Eyeball (1975)

Eyeball, directed by Umberto Lenzi (who also co-wrote the film with Felix Tusell), is a giallo film that almost slavishly follows the established rules of the form. If you know what to expect then you're going to have a lot of fun. If you are looking for some of the best examples, the more stylish and gorgeous ones, then this isn't the film for you.

The premise is simple. A killer starts to slice their way through the tourists who are all on the same coach trip. The killer wears red and has a thing for removing an eyeball from each of his/her victims. Who could be the knife-wielder? Is it Mark Burton (played by John Richardson), a man who thinks his own wife might be the culprit due to his infidelity with Paulette Stone (played by Martine Brochard)? Is it the clergyman who seems to be going out of his way to look more suspicious than most of the other tour group members? It could be anyone, although the list of possible suspects starts to narrow down as the corpses start to pile up.

Although you may struggle to figure out who the killer is, with the exception of viewers who may have an unerring nose for sniffing out culprits, it becomes more and more obvious as Eyeball plays out just who ISN'T the killer. If you're being shown someone close to every murder scene, if they are walking around under a mobile neon sign that says "killer, killer", then it's unlikely to be them. Both the script and direction play up this side of things, with Lenzi clearly setting out to make something fun more than something to be celebrated as a masterclass in tension and horror, and it is all part of the film's charm.

Richardson and Brochard are the leads, both doing decent work for this kind of film (including moments of overacting, of course, and some casual callousness towards others as the situation starts to get worse), George Rigaud is that twitchy and suspicious clergyman, Andres Mejuto is the Inspector trying to find the killer, and the stunning Mirta Miller plays a stunning female photographer. You also get Ines Pellegrini, playing a model being photographed by Miller, Daniele Vargas and Silvia Solar as a married couple, and Marta May as the wronged wife of Richardson's character, as well as quite a few others (special mention to Raf Baldassarre as the leering tour guide, Martinez).

There are so many things that Eyeball isn't. It's not the best giallo, it's not the best Lenzi movie, it's not the best cast, and not even the best film about a killer removing eyeballs from victims. But that doesn't really matter. What matters is that it IS an amusing bit of entertainment from start to finish. You could even say that it's . . . worth keeping an eye out for (bdaump-tsshhhhh).

6/10

There's a fine Blu-ray presentation here.
Americans can buy a version of it here.

The Colossus Of Rhodes (1961)

After learning his craft on a variety of film projects through the years, director Sergio Leone made his feature debut with this historical epic, an overlong and overcooked drama that keeps the viewer onside with a likable lead, decent pacing, and some enjoyable action set-pieces. And there's a big statue looming over everything, as you may have guessed, which features in a couple of the best set-pieces.

Rory Calhoun plays Dario, an Athenian war hero who visits the island of Rhodes just in time to see the official ceremony marking the completed construction of the Colossus Of Rhodes, a huge statue that the ruler of Rhodes believes will protect the island and his people. He doesn't realise that there are already enemies in the crowds around him, all of them engaged in a plot that Dario will soon find himself caught up in.

It may be a step removed from the Westerns that would secure his name in the history books of cinema, but The Colossus Of Rhodes is a fun adventure that still manages to hint at what Leone would give us in his future movies. A lot of the stunts seem quite fearless, there are a number of great performances from the supporting players, and the plot essentially revolves around a lot of locals relying on an outsider to save them from lots of ruthless criminals.

It took seven people to craft the screenplay, apparently, and I am not going to list all of their names here but the end result is good enough. There's nothing particularly memorable when it comes to the dialogue, although one or two exchanges are wryly amusing, but it works very well at setting up the characters and showing the developing scheming and treachery. It's just a shame that all of those people couldn't figure out a way to prune the film down to a more reasonable runtime; there's no way this needs to be over two hours long.

I've already mentioned the likability of Calhoun in the lead role, George Rigaud is also very likable as the uncle that he is visiting, Lea Massari is a Rhodesian beauty, and Conrado San Martin, looking not entirely unlike Will Patton after an accident involving too much black hair dye, is an enjoyably slimy villain. Others acting under the shadow of the great statue include Georges Marchal, Mabel Karr, Felix Fernandez, and Roberto Camardiel, to name but a few.

It may be a bit of an anomaly compared to the other movies we got from Sergio Leone, but The Colossus Of Rhodes is a fun time for those who know what they are letting themselves in for.

7/10

There's quite an expensive DVD available here.
Americans, or those who can play R1 discs, have a cheaper option here.

All The Colors Of The Dark (1972)

A woman starts to, perhaps, lose her sanity after a period of time in which she is afflicted by recurring nightmares and visions of a man stabbing her to death. Her partner is supportive but also critical of her attempts to sort out the problem. Perhaps he has something to hide or maybe he is just sharing the pain that stems from the car crash they were in that led to the woman having a miscarriage. Regardless of how sane or insane the woman is, or how guilty or innocent the man is, things get stranger and more dangerous.

All The Colors Of The Dark is a decent film. It's stylish and has moments of tension in the second half, building up to a decent finale. It also has a nice mix of straightforward giallo moments and some very surreal, nightmarish sequences. The screenplay isn't bad but this is very much a movie to be watched and appreciated by fans of the director, Sergio Martino. Martino has a nice touch for the material and keeps things watchable and interesting without ever feeling the need to throw some blood all over the screen every few minutes. This sense of restraint means that the film may not please horror fans who simply like the blood and gore elements of the genre but it should certainly please anyone who enjoys stylish and offbeat thriller fare.

Then we have the cast, components of the movie I have deliberately avoided mentioning until now. George Hilton isn't bad as Richard Steele, the man trying to help his girlfriend but not really sure how to go about it, but this movie gets extra points every time the gorgeous Edwige Fenech is onscreen. In mental turmoil or not, Fenech is very possibly one of THE most beautiful women to have ever made her name within the horror genre (or, more specifically, the giallo subgenre) and her presence can elevate any movie. I'd go so far as to say that any movie featuring Fenech in a main role becomes, ultimately, an Edwige Fenech film. Hell, even her cameo in Hostel: Part II gave that film a couple of bonus brownie points. Nieves Navarro, Marina Malfatti, George Rigaud, Ivan Rassimov and many others do good work but they're all sidelined whenever Miss Fenech takes centre stage.

I am biased, obviously, with my love for Miss Fenech colouring my opinion of this movie. But show me a handful of horror fans who don't feel the same way and I'll kindly turn them away and ask them to come back when they've been on the planet for another decade or so. Putting my love for the lead actress aside (oh, if only it were that easy), I recommend this as a good film for anyone who enjoys a stylish and offbeat thriller.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/All-Colors-Dark-George-Hilton/dp/B0002JP2SO