Eye in the Labyrinth

Julie (Rosemary Dexter) wakes up from a nightmare to discover that her boyfriend, Luca (Horst Frank) has vanished. Setting out to find him, Julie's life becomes an adventure of mystery and intrigue, filled with danger.

EYE IN THE LABYRINTH is an unusual giallo with an odd atmosphere of paranoia. It's inhabited by a plethora of bizarre characters, including the magnificent Alida Valli (SUSPIRIA, INFERNO) as Gerda, Sybil Danning (THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES) as Toni, and Adolfo Celi (WHO SAW HER DIE?) as Frank. The viewer quickly gets the impression that a conspiracy is underway, but has no idea what is being covered up. The final revelation is a true shocker! EITL is well worth watching, if only for the sheer weirdness of it all...

Giallo fans, seek out this rare film. It is well written, and full of all sorts of the usual low lifes that populate these films. I don't want to give anything away, so I wont even say anything about the plot. The whole movie creates a very bizarre atmosphere, and you don't know what to expect or who to suspect. Recommended! The only place I've seen to get this film in english is from European Trash Cinema, for $15.

'Eye in the Labyrinth' is a surreal yet glossy giallo offering from director Mario Caiano that doesn't have the usual structure that the genre usually has due to its mind-bending plot that progresses in a dream-like fashion and its odd ambiguous nature, but I found this rather quirky and enjoyable as it delves more into psychological thriller than horror with enough craziness going on to sustain interest.

The plot follows a young woman Julie (Rosemary Dexter) whose boyfriend Luca (Horst Frank) disappears for no apparent reason and sets out to find him and ends up at a villa in Italy which is populated by a group of eccentric characters including the owner Gerda (Alida Valli) and soon enough strange things begin to happen.

The movie's premise is utterly compelling and the mystery element is engrossing enough to keep your interest throughout with an array of interesting characters, tight direction and stunning picturesque cinematography where at times it employs a distorting quality which gives the film a nightmarish atmosphere. Although there are a few flaws such as the storyline does tend to spiral in different directions at times and does come across as a bit overwrought and some of the events at the villa doesn't seem to have any logic to them, especially when everything's revealed at the end. But those are just minor and nowhere near enough to ruin my enjoyment of this flick.

Overall 'Eye in the Labyrinth' is a great giallo flick, not quite up there with some of the more classics of the genre, but a solid effort nonetheless and definitely worth a watch.

A woman searches for her missing boyfriend (who happens to be a psychiatrist) and ends up at a resort full of eclectic characters who could all be guilty of something. While the woman is there murders start happening.

This an early 70's giallo that stars the bad dude from Thunderball (1965) Adolfe Celi and a really young Sybil Danning who only has a bit part. This one is a real slow burner but it rocks. It keeps you wondering all the way through. More mystery than mayhem.

Of course my guess as to who did it was way wrong but then again I couldn't figure who the killer was in Friday the 13th Part 2 (he was masked ). Not a very violent giallo. The copy I seen was a third generation VHS transfer so maybe soon there will be a decent release. So if you are a fan of Italian giallos watch this one for sure.

This little seen movie is a languid and laid-back giallo. It veers away from some of the cliché's of the genre and adopts a looser approach. It's about a woman searching for her missing lover; a psychiatrist who has suddenly vanished for no apparent reason. Her search leads her to a villa populated by a group of eccentric individuals. In true giallo style, murder is never far away.

The cast is really rather good. We have Aldofo Celi (Thunderball), Alida Valli (Suspiria), Horst Frank (Cat o' Nine Tails) and a very young Sybil Danning (80's scream queen). The lead actress is Rosemary Dexter, and while I am not familiar with her, she does a good job in leading the picture.

One of the defining features of Eye in the Labyrinth is its music. Atypically for a giallo it features a jazz-rock fusion soundtrack. This score, composed by Roberto Nicolosi, is reminiscent of Miles Davis, especially his work on In A Silent Way. It's an excellent soundtrack and really gives this movie a different feel than most gialli. The fusion groove accentuates the languid atmosphere and compliments the sunny, sea-front scenery that the film is mostly made up of.

This is a giallo so we really need to talk about the murder set-pieces. Well, this film falls a little short in this regard. It's certainly not devoid of them but they are few and far between. The opening dream-murder being probably the best on offer as well as a memorable burning car sequence. But this really isn't a particularly violent film. Still, I don't think it should disappoint too many seasoned fans of the genre. The mystery is fairly compelling and it has enough eccentric characters (the idiot boy Saro and THAT unsettlingly inappropriate dubbed accent?) and moments of the bizarre to satisfy; while the sleaze-factor is upheld with a smattering of nudity throughout.

Eye in the Labyrinth plays like a giallo version of an Agatha Christie mystery, as it features a group of unsympathetic characters in a villa, all under suspicion of murder; we have the obligatory flashbacks detailing their connections with the final hours of the (highly unsympathetic) murder victim. While this isn't a grade-A example of the genre, it's certainly an appealingly different one, as it doesn't borrow too heavily from other films of the sub-genre. For giallo enthusiasts I give this a thumbs up and hope one day it's given a nice DVD transfer. It certainly deserves the treatment.