.

Entertaining Whodunit for Genre Fans

[kluseba · 8/10 · 15 September 2022]

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 pornography. 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.

killer reserved nine seats...decent giallo

[gorytus-20672 · 9/10 · 3 September 2022]

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.