Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro

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.

Highly ridiculous and campy, cheesy dialogue and low production values but fun as hell. This is one of the giallo that falls more on the same side stylistically as the American slashers despite proceeding that whole movement by half a decade. Less flair and more gore but it's still a lot of fun. Still, this is one you'll probably enjoy more as a fan of giallo than of 80s slashers or anything like that. Watch at your own risk.

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.

I had low expectations going into this one-which often helps. However, I thought that this movie was kind of fun; the 30 or so flagrantly dropped red herrings, the lesbian couple thrown in "just for kicks", the ridiculous premise, very over the top. I have a low "boredom" threshold and I didn' find this tedious, and you're definitely guessing up until the very end "who the mysterious killer is". Yes, this isn't in the same class as say a few of the Bava or Argento giallo's, but if you're a die hard giallo fan, then this is a must see (at least once!). There's some nice editing and a few surprises and nice shots here and there. I loved the whole "red raincoat" thing, yes, hackeyed and done as nauseum in the past, but it was nice regardless. Some good touches, I'm giving this a sold 5 star!