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Death Laid an Egg (1968) movie poster

Spoiler-Free Summary

Death Laid an Egg (1968) Spoiler-Free Summary – What It's About

Release, runtime and language
1968 · 89 mins · Italian
Directed by
Giulio Questi
Starring
Aldo Bonamano, Gina Lollobrigida, Ugo Adinolfi, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Alessandro Tedeschi, Biagio Pelligra

A twisted love triangle erupts on a high‑tech chicken farm run by Anna, who owns the operation, her husband Marco, a serial killer of prostitutes, and Gabriella, a strikingly beautiful secretary. As jealousy spreads, Marco’s murders intensify and the three tear each other apart, leaving a gruesome aftermath.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 What it is about
  2. 2 Is it worth watching?
  3. 3 After you watch
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Death Laid an Egg
  6. 6 Every angle

Spoiler-free summary · safe to read

What Is Death Laid an Egg About? (No Spoilers)

The plot of Death Laid an Egg (1968) without spoilers: what it is about, who it follows and where it takes place, told without the twists or the ending. Enough to decide whether it is your next watch, not enough to ruin it.

At the intersection of industrial ambition and rural tradition sits a high‑tech poultry farm that promises a radical future. Operated with cold efficiency, the facility is a world of automated precision and unsettling experiments, where the natural order is disrupted by the pursuit of absolute control. It is a sterile landscape where the prospect of breeding boneless chickens represents the ultimate detachment from nature, creating a backdrop that is as clinical as it is ominous.

At the helm of this operation are Anna and Marco, a couple whose partnership appears to be a model of modern success. To the outside observer, their shared ambition binds them, but beneath the polished surface of their marriage lies a disconcerting distance. While Anna manages the business with a firm hand, Marco conceals a chilling secret life that stands in stark contrast to the farm’s orderly routine—a darkness that threatens to unravel the life they have built together.

The fragile equilibrium of the household is soon disrupted by the arrival of Gabriella, Anna’s strikingly beautiful cousin and secretary. Her presence injects a new, volatile energy into the farm, sparking a twisted love triangle that complicates the already tense dynamic. As attraction and jealousy weave through their interactions, the lines between professional rivalry and personal betrayal begin to blur, setting the stage for a psychological conflict where no one is truly safe.

Within this suffocating atmosphere, the characters find themselves trapped in a tightening web of suspicion and desire. The farm’s mechanical hum serves as a constant reminder of the controlled environment they are trying to maintain, even as their personal lives spiral toward chaos. As the pressure mounts, the illusion of an orderly, utopian enterprise threatens to shatter, revealing the brutal reality at its core.

Last updated: March 14, 2026 at 16:53

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What to expect

Is Death Laid an Egg Worth Watching? What It Feels Like

Is it dark, sad, slow, intense or confusing? The mood of Death Laid an Egg (1968) in a few tags, without a word about how it ends. Each tag opens a list of movies that feel the same.

After you watch

Seen Death Laid an Egg? Now Read the Spoilers

Once you have watched Death Laid an Egg (1968), come back for the full story: the plot summary with spoilers, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning.

Movie threads

More Movies Like Death Laid an Egg, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Death Laid an Egg tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Psychosexual Industrial Nightmares like Death Laid an Egg

Cold, surreal tales where industry and inhuman desires twist together. Movies like Death Laid an Egg that explore dark psychological tensions within sterile industrial settings. If you enjoyed the blend of high-tech farming with twisted human impulses, these films offer a similar unsettling vibe of surrealism, alienation, and psychosexual dread.

  • surreal
  • industrial
  • psychosexual
  • cold
  • alienation
  • dread
  • Tone: dark, surreal, cold
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread often unfold within dehumanizing systems—factories, corporate farms, or automated spaces—where characters project their inner turmoil onto the environment. The plot revolves around the collision of ordered, efficient systems with chaotic, often violent, human emotions, leading to a breakdown of both the individual and the system they inhabit.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their unique fusion of a cold, industrial aesthetic with intense psychological and psychosexual themes. They share a vibe of surreal unease, where the setting is not just a backdrop but an active participant in the characters' descent.

Treacherous Love Triangles like in Death Laid an Egg

Stories where intimate relationships become webs of conspiracy and betrayal. Find movies with intricate love triangles that spiral into conspiracy and betrayal, similar to Death Laid an Egg. These stories feature characters bound by desire and deceit, leading to destructive outcomes and bleak endings for all involved.

  • treacherous
  • paranoid
  • betrayal
  • conspiracy
  • love triangle
  • downfall
  • Tone: dark, paranoid, treacherous
  • Pacing: steady, building tension
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves three central characters locked in a power struggle masked as an intimate relationship. Trust is a weapon, and revelations of conspiracy slowly unravel the situation. The story arc is typically a downward spiral, culminating in a bleak ending where the initial alliances result in mutual destruction.

Why they belong together: These films are connected by their core structure of a treacherous triad and the thematic exploration of how jealousy and greed can corrupt intimacy into a lethal game. They share a mood of paranoia and a steady build-up of tension towards an inevitable, grim conclusion.

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Movies Like Death Laid an Egg

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Every angle

Death Laid an Egg (1968) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Death Laid an Egg in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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