While known mostly for his gory cannibal flicks (Eaten Alive, Deep River Savages, Make Them Die Slowly) and generally bizarre horror outings (Nightmare City, Ghosthouse) Umberto Lenzi is also responsible for a few stabs (pun intended!) at the giallo genre which was extremely popular at the time. I've enjoyed many of Lenzi's horror/genre flicks and while he may not necessarily be best suited for this particular genre, his giallo flicks sure are fun. If you're looking for a shining example or a starting point - well you've come to the wrong place. If you're a Lenzi fan and know how to appreciate a hefty slice of giallo cheese, then you really can't go wrong with Eyeball.

Titled as The Secret Killer here Eyeball runs its course as a most entertaining piece of giallo fluff. A busload of stereotypical (and extremely goofy) American tourists in Spain are taken under siege by a red glove-wearing maniac. The killer likes to stab and gouge as each of his/her victims has one of their eyes meticulously plucked out. Mark (John Richardson), one of the tourists and his secretary (played by Martine Brochard - yeah, they're having an affair) quickly become the main focus as Mark suspects his wife may be somehow responsible for the grisly murders.

The suspects don't end with Mark's wife either, everyone here is a possible murderer including a priest, the housewife or her husband and a lesbian photographer (the luscious Mirta Miller) along with her lover/photographic subject matter. None of these characters are particularly likeable in any way and by the time the off the wall finale does hit us, you're probably not going to really care anyway. The true fun here is derived from the gratuitous time we spend watching these loonies prance around town either stabbing, getting stabbed or talking about who could possibly be the one doing the stabbing.

No, it's not a shining example of the genre but there are some effective and mighty cool set pieces to be found within. Most notable is an exceptional moment on a rainy day at a local carnival when one of our young female victims is stabbed (bet you didn't see that one coming) while on a haunted dark house ride. The killer is most often found in a see through red poncho with matching red gloves and while the whole red-coated killer thing was successfully achieved prior in the far superior Don't Look Now - the whole Eyeball set up still works on a goodball giallo level. Despite an abundant amount of "killing-time" mind numbingly mixed with idle chitchat, Eyeball remains a thoroughly entertaining if not slightly frustrating affair.

Fans will be pleased to note that Lenzi has supplied us with ample amounts of blood and nudity here to help pass the time as well. While the film is never really overly graphic, there are plenty of stabbings, a few slashings and more plucked out eyeballs than one could ever dare to dream of. This is all topped off with extra helpings of topless (perhaps even bottomless) sexy female leads - sleaze quotient fulfilled nicely. But on a serious note, Lenzi does make excellent use of his full scope frame and at times Eyeball is a quite striking film to look at.

The huge euro cult cast is also a nice draw including Richardson who's been seen in films like Soavi's The Church and Delirium as well as in Bava's Black Sunday, while Martine Brocahard has also been seen in Delirium as well as A Man Called Blade. The luscious Mirta Miller has played alongside Paul Naschy in many a film, including Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf - suffice to say the list goes on, point being it's great to see so many genre faves sharing space even if it isn't under the classiest of circumstances.

While this presentation of Eyeball certainly isn't going to win over and cinephiles in the audio/video dept. this is easily the best that I've ever seen this film look. Quality does range from scene to scene sometimes colors come across a bit drab (outdoor scenes come across the best), there are really only minimal amounts of print damage and slight grain present. Darker scenes are the most troublesome with some slight evidence of artifacts, but nothing too major. Overall, this is a very pleasing transfer and the film looks great in its original aspect ratio (anamorphic and completely uncut!).

Audio is presented in German and English - both tracks mono, while there is also a German 5.1 remix option, alas with no English subs. The manufactured 5.1 track is just that, but the Bruno Nicolai score sounds pretty cool with that extra oomph. Most US viewers will opt for the mono English track of course, which is serviceable but nothing outstanding.

Extras include a few filmographies along with a couple of trailers for other releases from Marketing-Films (Eyeball included).

An overall sub par giallo, yet still a highly entertaining exercise - Eyeball is still recommended and this DVD from Marketing-Films remains quite pleasing.

This is a PAL Region 0 DVD, your DVD player will need to have PAL playing capabilities.

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