La bambola di Satana

aka The Doll of Satan

Poster for La bambola di Satana

Film Synopsis

La bambola di Satana (1969) follows Elizabeth, who inherits her late uncle’s castle only to discover ghostly whispers, hidden motives, and a sinister plot beneath its ancient walls. As murders and nightmares stalk her nights, she and her fiancé must unravel the mystery behind her uncle’s fortune—and the castle’s deadly secrets. This Italian gothic horror fuses haunted-house atmosphere, inheritance intrigue, and supernatural dread in a mesmerising if eccentric tale of greed and the occult.

Critical Perspective

  • Photo of Troy Howarth

    Partway Gothic horror and partway giallo, La bambola di Satana is an all-round bad movie. No clichés are left untouched as this listless and poorly-paced film lumbers from one half-hearted surprise to another. That the film is so obscure is unsurprising; it is hardly destined to be celebrated as a lost classic in the event that it is ever “rediscovered.” … With its over-lit interiors, unconvincing day-for-night exteriors, bad acting, choppy editing and appalling score, La Bambola di Satana is a strong contender for the worst giallo of the 1960s.

    Troy Howarth, So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films, Volume 1, 1963-1973 (Midnight Marquee Press, 2015)

La bambola di Satana Blu-ray editions

See which disc extras are included across selected editions.

Comparison of La bambola di Satana Blu-ray Editions
Disc Extras
Twilight Time BD-ALL/US 2016
88 Films BD-B/UK 2021
Audio Commentary by David Del Valle and Derek Botelho
Audio Commentary by Derek Botelho and David Del Valle
My Life with Emma - Interview with Actress Erna Schürer (25:18)
Remembering Franco Potenza - Interview with Pierpaolo De Sanctis (33:09)
Emma and I - Audio Interview with Uncredited Co-Director/Writer Marcello Avallone (15:16)
Isolated Score

Edition and Packaging Notes

  • Twilight Time’s Blu-ray includes an 8-page booklet with writing by Julie Kirgo.
  • 88 Films’ “The Italian Collection” Blu-ray includes a 20-page booklet with writing by Andrew Graves (“You Had Me at Giallo...”) and Francesco Massaccesi (“Rustic Terror: The Many, Flawed Souls of ‘The Doll of Satan’”); and a fold-out poster.
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Collector’s guide

Compare presentation quality and explore notable disc extras across selected editions.

  • Screen shot for My Life with Emma
    My Life with Emma (25:18)
  • Screen shot for Remembering Franco Potenza
    Remembering Franco Potenza (33:09)
  • Screen shot for Emma and I
    Emma and I (15:16)
Editions
Twilight Time box art
Twilight Time BD 2016
  • Video
    • File 1
      • Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
      • Resolution: 1080p23.976
      • Overall bit rate: 29.82 Mbps
      • Aspect ratio: 1.86:1
      • Length:1:29:51.844
      • File size: 24.34 GiB
  • Audio
    • File 1
      • Language: Italian DTS-HD MA 1.0
      • Sampling rate: 48 kHz
      • Bit rate: 1077 kbps
      • Bit depth: 24-bit
  • Subtitles
    • English
88 Films box art
88 Films BD 2021
  • Video
    • File 1
      • Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
      • Resolution: 1080p23.976
      • Overall bit rate: 35.00 Mbps
      • Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
      • Length:1:30:13.813
      • File size: 24.65 GiB
  • Audio
    • File 1
      • Language: Italian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
      • Sampling rate: 48 kHz
      • Bit rate: 1564 kbps
      • Bit depth: 16-bit
  • Subtitles
    • English
Extras Audio Commentary by Derek Botelho and David Del Valle Twilight Time BD
My Life with Emma - Interview with Actress Erna Schürer (25:18, 1080p) 88 Films BD
Remembering Franco Potenza - Interview with Pierpaolo De Sanctis (33:09, 1080p) 88 Films BD
Emma and I - Audio Interview with Uncredited Co-Director/Writer Marcello Avallone (15:16, 1080p) 88 Films BD
Isolated Score Twilight Time BD