The women in prison film is a subgenre of exploitation film that began in the early 20th century and continues to the present day.
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual suppression due to living in celibacy. The Inquisition is another common theme. These films, although often seen as pure exploitation films, often contain criticism against religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. Indeed, some protagonist dialogue voiced feminist consciousness and rejection of their subordinated social role. Many of these films were made in countries where the Catholic Church is influential, such as Italy and Spain. One atypical example of the genre, Killer Nun, was set in then present-day Italy (1978).
Killer Nun is a 1979 Italian nunsploitation horror film directed and co-written by Giulio Berruti, co-written by Alberto Tarallo, and starring Anita Ekberg, Joe Dallesandro, Lou Castel, and Alida Valli. Its plot follows a nun who, after recovering from brain surgery, grows increasingly paranoid that her health is again declining; she begins indulging in opioids from the hospital in which she works, and spirals into addiction and madness with violent consequences. The film is loosely based on the true story of a Cécile Bombeek, a middle-aged nun who committed a series of murders in a geriatric hospital in Wetteren, Belgium in 1977.
Isabella Leonarda was an Italian composer from Novara. At the age of 16, she entered the Collegio di Sant'Orsola, an Ursuline convent, where she stayed for the remainder of her life. Leonarda is most renowned for the numerous compositions that she wrote during her time at the convent, making her one of the most productive female composers of her time.
The Nun's Story is a 1959 American drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans, and Peggy Ashcroft. The screenplay was written by Robert Anderson, based on the popular 1956 novel of the same name by Kathryn Hulme. The film tells the life of Sister Luke (Hepburn), a young woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices required by her choice.
Eleonora Giorgi is an Italian actress.
Images in a Convent is a 1979 sexploitation film by Italian cult filmmaker Joe D'Amato starring Paola Senatore, Marina Hedman and Donald O'Brien.
Alucarda is a 1977 English-language Mexican supernatural horror film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, and starring Tina Romero, Claudio Brook, Susana Kamini, and David Silva. A loose adaptation of Carmilla (1872), it revolves around two teenage orphan girls living in a Catholic convent, who unleash a demonic force and become possessed.
Satánico Pandemonium is a Mexican cult nunsploitation horror film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and written by Jorge Barragán, Adolfo Martínez Solares and Gilberto Martínez Solares. It stars Cecilia Pezet, Enrique Rocha and Delia Magaña.
Martine Brochard is a French actress and writer.
Domenico Paolella was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist.
Sister Virginia Maria was an Italian nun.
Story of a Cloistered Nun is a 1973 nunsploitation film directed by Domenico Paolella and starring Eleonora Giorgi, Catherine Spaak, Suzy Kendall, Martine Brochard, Tino Carraro, and Umberto Orsini. The film claims to be inspired by real events that occurred in the 16th-century at the Certosa di San Giacomo.
Murder Obsession, a.k.a. Fear, is a 1981 Italian giallo film directed by Riccardo Freda, and starring Laura Gemser and Anita Strindberg.
The Lady of Monza is a 1969 Italian historical drama film directed by Eriprando Visconti. It is loosely based on the real life events of Marianna de Leyva, better known as "The Nun of Monza", whose story was made famous by Alessandro Manzoni's novel The Betrothed.
The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine is a 1974 Italian nunsploitation film written and directed by Sergio Grieco and starring Françoise Prévost and Jenny Tamburi.
The Other Hell is a 1981 Italian horror film written and directed by Bruno Mattei and Claudio Fragasso and starring Franca Stoppi and Carlo De Mejo.
Convent of Sinners, is a 1986 Italian nunsploitation erotic film directed by Joe D'Amato. D'Amato directed, photographed and edited the film. The Rene Rivet screenplay was based on the novel "La Religeuse" by Denis Diderot.
Sant'Antonio delle Monache a Port'Alba or Sant'Antoniello is a former monastery and monastic church on Piazza Bellini in the historic city-centre of Naples, Italy. It is now owned by the University of Naples Federico II.
Cecile Bombeek (1933-2019) was a Order of Saint Joseph nun and Belgian serial killer who killed three people between 1976 to 1977. She died in 2019 at St. Jozef, Wetteren. She was 86 years old.
