Eyeball (1978)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Imagine how good reality TV show Coach Trip would be if instead of voting out the least popular couple, they murdered them instead? I can only imagine the sarcastic remarks host Brendan Sheerin would come away with. Umerto Lenzi finally gets with the programme and gives us a glimpse of eighties Italian cinema by giving us a film that delivers on gore, trash, nudity, things not making any sense and eyeball removal, while removing the scheming couples and huge villas that have permeated his other gialli up to this point. Why have all the victims stuck in one place when you can have them enjoying Flamenco dancing, swimming and sightseeing in between being stabbed to death and having their eyeballs pulled out?Yes, someone on the coach full of tourists is a killer, and in true trash form, every single person acts suspiciously. There's John Bartha, travelling with his daughter and seemingly fascinated by a razor while shaving, then there's George Riguad the priest who lost his daughter to death, there's a lesbian couple (well, not really suspicious) and a lady called Pauline who is thinking about having an affair with her boss who has also arrived on the scene, played by John Richardson, and he's looking over his shoulder because his wife is having some sort of breakdown and hasn't gone to the hospital like she was supposed to.While it's not hard to guess the killer, a lot of fun can be had with this film. One thing that's intact from his earlier films is the cheesy soundtrack, which is similar to the one Lenzi used in The Man From Deep River. He also retains his good eye for composition while introducing a new element of women having their boobs pop out when being attacked, something he would use to great effect in the jaw-dropping Nightmare City. Apart from everyone going to ridiculous lengths to appear guilty, you also have the killer becoming really crap at attacking people three-quarters of the way through the film, and an almost touching relationship between the old, nearly retired cop in charge of the case and his young apprentice. Nice one Lenzi! Oh, and the killer sports a nice red plastic outfit instead of the standard black glove/hat combo.

Eyeball is pretty typical campy Italian stuff about a costumed killer, so the people who will go for this probably already know who they are. It's pleasantly silly, and even more ridiculous if you watch it a second time, knowing who the psycho is.I watched the German DVD, which calls it Labyrinth des Schreckens, with the generic title The Secret Killer appearing on screen. Unfortunately, it only runs 88 minutes, so there was presumably some sex or gore cut out of the version I saw. Even so, it's worth a look if you're into the genre and can find it.Eyeball would make a nice lightweight second feature on a double bill with Torso, if you want to program a movie night. Both films feature John Richardson, masked killers who remove body parts, and similar scenes involving keys.

A bus load of American tourists sightseeing in Barcelona are being killed off one by one by an unknown killer in a red cape, the killer also gouges out one of the victims eyes. The local police chief is a week away from retirement, so a big case like this is the last thing he wants, but he sets out for a quick conclusion. The tourists are the regular rag bag of suspicious characters you might expect, the inevitable priest, a flirtatious lesbian couple, an adulteress…oh you get the picture. Mark Burton, an American writer meets up with his secretary and lover who is also part of the sightseeing trip, his mentally disturbed wife is unaware of his adulterous liaison, or is she? When the murders begin to happen, she is not contactable, Mark's suspicions are aroused as she hasn't checked in at her local mental hospital in the US and he is suffering mental flashbacks of a similar murder of a girl near their home, the previous year? Umberto Lenzi has made many good Gialli in his time, this though is just about average and doesn't do the director's reputation or the viewer many favours. The murders are very repetitive, the dialogue is pretty inane, suspension of disbelief has to be called on as no member of the party seems to be that bothered that they are being picked off by some deranged psychopath. There are a few visual flourishes, a killing in a Ghost Train being a modest highlight. The melodic score by the masterful Bruno Nicolai is also very engaging and for the most appropriate to what's on screen. I'd never say a Giallo is disappointing, but to anyone not sharing my affection for the genre it might just be that.

Let's face it, there is a finite number of giallos and I have yet to see one with a plausible story line (Anyone see "Watch Me When I Kill"?). Isn't that a prerequisite of the sub-genre, along with the gloved villain and the stylized killings? So why skip this one? Are you waiting for 'The Ultimate Giallo'? This one is alright. Maybe Lenzi has made some crap, especially his latter stuff (Black Demons, Hell's Gate,House Of Witchcraft), but a lot his work kicks ass(Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, Man from Deep River, Gang War in Milan, Almost Human, Syndicate Sadists, Rome Armed to the Teeth, Violent Naples, The Cynic, the Rat & the Fist, Eaten Alive, Nightmare City, Cannibal Ferox). This is not his best, but definitely not his worst. Most likely only giallo fans are going to watch this anyway, so if that is you, go ahead, you won't be disappointed.