Destro51

This is an above average Spanish made giallo with odd characters and atmosphere. The plot begins when ex-convict Paul Naschy comes to a small town and finds work as the caretaker of a desolate house owned by three sisters. Soon after, the town is plagued by a series of killings, the victims of which are all girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. The mystery behind these murders then unwinds from there.

Los ojos azules de la muneca rota contains all the elements of a good giallo. It has strange characters, including Paul Naschy who experiences eerie flashbacks and the three sisters he works for, whom all suffer from some form of psychosis. This movie has some very suspenseful and brutal murder scenes as well, including a nasty killing with a small garden rake. The plot, too, is excellent and filled with countless twists. Just when it seems to not make any sense it suddenly does. This film also boasts a truly bizarre atmosphere that cannot really be described but stems partially from the fact that there are no typically normal characters anywhere in the film and, at times, things seem to be happening for no particular reason.

Overall, this is a fine giallo that has all the essential components of the genre and, with its strange atmosphere, manages to be slightly different.

This is a fine example of the giallo genre. It contains everything you would expect from an Italian horror film like this: Interesting characters, convoluted plot, brutal violence and a fair amount of suspense. The plot, too, is great and is worthy of ol' Hitchcock himself. It begins when giallo regular George Hilton catches a killer in the act of disposing a body. George then blackmails the killer into murdering his wife, all of which goes smoothly. However, the twist comes when a couple of freewheeling kids steal the killer's car with the wife's body in the trunk. The killer chases the kids to the beach and then the bloody fun starts.

As mentioned before, the plot and the many twists it takes, makes this giallo entry a standout in the genre. Then there is the great and creepy performance by Michael Antoine as the mysterious killer ( why was this guy only in two movies?). Most gialli have an unidentified, faceless killer with a secret plan as their antagonist but this movie does just the opposite and benefits from it. The only thing that bothered me about this film was the hideously ugly house George Hilton and his wife lived in, which seemed to made entirely out of yellow plastic. Oh well, I can forgive it because, afterall, the movie, like most gialli, was made in the seventies. Overall, a highly recommended giallo that has everything you could want from this type of movie and more.

With a great title along the lines of the films comprising Dario Argento's Animal Trilogy I was expecting a much better movie but was very dissapointed. In fact, the title and its explanation are probably the best things in L'Iguana dalla lingua di fuoco. This movie is very incoherent (of course, that doesn't always detract from a giallo) and more importantly, lacks the suspense and style usually associated with the genre. There's not much in this movie to keep one's interest (I fell asleep towards the end and when I woke up about half an hour later my tape had rewound completely and, no joke, had ejected itself from the VCR. Just some sort of subtle hint I guess). However, there are some positive aspects to the film. There is a decent amount of gore and fairly interesting characters. Then there is the camp value that L'Iguana dalla lingua di fuoco boasts (One of the film's main red herrings is the pair of dark sunglasses that the killer, as well as every citizen of Dublin, wears). Overall, this is a below average giallo but if not taken seriously, it can still be a fun viewing.