Eye in the Labyrinth

'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.