Labyrinth des Schreckens

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.

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.

Eyeball (AKA Red Cats in a Glass Maze)

Italian/Spanish co-produced giallo/slasher, written and directed by Umberto Lenzi, and starring John Richardson, Martine Brochard, and Andrés Mejuto. A group of American tourists are on a bus/coach tour of Barcelona. However, before long female members of the coach party are being picked off by a mysterious figure dressed all in red when the party stops for sightseeing attractions or overnight stayovers. But the women aren't just being killed; the left eyeball of each victim is gouged out - sometimes prior to death. The lead detective retires in one week, and is keen to solve the killings before he leaves, whilst the rest of the party just try to survive.

The plot of this is actually bonkers, the number of red herrings is ridiculous, and the murderer's motive is one of the most utterly stupid ever - none of which stops it from being a load of fun! The cast are good (plenty of faces from other Italian genre films), there's a lot of blood plus severed eyeballs, all the nudity you'd expect from a 1975 Italian exploitation film, and a good helping of so-bad-it's-good dialogue. Having said all that, unlike with a lot of these films, the plot - whilst insane - is at least followable (often with these you end up abandoning any hope of coherence, and just watch for the crazy spectacle). Real OTT fun. Oh, Bruno Nicolai's funky score - bizarrely at odds with some of the carnage - deserves special mention! 7/10.

Umberto Lenzi doubtlessly is one of the greatest and most multi-talented Italian Cult directors, who has contributed gems to pretty much any genre and sub-genre Italian genre-cinema has brought forth, be it rough Poliziotteschi like "Milano Oida... La Polizia Non Può Sparare" ("Almost Human", 1974), "Roma A Mano Armata" ("Rome Armed To The Teeth", 1976) and "Napoli Violenta" ("Violent Naples", 1976), stylish Gialli like "Sette Orchidee Macchiate Di Rosso" ("Seven Blood-Stained Orchids", 1972) or "Spasmo" (1974), Gruesome Cannibal Films Like "Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio" ("Deep River Savages", 1972), "Mangiati Vivi" ("Eaten Alive By The Cannibals", 1980) or "Cannibal Ferox" (1981), and even Westerns, Spy Flicks, Sandal Films and Sword and Sorcery - there's hardly been a genre Lenzi was not part of, and he delivered fantastic films in any of them.

While "Gatti Rossi in Un Labirinto Di Vetro" aka. "Eyeball" (1975) isn't Lenzi's best Giallo ("Seven Blood-Stained Orchids" is, without a doubt), it is still a highly entertaining film to watch. On a tour to Spain, a bunch of American tourists, among them several hot women, are targeted by a knife-wielding, red-caped Maniac, who kills his victims by stabbing them in the eye... This murder method alone is capable of making a film worthwhile, and since this one is by Umberto Lenzi, there is, of course, more. This one's plot line may be less complicated and ingenious than the typical 70s Giallo, but Lenzi nonetheless delivers tons of entertainment. The film is sleazy and violent, the murders are gory and the female cast-members all seem to have exhibitionist tendencies. The mystery and suspense level are not particularly high, but Lenzi's skillful directing still does ensure tension. Score and Cinematography are genre-typically cool, but not particularly memorable. Overall, "Eyeball" is doubtlessly one of Lenzi's lesser films, but still a noteworthy and very entertaining little flick that is recommendable to all my fellow fans of this great Italian master.

Fans of Giallo might already know this. "Normal" horror fans might have not had it on their radar. It's always good if companies like 88 Films, Arrow Video and so many others put obscure movies like this out. There is always a gem or at least a decent movie to find there.

So this isn't the best movie ever by far. But it is quite an enjoyable Giallo. And I say that not really being a fan of the ... "genre". Effects are decent for the time and the budget they had at the time I reckon. The mystery is ok too ... some will guess the killer earlier than others ... nothing wrong there. There's also a decent amount of nudity, which was normal for the time, whatever that means to you ... is up to you.