Olhos Mortais

If I would rate the movie compared to other Italian movies I have seen, I would rate it higher, but compared with international horror, it is average. However, it is not the same type of average, as the acting is good, the plot a lot more complex than US movies and the feel is a good old fashioned slow tension increase. The production values are not so good though and I couldn't help wonder: if they dubbed the voices over anyway, and done it poorly, why not do it in English? :)

I compared it with Se7en more because it is an icon of movies about personally involved policemen trying to catch a megalomaniac psychopath, other than that it is not too similar. In fact, it is based on a book, which probably explains the depth of the plot. I thought that the darkness in the main character (that's the policeman :) ) was a very nice touch and the movie could have done better without him explaining why he was so driven with his work. Also, having every single character involved with the criminal was a bit of a stretch.

Bottom line: very decent horror movie, a bit slow sometimes, other times predictable, but nice enough. Probably with an English translation I would have liked it better still.

Being Italian, I'm always happy when good products like this "Crystal Eyes" are baked.

The director Eros Puglielli takes his cue from classic Italian thriller films from the 70s such as Argento, Bava and Fulci and manages to orchestrate a dark, very violent and very fascinating film, with atmospheres that immerse you in a truly exhausting spiral of terror, in which involved from the beginning until the shocking final twist that reveals the identity of the killer.

Honorable mention for the excellent cast, starting with the very good Luigi Lo Casio up to the beautiful and talented Lucia Jimenez.

A thriller to be seen and enjoyed without a doubt.

When a young couple and a peeper are killed in the field with sadism, Inspector Amaldi (Luigi Lo Cascio) and his partner Freese (José Ángel Egido) unsuccessfully follow the leads trying to track the criminal. Meanwhile, the college student Giuditta (Lucía Jimenéz) is being stalked and goes to the precinct, where she is attended by Amaldi, and immediately they feel a great attraction for each other. When another woman is murdered, Amaldi and Freese realize that they are chasing a serial killer. Amaldi visits Professor Civita (Eusebio Poncela), trying to find the meaning of three leaves found in the crime scene. Amaldi, who battles with his violent temper, tries to put the clues together and to avoid the next murder of the unknown psychopath.

The story of the dark thriller "Occhi di Cristallo" recalls "Seven", "The Silence of the Lambs", "Saw" and "Resurrection", among many others rip-offs. But the most impressive in this good movie is its style, very similar to Dario Argento. The director Eros Puglielli uses a beautiful and dark cinematography, an excellent camera work, a great soundtrack and achieves great performances of the cast in a reasonable screenplay. Once there are very few characters, it is not difficult to disclose the killer, but his motives are silly. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Olhos Mortais" ("Deadly Eyes")

Eyes of Crystal is certainly a very welcome film. Good Giallo's are few and far between these days, and this is easily the best that I've seen since 2001's Sleepless, which in turn is the best since Argento made the fantastic 'Opera' back in 1987. The film isn't a lot like the Giallo's of the seventies (the golden period of the style), as the picture is largely glossy and clear and overall, the film is more character orientated than the murder fuelled classic Giallo structure; in fact, I'd say that this film is more like the hit thriller Seven than any film by Dario Argento or Sergio Martino. The plot has two main areas; firstly, it's a film about a police investigation into a series of murders, and secondly it's the story of the investigating officer wrestling with his conscience as he tries to solve the crimes. The plot starts off properly as a brutal triple murder is committed, and from there we follow the investigation into the murder, and see how the police pick up small clues to try and track the killer.

Director Eros Puglielli injects his film with a slick sense of style as he directs the action through a number of different angles. The film features many scenes that really are beautiful; the favourite of mine being the sequence that sees the police enter a murder scene in the dark with torches. The music is less frantic than that seen in previous Giallo films, and tends to be of a more searing nature, which helps to elevate the film over and above the story of murder and policemen that it is. I have to say that the music does go over the top at times, but generally it fits the scene. The main problem with this film, however, stems from the plot. The murders are grisly and gruesome, but it becomes too obvious where it's all going too quickly, and the reason behind the killings is hardly original, and since it's also rather silly; it almost undoes all the hard work that has gone into the film up until the final twist is revealed. Giallo's have never been known for completely making sense and staying away from silly story lines - but Eyes of Crystal tries to go over and above the common tradition, and doesn't completely succeed. Even so, this is a quality thriller with good acting and fine direction which, when combined with the fact that this is the best Giallo in ages, means that Eyes of Crystal is well worth seeing.

Most effective, and if this Italian thriller is a little more C.S.I. than Argento, maybe that is no bad thing these days! Storming and very scary start with the momentum not really letting up till about halfway through. For me there is just a little too much soul searching from the otherwise most effective lead, Luigi lo Cascio. This is further complicated by his developing relationship with the also most effective, Bulgarian actress, with the catchy name of, Desislava Tenekedjieva. It is only a slight carp but I felt that at a crucial stage this pause for thought and sex didn't actually help the film. Anyway it is soon back to the very warped and hard edged action and I guess we then begin to wish maybe we had stayed in the bedroom. A very dark and violent film with, if not gushing gore, plenty of gruesome and bloody sights as seemingly random folk get cut about and carried away.