L'occhio nel labirinto

Having seen well over 60 gialli thus far, including the majority of the more celebrated films in the genre, I now find myself sifting through the less well-known titles in the hope of finding an obscure gem. Eye in the Labyrinth doesn't quite fit the bill, the film far too light on elaborately staged killings to be wholly satisfying, but it does deliver an intriguing mystery with a reasonable twist, and plenty of skin from some very attractive women (including a young Sybil Danning), making it a giallo worth seeking out once you've exhausted the usual suspects.

Brunette beauty Rosemary Dexter plays Julie, whose search for her missing lover Luca leads her to a luxurious villa, home to a group of eccentric individuals who know more about Luca than they are letting on. As Julie investigates, she finds herself in mortal danger; will she survive long enough to discover the truth? To writer/director Mario Caiano's credit, I didn't figure out the twist until moments before the reveal, meaning that I was hooked throughout despite the relaxed approach and lack of gore (having said that, the flashback at the end is nice and gruesome, with a really squishy decapitation).

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Giallo fans, seek out this rare film. It is well written, and full of all sorts of the usual low lifes that populate these films. I don't want to give anything away, so I wont even say anything about the plot. The whole movie creates a very bizarre atmosphere, and you don't know what to expect or who to suspect. Recommended! The only place I've seen to get this film in english is from European Trash Cinema, for $15.

Worried about her missing friend, a woman sets out to find him which takes her to an island getaway populated by a strange woman and her bohemian-like friends, yet when she begins to look deeper into the mystery a series of troubling actions against her threatens to expose a deadly secret.

This was an enjoyable enough giallo. One of the more intriguing areas involved with the film is the strong psychological implications thrust into it. As this one tends to unravel its mystery, which starts out strongly due to the stylish murder, the focus on the search behind it when it's discovered that was a dream drives the film along. The search through the remote village full of hostile eyes and uncooperative locals or the search through the abandoned building to the tactics employed to torture her mentally on the journey which is all tied together with the background dealings at the villa that give this one an engrossing psychological horror bent that comes together incredibly well. Once this setup has been accomplished, the action picks up considerably in the second half. Although not conducted in the usual manner, it's got some fine setpieces here including her being locked in a garage with a car's exhaust turned on, a later attack on a rocky beach as a mysterious figure shoots at her with a spear gun and a wild car ride leading into a fiery finale for all involved. Even other attacks and fight scenes here provide this with some fine energy going into the finale where everything is finally revealed which causes this one to come away with a rather shocking twist. Carrying out a gruesome and grisly act that really turns this on its head with the psychological ramifications about her mindset that gives this a lot to like overall as this holds the film up. There are a few flaws to the film. One of the biggest issues here is the incredibly convoluted and overwrought storyline that really makes no sense. While it starts off simple enough, there's far too much going on elsewhere at the villa to really sustain interest as the dealings with the bizarre painting or the different flashbacks between the various guests at the villa detailing their connection to the incidents which complicates matters. The continuous attacks on her at the villa are merely distractions that don't have any real logic behind them, a common trope of the film as nearly everything that happens here really undoes this one. Others may also be put off by the lack of traditional action here, yet these aren't enough to hold it back.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Nudity and Language.

This is a giallo that like "In the Folds of Flesh" released a year or so earlier, combines the traditional giallo formula with the kind of "pop"-Freudian nonsense that was big at the time in Europe especially, resulting in a movie that is pretty goofy but fun. A young woman (Rosemary Wilcox) is haunted by pop-Freudian dreams of her recently murdered psychologist (and lover), so for some reason she goes to a resort where the psychologist liked to hang out and becomes involved with a gangster (Adolf Celli) and the strange female resort owner (Alida Valli). Soon more murders occur involving the other guests at the resort, and it's not too hard to guess who is responsible.

The ridiculous portrayal of psychoanalysis in this movie makes even Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie" look realistic, but personally I find this kind of preposterous psychobabble, unbelievable plot twists, and bizarro dream sequences far more entertaining than most of your more realistic "psychological thrillers". There's also some solid acting talent involved here, especially Alida Valli and Adolf Celli as the two most obvious viallians. Lead Rosemary Dexter was originally casts as "Justine" in the Jess Franco film of the same name, but she was replaced American daughter-of-a-name actress Romina Powers, which is unfortunate because she proves here to be an infinitely better actress than Powers--and she gets naked a lot too. And speaking of getting naked, a young Sybil Danning also has a supporting role as a murder victim, pretty much doing what she always does in movies. (As with Linnae Quigley, I find Danning's early work much more interesting in that it is not ENTIRELY an excuse to show off her impressive nude torso).

This isn't one of the best giallo. And if you either hate Freud, on one hand, or take him very seriously, on the other, you may not like it too much. Generally though, I would recommend it.

'Eye in the Labyrinth' is a surreal yet glossy giallo offering from director Mario Caiano that doesn't have the usual structure that the genre usually has due to its mind-bending plot that progresses in a dream-like fashion and its odd ambiguous nature, but I found this rather quirky and enjoyable as it delves more into psychological thriller than horror with enough craziness going on to sustain interest.

The plot follows a young woman Julie (Rosemary Dexter) whose boyfriend Luca (Horst Frank) disappears for no apparent reason and sets out to find him and ends up at a villa in Italy which is populated by a group of eccentric characters including the owner Gerda (Alida Valli) and soon enough strange things begin to happen.

The movie's premise is utterly compelling and the mystery element is engrossing enough to keep your interest throughout with an array of interesting characters, tight direction and stunning picturesque cinematography where at times it employs a distorting quality which gives the film a nightmarish atmosphere. Although there are a few flaws such as the storyline does tend to spiral in different directions at times and does come across as a bit overwrought and some of the events at the villa doesn't seem to have any logic to them, especially when everything's revealed at the end. But those are just minor and nowhere near enough to ruin my enjoyment of this flick.

Overall 'Eye in the Labyrinth' is a great giallo flick, not quite up there with some of the more classics of the genre, but a solid effort nonetheless and definitely worth a watch.