User reviews

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.

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!

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.

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.

Acceptable Gialli dealing with a group of American tourists travelling on a coach with a maniac killer . There appears ordinary series killer roaming here and there while committing several murders and various usual suspicious characters . Along the way the murderer in a red cape and hood is killing off the American tourists by slashing their eyeballs . Meanwhile , Inspector Tudela (Andres Mejuto) , fearlessly chasing the mystery despite his career nearing its end due to his imminent retirement, being assisted by commissioner (José Maria Blanco) , both of whom are investigating the killings of pretty young girls but the case results out to be far more difficult than it would first seem . The luxury coach is plenty of tourists , among them is a killer , and every single person acts suspiciously . There are the following ones : a joker tour guide (Raf Baldassarre) , the Alvarado marriage (Silvia Solar , Daniele Vargas) , a father (John Bartha) , travelling with his daughter (Veronica Miriel) , a priest (George Rigaud) who lost his daughter in a strange death , there's a lesbian couple (Ines Pellegrini, Mirta Miller) and an executive called Mark Burton (John Richardson and his secretary Paulette Stone (Martine Brochard) who is having an affair with her chief while deceiving his wife (Marta May) who is on the edge of a breakdown . And the already traumatized Paulette seems likely to be the next victim when take place strange events .

This is an allright Giallo where intrigue, tension , suspense appear threatening and lurking on a tour bus and in every room , corridors and luxurious hotels and exteriors from Barcelona and Sitges , with numerous suspect people , all of them seem to be suspicious travelers . This suspenseful movie is plenty of intrigue , thrills, chills , high body-count and well staged murders . The main premise results to be to guess who's the killer among a lot of suspect people . The movie belongs to Italian Giallo genre that was invented by Mario Bava (the first seems to be : The girl who knew too much) along with Riccardo Freda (who made classic terror as Secret of Dr. Hitchcock, The ghost , I Vampiri) , they are the fundamental creators . Later on , it appears Dario Argento (Deep red , Suspira , Inferno) , another essential creator of classic Latin terror films . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood , usual zooms, originally staged crimes with seemingly fascination by razors and knifes , use of images-shock and a lot of plot twists .Umberto Lenzi's direction is well crafted , here he's less cynical and more inclined toward violence , brief nudism and lots of killings . Lenzi first Giallo was ¨Orgasmo¨ (1969) with Carroll Baker and during the 1970s , he filmed a number of Giallos , among them : ¨So Sweet, So Perverse¨, ¨Seven Blood-Stained Orchids¨ and this ¨Eyeball¨ . It's a co-production Italian- Spanish , that's why there shows up Spanish actors , such as : Andrés Mejuto , Mirta Miller , Verónica Miriel , George Rigaud, Silvia Solar , Marta May José María Blanco and Italian ones : Raf Baldassarre , Daniele Vargas , John Bartha , Ines Pellegrini , Laura Trotter ; most of them usually played in Spaghetti/Paella sub-genre. Colorful and adequate cinematography by cameraman Antonio Millán who photographed splendidly Spanish outdoors . The Spanish photographer to get the best sightseeing by adequate filming , using nice cameras to capture the flavor of urban , though shamelessly reducing Spain to stereotypes , Flamenco dancing and bullfighting squares included , providing gorgeous local colour with its monuments , sculptures , noisy streets , among others . In addition , thrilling and suspenseful score by Bruno Nicolai who was usual collaborator to Ennio Morricone .

The picture was well directed by the prolific filmmaker Umberto Lenzi , though it has some flaws and gaps .Talented and versatile writer/director Umbert Lenzi has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, comedy, Western, science fiction and Giallo in a career that spans over 40 years . Umberto Lenzi used the pseudonym Hank Milestone and Humphrey Logan . Umberto made his directorial debut with ¨Queen of the Seas¨ (1961) . Other pirate/sword flicks followed, starting with ¨Pirates of Malaysia¨ (1964) starred by Steeve Reeves, which was part of the height of the career of fictitious tales of historic legendary characters including Robin Hood , Catherine the Great, Zorro , Sandokan and Maciste . He subsequently directed a ¨Fumetti¨ titled The mask of Kriminal (1966) . Lenzi turned to the police thrillers called ¨Polizieschi¨, which rejuvenated his confidence and his popularity . Titles like ¨Almost Human¨ , ¨Free Hand For a Tough Cop¨ and ¨Brothers Till We Die¨ were the most popular and brutal of the thrillers . Lenzi is an expert on wartime genre such as he proved in ¨Desert commandos¨ , ¨Battle of commandos¨ , ¨From hell to victory¨ , ¨Young Lions¨ and ¨Bridge to hell¨. Prior to the Polizieschi, Lenzi directed ¨Man from Deep River¨ , which was the start of the Italian cannibal sub-genre . Later on , he directed two very gory jungle cannibal features , ¨Eaten Alive¨ and ¨Make Them Die Slowly ¨which was banned in 31 countries, made Lenzi distance himself from the cannibal genre . Then Lenzi directed ¨Nightmare City¨ (1980) , a zombie flick , and ¨Iron Master¨(1983) . In the 90s his films were extremely low-budgeted and failed at box-office .

"Eyeball" or "Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro" is mediocre giallo which has serviceable story and characters. It isn't badly made and it even has some decent acting and music. Sadly, it's predictable, nudity present isn't anything special and characters aren't that much interesting and therefore movie isn't anything more than a forgettable afternoon watch for a genre fan. 6/10! Only for the genre fans!

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.

A tour bus carrying a handful of archetypal American tourists is making its way around Barcelona, hosted by an eccentric and sleazy tour guide. Mark Burton (John Richardson) has taken his mistress along with him who he is telling everyone is his secretary. Amongst the others in the group, there's a hip lesbian couple, a fun-seeking young daughter, a couple with a bit of an age difference, and a priest. They are all handed red raincoats to protect them from the torrential Spanish rain, when one of them is murdered by being repeatedly stabbed and having their eye removed. Burton suspects his ex-wife, who is apparently in Barcelona. Soon the tour group are being picked off by this mysterious, red-raincoat wearing psychopath.

My experience with Italian giallo director Umberto Lenzi is only limited at current. The only other work I've seen of his is the rather bad Video Nasty, Cannibal Ferox (1981). From what I've read, his work seems to be up and down, as is the case with the majority of the prolific Italian horror directors of his era. Eyeball, surprisingly, is not bad. It is, of course, unoriginal, cheesy, unsurprising, and rips-off horror master Dario Argento something rotten. Lenzi also makes the strange decision to have the murders take place in broad daylight, in public view. But it's also quite fun, and has a premise that is enjoyably ridiculous and a climatic revelation that blows it out of the water.

Giallos often don't make sense. Even some of the best works in the sub- genre, for example Argento's excellent Tenebrae (1982) is so mind- f*****g and far-fetched that it just makes the whole experience that much better. I wouldn't go that far in the case of Eyeball, but Lenzi's sheer audacity come the climax made me chuckle, and gave the film that all-important charm. The murder scenes are filmed rather badly with no effort made for set-piece or tension, but there's plenty of enjoyment to be had here. Lenzi clearly knows this as he even throws a bonus lesbian scene in the middle, seemingly just for the hell of it, and there's plenty of humour that comes from the mismatched band of characters. Nothing to give Argento and Fulci sleepless nights then, but for fans of giallo and Grindhouse, definitely worth a watch.

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A police inspector attempts to discover the identity of a vicious murderer ('modus-operandi': stab the victim, and then gouge out the left eyeball) who has been picking off the members of a Spanish sightseeing tour. With only seven days to go before his retirement, will he be able to solve the crime before he leaves the force for a more peaceful life of trout-fishing?

A typically convoluted example of the giallo genre, directed by Umberto 'Cannibal Ferox' Lenzi, Eyeball fails to work mainly due to its forgettable bunch of characters, who spend too much time holding dull conversations, a blatantly silly concept (the sightseers continue their holiday, even as their numbers rapidly dwindle), and its series of repetitive murders (you've seen one stabbing/eye gouging—you've seen 'em all!).

Lenzi tries hard to keep his audience interested, making sure to include all of the elements expected of the genre (gloved killer, red herrings-a-plenty, unbelievably silly ending) and plenty of gratuitous female nudity, but with a boring sub-plot about an adulterous affair, and a lack of inventive deaths (Argento, this ain't!), Eyeball is ultimately rather disappointing.

A group of American tourists is visiting Spain. A red-cloaked killer is with them (or following them). The killings are nasty and the victims always have one of their eye balls removed. Right in the beginning of the film there's a very sudden and brutal murder. The fateful knife flashes out, the unlucky victim screams and screams again and the knife goes down and down. From this moment on I was hooked to the film.

Slasher film fans should like "Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro" (Eyeball). The action never lets down and the film is incredibly light and humorous. There are of course pretty girls and the mandatory lesbian couple (with rights to jealousy, fight and reconciliation scenes). The viewer is given a lot of red herrings and this enhances the fun still more. The Spanish locations are delightful (Barcelona and Sitges) and Umberto Lenzi displays his usual cinematic ability with swift and precise camera movements and editing. There are good killing scenes, particularly one in a funhouse.

I guess you won't be able to find out who the killer is. Anyway the story does make sense but is of secondary importance for those who want to enjoy the film.

"Gatti Rossi in un labirinto di vetro" (Eyeball) could be defined as a summer movie for grown-ups. It has it all – it's violent, sexy, funny, colourful and it has a cool soundtrack. So just let your critical brain at the door and enter this giallo funhouse. You may enjoy the ride.

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.

Umberto Lenzi's "Eyeball" is a mediocre giallo which is about a vicious killer who gouges an eye out of his female victims while slashing them to death.The setting is sunny Barcelona and the suspects include a bus loaded with coarse American tourists."Eyeball" is one of the weakest giallos I have ever seen.It's a shame,because Lenzi can turn out a really atmospheric giallo like "Sette Orchidee Macchiate di Rosso"(1971).The script is awful and the killer-in-a-red-raincoat is nothing new(check out "Don't Look Now").The score by Bruno Nicolai is terrible.There is plenty of nudity and sleaze and some violent murders including throat cuttings and eye gougings.The film is pretty dull and forgettable,so don't waste your time with it.Check out some other giallos instead.5 out of 10.

I'm a big fan of Giallo movies, they're fun and totally over the top and yes incredibly trashy, and always feels like their in another world where logic and sense are totally abandoned in something that feels otherworldly , but that's okay as they're a lot of fun with an intriguing plot and mystery attached.

While 'Eyeball' is definitely a Giallo through and through, filled with all the typical troupes such as killer POV, gloved hand killer, overuse of primary colours (Red in this case), inept police force, oddly pacific kills, bad dubbing and a final bait and switch or the killers identity. Despite having these troupes, 'Eyeball' does nothing to enhance them or in fact add any sort of flair to the proceedings.

Despite an interesting storyline where a group of American tourists travel to Barcelona on a tour bus, and almost immediately start getting picked off one by one at every stop by a hooded figure wearing a red mac and plucking out their left eye. Now that does sound interesting and this could have been a hell of a lot of fun, but it isn't its just plain flat and completely devoid of any suspense and worst of all the kills are completely tame. There just seems to be a lack of communication between the cast and the crew as each character lifelessly plough from one scene to the next without any understanding of the script or motivation.

Even from a technical point everything just seems so lazy and unfocused; with the same theme music used in every scene (even when there's nothing happening) and the same ridiculous zoom in used in every shot. But despite the many, many faults everything does move at a brisk pace and the identity of the killer was a genuine surprise, even if it make no sense whatsoever and only the final scene holds any suspense whatsoever where the girl is all alone at the church and sees the murderer, after viewing an incriminating photograph of the killer's identity in broad daylight standing next to a bush holding a knife, which was hilarious and there are enough red herrings littered throughout to keep you guessing all the way to the end.

So on the whole while 'Eyeball' isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, it is quite fun in a so bad it's good kinda way, and while it's nowhere near one of the better Giallo movies from this period, I'd say at least give it a shot as it can be considered an early slasher movie.

Such a fun giallo!

This film is a blast. It has a good energy, plenty of red herrings, and constantly keeps you guessing what will happen next. There were a number of unexpected moments.

However, the acting and directing were pretty lackluster/average.

Overall, it's def worth checking out!

Played with a straight face, Umberto Lenzi's Giallo EYEBALL is a hoot of a film. It actually takes the subject matter seriously which makes it all the more fun. It's terribly made and what's worse is the corny music theme that is played throughout. The film deals with a group of tourists who begin getting brutally knocked off by a garbage bag wearing killer. Oh, and the killer also has a fetish for cutting out people's eyeballs. Sound cool? Well, it's pretty damn funny but much of the film (when people aren't dyin') is pretty slow and makes it quite a chore to finish. If you're a lover of bad B-movies you might get a kick out of this, others will be appalled by the absolutely cheesy intro.

A bus load of American tourists sightseeing in Barcelona are being killed off one by one by an unknown killer in a red cape, the killer also gouges out one of the victims eyes. The local police chief is a week away from retirement, so a big case like this is the last thing he wants, but he sets out for a quick conclusion. The tourists are the regular rag bag of suspicious characters you might expect, the inevitable priest, a flirtatious lesbian couple, an adulteress…oh you get the picture. Mark Burton, an American writer meets up with his secretary and lover who is also part of the sightseeing trip, his mentally disturbed wife is unaware of his adulterous liaison, or is she? When the murders begin to happen, she is not contactable, Mark's suspicions are aroused as she hasn't checked in at her local mental hospital in the US and he is suffering mental flashbacks of a similar murder of a girl near their home, the previous year? Umberto Lenzi has made many good Gialli in his time, this though is just about average and doesn't do the director's reputation or the viewer many favours. The murders are very repetitive, the dialogue is pretty inane, suspension of disbelief has to be called on as no member of the party seems to be that bothered that they are being picked off by some deranged psychopath. There are a few visual flourishes, a killing in a Ghost Train being a modest highlight. The melodic score by the masterful Bruno Nicolai is also very engaging and for the most appropriate to what's on screen. I'd never say a Giallo is disappointing, but to anyone not sharing my affection for the genre it might just be that.

The eighth and final Giallo in director Lenzi's prolific and versatile filmography is generally considered to be his least effort in this vein but, while I may not entirely agree with that assessment – the Spanish setting does give it an atypical look (especially as many of the murders occur out in the open and during daylight hours!) – but, unfortunately, the proceedings are very much run-of-the-mill. Incidentally, I was glad with the identity of the killer since I could not believe the hero, John Richardson (balding but saddled in the Italian print I watched – which actually reverts to English for a couple of brief instances – with a youthful voice!) preferred her character over his gorgeous wife (who, for the longest time, is thought to be the actual culprit due to a past crime she may or may not have been involved in)! The cast of characters, though most come from the same American town and are holidaying in Spain, is a mélange of different attitudes and ideals – a cigar-smoking bigwig with a precocious teen niece in tow (repeatedly ogled by the tour guide{!} and later attacked beside a pool at night: another girl is unsubtly killed inside the "House Of Horrors" of a Luna Park…though, why a bunch of mostly middle-aged tourists should choose it as an excursion in the first place is anybody's guess!), a Spaniard who has come with his less-than-enthused wife to the places he knew in his youth, a priest(!), a couple of lesbians (one a photographer and the other her black model), Richardson's secretary (with whom he not only carries on an affair but, bafflingly enough, tags along once the murders start).

Interestingly, the killer (who mutilates each body by removing the female victim's left eye, hence the English title!) is seen sporting a red raincoat and gloves (as opposed to the characteristic black – perhaps a nod to the Venice-shot British chiller DON'T LOOK NOW {1973}? – and sort of explains the original title – RED CATS IN A GLASS LABYRINTH – since the fleeing killer is idiotically described as a red cat, even if the print I watched sported the banal alternate moniker of THE SECRET KILLER!!) but, since the tourists were all given one on account of the rain, it could be any one among them. However, the victims are seemingly haphazardly chosen (not merely the tourists but locals as well), so that the Police (an Inspector on his last assignment before retiring and his replacement, whom he patronizes somewhat) are at a loss as to what the motive can be. Soon Richardson's involvement in a similar crime in his hometown the previous year puts the finger of suspicion on him, especially as he always seems to be the first to reach the victim after each murder. When the lady photographer conveniently quarrels with her lover and goes back to the hotel alone to develop the latest roll of film, only to be murdered just as the black girl is entering to make her peace; in hospital due to the shock, the latter once again escapes with her life but, being now the proprietor of her deceased lover's stuff, she discovers the identity of the killer in one of the photos (hilariously revealed only towards the very end)!

Richardson (by the way, he had starred in one of the best Gialli i.e. Sergio Martino's TORSO [1973}, which I had actually watched while in Hollywood!), who had been running around in circles trying to locate his wife, is eventually released from custody; the whole, then, climaxes in a monastery where the priest and a local girl are killed but the black girl cries out before the murderess can replace her own glass eye with the dead girl's! About to be attacked yet again, the black girl is saved first by the intervention of Richardson who tries to reason with his now completely deranged secretary and, eventually, the Police (who obviously prefer to shoot first and ask questions later). Mind you, even lesser vintage efforts of this type are bound to give a modicum of pleasure to genre buffs (which, I guess explains my average rating), but it does seem like the Giallo was definitely running out of steam by this time. Indeed, the lack of a R1 DVD for this one – or, for that matter, the recently-viewed THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (1971) – could well be a tell-tale sign of the film's relative underperformance even within the established confines of its subgenre! For the record, Bruno Nicolai's jaunty musical accompaniment is a pleasant but unexceptional one.

This film boasted "You might not live to the end of it" That's true. I almost died ....OF BOREDOM!!!!!!!!!!

It's definitely true that the concept of this movie sounds more awesome and original than the actual movie turns out. But having said that, this is basically a very watchable giallo, for the lovers of the genre, that has basically every ingredient in it that you could ask for.

But this is also what's making this a very typical and standard genre attempt. Nothing in this movie really stands out, not even its killings, that are being pretty tame to watch actually, despite of its gruesome sound to it. I mean, a killer that stabs the victims in the eye sounds pretty insane and gruesome to watch but in fact it isn't anything too shocking. Probably not because they didn't wanted it to be but more due to technical and practical reasons, I would guess.

I absolutely always enjoy watching a good giallo movie from the '70's but I won't make any illusions about it that they are also being particularly great movies. Absolutely the most the of them are actually being quite bad and silly, once you start looking at them- and judging them seriously. It's the foremost reason why these type of movies are only still popular now days by a small group of movie-nuts and the reason why most of those movies are hard to get by now days.

One of the biggest problem giallo movies often suffer from are its characters. Not only are the characters quite weak and very often more or less all the same but the movie itself has an hard time keeping track on all of these characters, which makes the movies at times quite confusing and messy. For some reason the movies often feel the need to throw in a whole bunch of characters, probably for the reason that makes it more unpredictable and less easy for the viewers to guess who the killer of the movie is. But they are definitely being too many characters, you just don't ever care about and the movie doesn't really focus enough on any of them. There isn't really a main lead or an hero in this movie, which makes this movie storytelling-wise a bit of a mess at times.

It's also real amazing and ridicules how all of these characters keep acting as normal tourist and doing normal tourist things, while people on their tour-bus are slowly getting gruesomely killed, one by one. But oh well, like I said, basically all giallo movies don't make much sense in the real world but they still remain fun movies to watch, with a distinctive style and atmosphere and way of storytelling, that is often alike, which does work out familiar and pleasant, especially obviously when you are already into the genre.

The movie does begin very well and promising but it doesn't take long for the movie to start to drag a bit. Especially its middle part just isn't being exciting enough, which also makes you care less about anything that is happening, even still toward the ending. No lesbian love scenes, that came out of nowhere, can safe its middle part.

This movie remains a more than good enough watch for the lovers of the genre, though the movie is still not as exciting or original as its original concept make it sound.

6/10

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"Eyeball" isn't the best film to use as an example to state that the Giallo is the greatest sub genre in horror, and it's neither the ideal effort to claim Umberto Lenzi was one of the greatest European directors of the 20th century. "Eyeball" is, in fact, a rather mediocre Giallo and definitely one of Lenzi's least remarkable films, but it nevertheless remains an entertaining treat for fans of sleazy, gory and trashy Euro-horror of the 1970's. Lucio Fulci may have had a bizarre fetish for eyeball-gore, but it was Lenzi who revolved an entire Giallo-storyline on it! Multiple eyeballs are being removed from their sockets here, so you can rest assured this film will be nasty enough to satisfy even the most demanding gorehounds. The rest of the film is actually not so praiseworthy at all. The plot is silly and incoherent, there's a severe lack of tension building and the dialogs are almost laughably ridiculous. After the discovery of the first murder victim, a woman who was found with multiple stabbing wounds in her chest and the left eyeball missing from the socket, a rookie police officer ask the autopsy doctor if he thinks the murderer is a sadist. Well, what do you think? The script is full of stupid remarks and dialogs like that, and they don't exactly increase the plausibility of the story. The plot introduces a group of tourists on a sightseeing tour in beautiful Barcelona. There's a couple of lesbian lovers, an adulterous businessman and his lovely secretary, an odd-behaving priest and a handful of other disposable American travelers. There also is a maniacal killer on the loose in the city and he/she is inevitably linked with the passengers of the tour bus, because his/her disguise is a red raincoat identical to the ones distributed among the tourists and the victims are either members of the bus party or locals that were in contact with them. Lenzi provides his script with a couple of admirable red herrings and misleading plot twists, but "Eyeball" sadly never becomes as engaging as a true Giallo should be. Especially the tourists' calm and careless reactions to the murders are very unbelievable. Even after several members of the group were found killed and their bodies mutilated, the remaining ones continue to separate themselves from the rest and some of them even attend cheerful Flamingo-dancing parties like nothing happened at all. Can you imagine people to react like this during a real-life situation? I bet real tourists would lock themselves up in their rooms and remain there until they can hop on the first available plane back home. Bruno Nicolai's score is catchy and enchanting, but I can't help thinking I heard the exact same tune somewhere before in another Italian horror, crime or western flick. Lenzi often recycles plot-ideas, ingenious camera angles and music so I wouldn't be surprised if the same score was already used in one of his previous films. The denouement is utterly silly and far-fetched but, hey, it was nearly impossible to predict and that's all that matters. The acting performances are terrible but at least the female stars compensate their lack of talent by showing off their ravishing naked bodies. Recommended in case you're a sucker for Italian cult flicks, all others beware.

I know, I know, it's not the best made film in the world - but I like it! I love the jingling music, the gorgeous girls, showing us their gorgeousness, and the killings. Gory and regular are the death scenes and each followed by a train of possibilities and guilty looking folk, lurking. The Ramblas looks lovely, the girls, I have already mentioned look lovely but their costumes are fantastic, their hair ever changing and all those 70's hotel rooms, airplanes taking off and landing, matching rainwear, glimpses of Barcelona, even a trip to Sitges. What more could one wish for. Oh and the conclusion stinks but at least we didn't sit back halfway through saying that we knew who did it. Fun!

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.