L'occhio nel labirinto

A woman searches for her missing boyfriend (who happens to be a psychiatrist) and ends up at a resort full of eclectic characters who could all be guilty of something. While the woman is there murders start happening.

This an early 70's giallo that stars the bad dude from Thunderball (1965) Adolfe Celi and a really young Sybil Danning who only has a bit part. This one is a real slow burner but it rocks. It keeps you wondering all the way through. More mystery than mayhem.

Of course my guess as to who did it was way wrong but then again I couldn't figure who the killer was in Friday the 13th Part 2 (he was masked ). Not a very violent giallo. The copy I seen was a third generation VHS transfer so maybe soon there will be a decent release. So if you are a fan of Italian giallos watch this one for sure.

Stuffed with Italian giallo genre conventions and narrative tropes, Eye in the Labyrinth is nevertheless a solid and intriguing thriller with a good payoff. Many of the horror elements do not surface until the final exposition when the artistic stylization of the film is at its peak. During this climactic finale, jarring editing and prominent post-production sound enhance the disturbing plot and mild onscreen gore.

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.

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.

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.