The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Everything I'd read about this film prior to seeing it pointed to it being rubbish, but after reading the plot description; I figured that it might actually be OK. However, I was wrong. The plot sounds like Cold Eyes of Fear could be a gritty cross between the Giallo and the slew of 'house' films (e.g. House on the Edge of the Park, The Last House on the Beach) whereby criminal(s) take innocents hostage inside their home. It sort of is a cross between these genres; but it's so damned boring that any positives that may have come from this are instantly sucked away. The film takes place in London, which is unfortunate as it means that we're 'treated' to a load of phoney British accents. It really annoys me that some people actually think we talk like this! Anyway, the plot focuses on Peter; a young man who picks up an Italian hooker and takes her back to his place. However, they arrive to find a criminal in wait for them. Peter's father, a judge, then sends a copper to sort the situation; but the man who turns up is an impostor, hell-bent on revenge...The film actually gets off to a good start...but that then turns out to be a stage show, and that pretty much sums the entire film up. Other directors have proved many times that the Giallo can be wholly entertaining, despite the often rubbish plots; but Castellari shows here that they can be really boring too! It's a shame really, as the director has proved himself to me with a trio of great crime films (The Big Racket, Street Law and The Heroin Busters), as well as one of the best Jaws rip offs in the form of The Last Shark - but the man obviously can't handle Giallo. It's strange that a man with such a penchant for violent action would make a film so boring, and perhaps one of the reason why it is so boring is that a lot of the main 'action' focuses on talking, and Castellari is obviously better suited to shooting car chases and fist fights. The acting is as crap as you would expect, and this isn't helped at all by the awful dubbing. Not even Morricone's score is up to much. Overall, don't bother with this one - there are FAR better Giallo's out there!

Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura, or Cold Eyes of Fear as it's more commonly known amongst English speaking audiences, starts on a dark night in 70's London as lawyer Peter Flower (Gianni Garko) picks up a prostitute named Anna (Giovanna Ralli). Peter takes her back to his uncles house who happens to be the prominent & high powered Judge Juez (Fernando Rey). Once there Peter & Anna begin to get down to business but are rudely interrupted by a gunman named Quill (Julian Mateos) whom has already shot Hawkins the servant. Quill holds them both at gunpoint until his accomplice arrives, Arthur Welt (Frank Wolff). The whole situation leads back to Judge Juez but is this as simple a case of revenge as it first appears? Unfortunately it's really not worth watching to find out...This Spanish & Italian co-production was co-written & directed by Enzo G. Castellari & in my humble opinion is a really boring film. The script by Castellari, Tito Carpi & Leo Anchoriz starts off quite well with the initial plot set-up but once Welt makes an appearance it slows down to an absolute snails pace & becomes as dull as dishwater as it's just annoying character's spouting inane badly dubbed dialogue. Anna really got on my nerves, she keeps on facing up to the gunmen & telling them to kill them, excuse me love but these guys are murderers & have guns. I mean squaring up & provoking them really isn't the way to make it out alive, is it? I'd have shot her for just being so irritating. The final 'twist' revelations are far from surprising & in fact are quite obvious. I must admit I found some of the cockney dialogue rather amusing. Am I the only one who thinks Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura resembles The House on the Edge of the Park (1980)? The two are extremely similar in tone except that The House on the Edge of the Park is far more explicit.Director Castellari gives the film a nice visual look throughout & during the scenes in London it really captures the era. Unfortunately the film has zero tension, scares, atmosphere, shocks or surprises. The violence is virtually non existent, there's a fight at the end with some blood but apart from that forget it.Technically the film is well made & has a nice look & feel throughout with detailed production design. The acting wasn't up to much especially the two gunmen who were, in my humble opinion, awful.Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura had potential & starts out pretty good but goes absolutely nowhere. Very tame, very boring & very disappointing Euro sleaze, there are so many better films out there. One more thing, am I alone in thinking that this shouldn't be described as a Giallo? Giallo's are murder mysteries & Gli Occhi Freddi della Paura has neither murder or mystery...

By no means the best giallo I've seen, this Enzo Castellari tale of ___ drags horribly and maintains little suspense. Set in Swinging London (but filmed primarily in Rome), the movie finds young lawyer Gianni Garko about to seduce prostitute Giovanna Ralli at his swank house. They stumble upon the butler's dead body, undoubtedly a victim of temperate ruffian Julián Mateos, who then terrorizes the couple with his gun and leather suit. Judge Fernando Rey, who keep a cat on his desk, calls nephew Garko to ask for legal assistance and sends constable Frank Wolff over with a missive. The sleazy couple assumes the cop to be a deus ex machine, but he proves to be in on the racket. After sending Rey a secret plea for help (in Latin no less), our hopeful gets haughty and gives the sneering tough guy a good pounding. While Ralli fails to seduce Mateos with a shower, Rey puzzles out the message and sends some genuine although ineffectual police. Some may wonder what will happen to the unlovable couple besieged by this complicated plot; others may not. Castellari fills Cold Eyes with similarly absurd post-nouvelle vague editing, and I suspect this was a strictly commissioned affair for the veteran writer, producer and actor who can claim over 40 films to his credit. His failure as director really displays itself in the overdone, montage-heavy finale. Despite its lack of flesh and gore, Cold Eyes is shockingly exploitative. Wolff murders a policeman in flashback during a gratuitously cruel story diversion, only to illustrate his already obviously violent side. The violence throughout comes off as unnecessarily brutal, as well as distinctly European in flavor. None of the male characters treat the unimpressive prostitute much like a human, her unsurprised response perhaps suggesting they're correct to do so. Easily the best part of the movie is Ennio Morricone's amazing score, would fit better in a well-paced environment. If you want to see a decent film with Rey, who doesn't actually appear in shot with any of the main cast and probably only showed up for a day's worth of filming, check out the same year's French Connection.

A court solicitor's evening with a prostitute takes a turn for the worse when a pair of hardened criminals show up at the home of said solicitor's uncle, a judge who unfairly convicted one of them years before. Tensions mount as the victims try to turn their captors against one another and save the judge's life, as well as their own.