Cold Eyes of Fear

This is an average example of the Italian Giallo, the story set in London, switching between a solicitor's office and his stately house, which is occupied by his solicitor nephew and a prostitute.

The plot is fairly good, involving an elaborate revenge on the elder solicitor for a wrongful judgement some years earlier. This film has some good twists but is tense only at times. It seems to drag and much more could have been made of the frightful atmosphere in the house. Instead, we have over-used extreme close-ups and plenty of screaming and shouting.

Not a bad film by any means, but there are plenty better examples of the genre.

'Cold Eyes of Fear' is a 1971 stylish giallo thriller directed by Enzo G. Castellari with a tense claustrophobic atmosphere, decent visual flair and an interesting set up with a few twists and turns thrown into the mix. But despite these elements the movie is a rather tepid affair with a sluggish pace and lacking in thrills. To put it mildly it's boring.

The plot begins with Peter Bedell (Gianni Garko) who picks up Anna (Giovanna Ralli) from a club and takes her back to his uncle's house. They soon discover they are not alone when Ex-Convict Arthur Welt (Frank Wolff) and his henchman Quill (Julian Mateos) are there waiting for them and takes them hostage to extract revenge on Peter's uncle Judge Bedell (Fernando Rey) for wrongfully sending one of them to jail.

What could have been a cool home invasion thriller soon becomes rather tedious with too much talking and exposition, and not enough excitement. Even when the action ramps up towards the end, with the plot twists and action, it's merely too little to late and despite some strong performances from the cast and stylish production, the movie falls flat with the director feeling confined by the limitations of the material as the concept wasn't half bad, it just could have done with better writing.

Overall 'Cold Eyes of Fear' is a rather lacklustre giallo and there's far better examples of the genre out there to enjoy. Skip this one.

Looking at the various artworks for this joint Spanish/Italian movie it is easy to assume that it is a traditional looking giallo, but in fact it is more of a tense home invasion thriller. The opening scene is pure giallo and there are certainly elements throughout the movie of that genre, but for the most part it is a suspenseful crime thriller, though towards the end one of the characters starts to get some scary hallucinations. The fact that it takes place at night also helps create some fear. Set in London I loved the street scenes, looked to my like it was probably done without permission as many passers-by can been seen looking at the action. Ennio Morricone provides an excellent soundtrack, very cool, and of all the cast Giovanna Ralli as a prostitute called Anna was my favourite character. However the movie is hardly a classic and the laughable "Cockney" accents of the two criminals, in particular of Quill (Julian Mateos), spoil any menace, I've docked it a couple of points for that. Could they not have employed somebody better to dub these two??

Overall, for fans of Italian crime and giallo movies it is definitely worth a watch, but maybe not a repeat.

I recently watched the Italian thriller 🇮🇹 Cold Eyes of Fear (1971) on Tubi. The story centers on a wealthy family led by the father, a successful lawyer. In an attempt to irritate his father, the son brings home a beautiful, ordinary woman for a weekend fling. But his plans take a dark turn when a man his father once sent to prison shows up seeking revenge.

Directed by Enzo G. Castellari (Escape from the Bronx), the film stars Giovanna Ralli (Deadfall), Frank Wolff (Once Upon a Time in the West), Fernando Rey (The French Connection), and Karin Schubert (The Panther Squad).

This film leans more toward a whodunit thriller than a traditional giallo or Italian horror. However, it incorporates familiar elements from those genres. The acting is somewhat stiff at times, and dramatic moments often feature prolonged close-ups and lingering stares, which became unintentionally funny after a while. Still, the cast interacts well, and the film offers the expected mix of attractive female leads, nudity, and sex scenes.

The action sequences, particularly for the time, are well done, with some impressive fight scenes, though there aren't enough of them to build real tension or make the stakes feel high. Unfortunately, the ending is anticlimactic and doesn't quite live up to the build-up.

Overall, Cold Eyes of Fear is unremarkable and lacks enough engaging content to recommend. I'd score it a 4/10 and suggest skipping it.

'Cold Eyes Of Fear' starts off well enough. Against a backdrop of Swingin' 60s London a young playboy type "steals" a beautiful Italian girl from her elderly date and suggests she comes back to his place for some good times. "His place" being owned by his father, a rich and respected solicitor. Unfortunately a couple of criminals have plans of their own, one for money, the other for revenge, and the lovers end up prisoners in a tense siege situation. So far so good. The problem is that you keep waiting for the movie to jump up a notch and it never does. Most giallo I have watched either feature some tasty violence or sex, have some amazing plot twists, or something else really spectacular about them, but 'Cold Eyes Of Fear' just ambles along, and stays on course as a reasonably entertaining thriller, no more, no less. The cast are all okay, the girl (Karin Schubert) is beautiful, and the solicitor is played by the legendary Fernando Rey, best known for his work with Bunuel. The best thing by far about the movie is Morricone's outstanding jazz rock score. If you don't expect much this is pretty good entertainment, but if you want to see some amazing examples of this genre try 'Tenebre' (Argento), 'Don't Torture A Duckling' (Fulci) or 'Autopsy'.