The Red Queen Kills Seven Times 1972

Two sisters, Kitty Wildenbrück Barbara Bouchet and Evelyn, are cursed by a family painting that marks a century-long cycle in which a Red Queen rises from the dead to kill seven times. To break the curse, their grandfather Tobias Wildenbrück Rudolf Schündler orders the painting removed from sight.

Years later, Kitty accidentally kills Evelyn during a fight. Their older cousin, Franziska Wildenbrück Marina Malfatti, covers up the death, and Tobias is told that Evelyn immigrated to the United States. This rift gnaws at Kitty, who accepts Franziska’s cover-up yet battles overwhelming guilt. When Tobias dies from a fear-induced heart attack, a string of murders begins to unfold around Kitty, each seemingly carried out by a red-cloaked Evelyn.

The police grow suspicious of Kitty and her married lover Martin Hoffmann Ugo Pagliai, especially after Martin’s institutionalized wife is found dead. It’s eventually revealed that Kitty had only stunned Evelyn, and that Evelyn was not her biological sister—Tobias had adopted her as part of his plan to end the cycle.

Franziska emerges as the true killer, murdering Evelyn at the outset to secure Tobias’ vast fortune. Consumed by resentment that she wasn’t the main beneficiary, she recruits some of Kitty’s co-workers who are unhappy with Kitty’s status and with Martin’s favor. After eliminating her female accomplices (and trying to frame Rosemary Pia Giancaro by dressing her as the Red Queen), Franziska tricks Kitty into the mansion basement and attempts to drown her with a rising flood.

Martin finally confronts Franziska and extracts a confession, only for the woman to be shot by her husband, Herbert Zieler Nino Korda, who had been complicit. Before dying, Franziska stabs Martin with a hidden dagger. Herbert then leads the police to Kitty’s location, saving her but drowning himself in the process. Kitty and Martin are rushed to the hospital, where their fates hang in the balance as the mystery of the Red Queen’s curse finally unfolds.