Pretty Good

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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.

Eyeball is pretty typical campy Italian stuff about a costumed killer, so the people who will go for this probably already know who they are. It's pleasantly silly, and even more ridiculous if you watch it a second time, knowing who the psycho is.I watched the German DVD, which calls it Labyrinth des Schreckens, with the generic title The Secret Killer appearing on screen. Unfortunately, it only runs 88 minutes, so there was presumably some sex or gore cut out of the version I saw. Even so, it's worth a look if you're into the genre and can find it.Eyeball would make a nice lightweight second feature on a double bill with Torso, if you want to program a movie night. Both films feature John Richardson, masked killers who remove body parts, and similar scenes involving keys.

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.

"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.