Die Säge des Todes (1981)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writer:

Erich Tomek (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 March 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Girls are killed at a language-school in Spain.

Plot Keywords:

School | Decapitation | Disfigured Face | Scissors | Snake

Cast

Olivia Pascal	...	Angela
Christoph Moosbrugger	...	Alvaro (as Christopher Brugger)
Nadja Gerganoff	...	Manuela
Alexander Waechter	...	Miguel
Jasmin Losensky	...	Inga
Corinna Drews	...	Laura (as Corinna Gillwald)
Ann-Beate Engelke	...	Eva
Peter Exacoustos	...	Antonio
Antonia García	...	Elvira
Beatriz Sancho Nieto	...	Rita
María Rubio	...	Countess Maria Gonzales
Otto Retzer	...	Bueno (as Otto W. Retzer)
Jesus Franco	...	Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Al Pereira	...	Man in party

Directed by
Jesus Franco

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Erich Tomek		screenplay (as Rayo Casablanca)

Produced by
Wolf C. Hartwig	....	producer
Otto Retzer	....	executive producer (as Otto W. Retzer)

Original Music by
Gerhard Heinz

Cinematography by
Juan Soler

Film Editing by
Karl Aulitzky
Christine Jank

Art Direction by
Klaus Haase

Costume Design by
Rolf Albrecht

Production Management
Otto Retzer	....	production supervisor (as Otto W. Retzer)
Erich Tomek	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lina Romay	....	assistant director (as Rosa Almirail)

Special Effects by
Juan Ramón Molina	....	special effects (as Juan Ramon Molina)

Camera and Electrical Department
Fátima Ochando	....	assistant director of photography (as Fatima Ochanda)
Juan Soler	....	still photographer (as Hannes Furbringer)

Music Department
Frank Duval	....	composer: song "Love in the Shadow"

Production Companies

• Lisa-Film
• Metro Film
• Rapid Film

Distributors

• Residenz Film (1981) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Gold Internacional Films
• Inter-Light Video (1981) (UK) (video)
• Severin Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Succéfilm AB (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Trans World Entertainment (TWE) (video)

Also Known As:

Bloody Moon (International: English title)
The Saw of Death (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Colegialas violadas (Spain) [es]
La lune de sang (France) [fr]
Profonde tenebre (Spain) [es]
Profonde tenebre (Italy) [it]
Sexmord på pigeskolen (Denmark) (video title) [da]
Terror y muerte en la universidad (Argentina) (video box title) [es]
The Bloody Moon Murders (Belgium: English title) (video title) [en]

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 (cut) (video rating) (1986) | West Germany:18 (theatrical release) (1981) (uncut) | Argentina:18 | UK:18 | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Lisa-Film

Goofs:

Continuity: Angela is wearing a gray nightshirt when she finds Eva dead on her bed and immediately runs screaming out of the bungalow at which point Angela is suddenly wearing a sweater with a colorful forest pattern instead of the nightshirt.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Discovering 'Evil Dead' (2002) (V)

Not the WORST film Franco ever made

This movie is basically the infamous Jess Franco having a go at the American-style slasher films that were big in the early 80's, and what's most remarkable about it is how unremarkable it is. It's pretty violent, but except for one nasty knife exit wound there's nothing here that hasn't been done in hundreds of American slasher movies. Why this movie got singled out for a banning in Britain is beyond me. The most lurid thing about it is the original (very misleading)Spanish title "Colegialas Violadas". If they had tried to market it in Britain or the US under a title like that (which literally translates to "Raped Schoolgirls") I could see them banning it, but as far as I know it's always gone under the pretty innocuous English-language title "Bloody Moon". Besides there are no schoolgirls here. It's set at an adult Spanish-language school which seems to cater exclusively to incredibly dumb and slutty German and Scandinavian women. And no one would need to violate these girls--they're more sex-obsessed than the horny male teenagers in "Porky's". Why they're learning Spanish god only knows (other than to pick-up Latin disco kings at the cheesy club next door), but these girls are so stupid it's a miracle they ever learned ANY language beyond primitive clicks and grunts. One of these geniuses actually lets a masked guy she has just met tie her to a log in a saw mill ("This is kind of perverted, isn't it?"). You can pretty much guess what happens (she isn't rescued at the last minute by Shaggy and Scooby).

The girls are being stalked by two of the reddest herrings imaginable. One is a burnt youth in a Mickey Mouse mask (Walt Disney must have rolled over in his cryogenic chamber)who killed a girl years back but has been released into the care of his sexy sister for whom he harbors strong incestual feelings (Franco himself plays the psychiatrist who releases him). The other is a gardener who is always laughing maniacally and coincidentally wielding the exact same implement that has just been used to kill the latest victim. The best thing I can say about this movie it is it is so over-the-top with its dumb victims, obvious red herrings, and ridiculously gory murders that it might have actually meant to be a parody of the slasher film. It also has some competent cinematography and is relatively zoom free. It's certainly not the WORST film Franco ever made.