In the Eye of the Hurricane (1971) User Reviews

Sixties giallo with Seventies Sleaze

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 21 October 2017]

After a lovely animated credits sequence, we are plunged into the unhappy married life of Ruth and Miguel. I thought at first that they were unhappy because their mansion on the coast with a private beach, butler and cook wasn't big and expensive enough, or maybe their open top sports car weren't up to date, but I was wrong. Ruth just doesn't love Miguel no more, and she tells him so, also saying "Oh, by the way, my new lover is moving in, he's played by Jean Sorel as well." So Jean moves in and we get a fairly long sequence of these two in love – rolling about the beach, water skiing, painting ceramic dishes, snogging while Jean hangs upside down from a tree. Jean even buys Ruth a pet swan which makes for some ridiculous visuals. It should be noted here that this film is lush looking even by the usual high standards of this genre – Jean takes Ruth to this nightclub and we get dazzled by the garish colour schemes, and an early shot of a disco ball! Around this point Jean's friend Roland also shows up and starts making eyes at Ruth, some lady (whom I initially thought was Miguel in drag, which means I've been watching too many of these films), moves in next door and keeps spying on everyone, and someone starts trying to kill Ruth! First her brakes don't work on her car, then someone drains all the fuel out of her SCUBA diving gear.

She's naturally inclined to think that Miguel is responsible for this, and it doesn't help when he turns up shortly after this, but when she accidentally overhears a couple of characters discussing the rest of the plot in great detail, your left wondering what direction the plot is going to take, seeing this happens only forty minutes into the film.

Did you get any onya? This film is very much in the style of those late sixties gialli starring Jean Sorel and/or Carroll Baker, but with a total overdose of visual style and weird camera angles. Plus, when have you ever seen Jean Sorel chase a swan around while wearing a daft mask. Please not however there is scarcely a drop of blood in this one but if you're a sleaze fan you might want to hang about to the last fifteen minutes.

Didn't need to see a guy harpoon an octopus though.

Pretty good , decent Giallo, co-produced by Spain/Italy and well directed by José Maria Forqué

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 24 December 2021]

It deals with a married couple called Ruth (Analia Gade) and Michel (Tony Kendall) , but they separate due to Ruth finds another man , Paul (Jean Sorel) . Later on , Ruth and his new lover Paul taking a fun vacation at a beach location. As they go to her sunny , idyllic beach side villa to spend summer in Playa de Haro , Costa Brava , Gerona . They are having a great time together , and then weird things begin happening . Enjoying the vacation with her beloved boyfriend , Ruth suffers suddenly serious accidents . Throught the road she is surprisingly stressed when the brakes of the car fail , and Ruth narrowly escapes death . After that , the driving equipment goes faulty , and Ruth almost drowns . Then Ruth will stop at nothing to discover the truth and at whatever cost . Her life being extremely exhausted , physically tired, and morally disturbed due to the successive attempts .Ruth suspects Michel of being the person behind the mechanical faults of the car and the diving equipment , but Paul dismisses such a possibility , as he does suggest her to rest and forget . While other characters (Rosanna Yanni and Maurizio Bonuglia) shine in rather opaque roles . Along the way , a stubborn police inspector (Julio Peña) is investigating the rare events . As the main question of the movie is to guess who's attempting to murder Ruth.

A peculiar Spanish film posing like an Italian production, but it is more a Spanish film than an Italian , in fact on the credit titles show up various names of Spanish actors as well as technician team . Here stands out the attractive credit titles with charming drawings from Macián studios . Umberto Lenzi's early genre works "Orgasmo" , ¨Spasmo¨and "Paranoia" were undoubtedly the main examples of this Gialli narrative structure, but that doesn't change the high quality of Forqué's work , because it remains exciting and intriguing enough . It is set in Costa Brava , Gerona Spain , dealing with the wife well played by Analia Gadé alongside her two male co-stars , the Italians Jean Sorel and and Tony Kendall . Concerning the usual themes in the Giallo films such as an undercover killer , red herrings , various suspicious people , brief nudism , sinister appearances and anything else. Stars the Argentinean Analia Gade who had a successful career along with two Italian gallants : Jean Sorel who starred some Giallos and Tony Kendall who performed various films in all kinds of Eurotrash genres . They are well accompanied by a fine support cast, such as Rosanna Yanni , Maurizio Bonuglia , Julio Peña , among others.

Musician Piero Piccioni adds a gorgeous musical background which also captures the mood of the "holidays" and stimulates dreams, adding exciting and thrilling moments . It contains an appropriate and sunny cinematography by expert cameraman Alejandro Ulloa who photographed several International co-productions , such as The House on Garibaldi Street , Tarots , Pancho Villa , Compañeros! , Karate , colt and impostor, Eagles Over London and Horror Express . Being shot on various locations in Playa de Aro, Costa Brava, Gerona, Catalonia, Madrid , Spain and Puglia, Italy . The motion picture with interesting script by prestigious Rafael Azcona was professionally directed by Jose Maria Forque and he was winner Sant Jordi Award 1960, Best Spanish Director. Jose Maria Forque was a craftsman who directed all kinds of genres as Comedy : Un Millon en la Basura, La vil seduccion, Bring a Little loving, Vacaciones para Ivette . Softcore : Beyond Erotica, La Mujer de la Tierra Caliente . Giallo and thrillers : Tarot , In the Eye of the Hurricane, La Legion del Silencio, A devil under the pillow. His greatest succeses were : Embajadores en el Infierno, Amanecer de la Puerta Oscura and the clasic comedy : Atraco a las 3. And he also made important TV series as Miguel Servet and Ramon y Cajal. This In the eye of the hurricane (1971) is without hesitation , definitely one of the most underrated Gialli that unfortunately has not yet been able to make a triumphant breakthrough , being an acceptable and interesting entry in this popular genre developed in the Seventies . Rating : 6.5/10 . Acceptable film , specially appointed for Giallo enthusiasts.

Nice looking yet not overly exciting Spanish giallo

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 15 June 2018]

Despite being made in 1971, the big year for the classic-style violent murder-mystery gialli, this Spanish giallo is a throwback to the late 60's type which was less concerned with bloody mayhem and more with dangerous love triangles and deadly melodramas. Its story focuses on a woman who heads off to a seaside villa with her new lover who she has left her husband for; while there a series of dangerous incidents occur leading her to believe that someone is trying to kill her.

This one opens with a cracking credit sequence full of colour and beautiful drawings. It sure gets you in the mood for another slice of top quality giallo mayhem. Unfortunately, this one doesn't really live up to this promise and pans out as a fairly run-of-the-mill psychological thriller. It's not a bad film or anything, as it has some nice photography, a lush score from Piero Piccioni and benefits from its early 70's vibes. But its story just never engages as much as it needs to and it reveals its hand quite early on so for the last half of the film there isn't even a mystery to propel events. I think the story needed to be stronger as it is pretty minimalistic stuff in terms of characters. There are only really five of any consequence, including a couple of enigmatic individuals in the periphery - a male friend from 'the war' and a female seductress. In terms of suspense, we have a car hurtling down a mountain road with faulty brakes and an incident with a scuba tank with no air. Fairly slim pickings on this front in truth and there is no real violence to speak of either but there is admittedly a fair bit of sex and nudity thrown in to keep things more interesting. I think it may be other less plot-driven details which might be the most memorable though, such as any scenes involving the swan and all the underwater sequences. In summary, this is a nice looking yet slightly underwhelming example of a giallo, still well worth seeking out if you are an enthusiast of the genre though.

Tame but entertaining Spanish/Italian thriller

[lazarillo · 24 January 2007]

A woman leaves her husband and immediately takes up with another man . But her new beau has a strange friend that he knew from the "war", he and also seems to have some kind of relationship with the beautiful bisexual woman next door. Meanwhile her estranged husband is still lurking around, and someone seems to be trying to kill her.

This rather odd giallo came out after Dari Argento had set the template for the genre with "Bird with Crystal Plumage". Strangely though, it seems to be a throw-back to the earlier Umberto Lenzi/Carroll Baker gialli like "Paranoia" or "A Quiet Place to Kill". The beginning is almost unforgivably slow with romantic longueurs of very beautiful idle rich people frolicking on the beautiful Cote de Azure beach while 60's Europop tunes play on the soundtrack (the movie often resembles a more staid French thriller like "La Piscine" than a Spanish/Italian gialli) . The plot, when it finally kicks in, is actually pretty good, but this movie is not as deleriously stylized nor is it anywhere near as violent as your typical giallo of that era. And it's tame even compared to the earlier gialli as far as sex goes--there's a long, ridiculous scene where the lead actress goes topless but the view is always obstructed by something (which resembles a running gag in "Austin Powers" more than anything else). It's hard to believe that three years later this same Spanish director would do the uber-sleazy "Beyond Erotica".

Still, tame does not necessarily translate to bad. This film has some good twists to it and is pretty entertaining when it get's going.

Hard to sympathise with this gang.

[parry_na · 6/10 · 12 September 2018]

Married Ruth and Miguel separate after Ruth finds a new man, Paul, whom she flaunts in front of her soon-to-be ex with not a care in the world. Thus she embarks on her fling, with which Director José María Forqué is far more interested in than we are. The pairing is smugness personified, and gorgeous looking as they may be, Analía Gadé and Jean Sorel, don't invest the characters with anything much more than self-satisfaction.

Although it is difficult to sympathise with Ruth even when mysterious 'accidents' start occurring, there's no doubt that Paul is a first rate twit whom you wouldn't wish on anyone. Yet, when they inevitably make-up once more and we are treated to more overlong, 'tasteful' scenes of lovemaking - mere sex is too commonplace for these two - we realise they are as bad as each other.

When Miguel (Tony Kendall) turns up once more, Paul's reverie appears to become fractured and, although things never really take off, events become slightly more interesting. Are Miguel and Paul plotting to kill Ruth? She gets the distinct impression they are.

Putting to one side the saturation scenes of the pairing, and some very unconvincing day-for-night shots, this is a very good looking film, quite aside from the gleaming blandness of the leads. The locations and landscapes, not to mention the buildings and décor, are breath-taking. Aside from that, however, we're left primarily with three smug twits (or five if you include the more peripheral Rossana Yanni's Danielle and Roland, played by Mauricio Bonuglia).

There are some interesting twists toward the end, when the audience is continually wrong-footed, but this rewarding pay-off doesn't quite justify the tediousness that fills much of the running time .

Starts slow, gets much better

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 1 November 2017]

Whether you call it In the Eye of the Hurricane, Lusty Lover or Suspicion, this film starts with plenty of style and 70's morality.

Ruth and Paul are a new couple, but Ruth is still married to Michael, who thinks their trial separation will get them back on the same page. Ruth obviously has no interest in that — she instantly runs away with Paul to a seductive Mediterranean beach.

Their love is shot in crazy colors, upside down kisses, swans in the hot tub being given as gifts, discotheques for two, making pottery together, a stone swan filled with caviar and champagne… yeah, Ruth isn't going back home.

This is a film of bad memories, strange moments of a new relationship, not getting introduced to people and it feeling weird, swirling camera shots around a dancing couple ala DePalma's Body Double (but 13 years early), bearskin rugs in front of the fire (it is 1971) and suspicion.

Soon, Ruth is involved in a couple of accidents; her brakes fail while driving and her oxygen tank runs out while diving for an octopus (while Paul drinks wine on the boat with his dog and pours wine all over the coral!). Ruth gets paranoid and believes that Paul may be trying to kill her. Or is it his war buddy Roland, who seems to care about Paul a little too much (and the dude has scars from a lion on his chest!)?

Oh yeah — Paul even goes underwater to get her some coral, where we reveal Danielle, a redhead who is a rival for Paul's affections. And Michael, Ruth's husband, comes back to visit.

Oh hey! There's Paul and Roland, just randomly shooting things in the yard. Nothing strange there! There's a great ending where Michael challenges Paul to show him how good he is. He holds up a magazine as the camera goes from the model's face to his to Ruth's. A shot rings out and it goes right between the model's eyes…and the hole reveals Ruth! What a great shot!

Oh wait — Paul, Michael and Danielle are all in it together, as they are working together to kill Ruth, who tearfully listens to their plans. Ruth runs back to the house, debating calling the police, before deciding on grabbing a gun. From there on out, it's all big zooms in on the eyes and ominous music!

Ruth writes a note to Paul that says that she knows he is coming back to kill her and she won't stop him. He was the man she was looking for all her life and she put all of her faith, trust and love into him. He represented her whole being, but now, she knows why he approached her. She never imagined anyone could be capable of such hatred and it all makes her exhausted. Now, she feels that she has to pay the price for her mistakes, as she has lost all of her faith and willpower. She sees this act as suicide and begs him to hurry.

What follows is a selection of quick cuts — a black gloved hand with a gun, swans, red faces, worried faces and then Paul appears behind her, telling her that he was going to curl up with her. A phone call breaks the silence and the police call to say that Michael has been killed.

But wait — does Ruth have a plan of her own? The dog has died and the ice cubes she made earlier are the culprit. Paul moves Danielle into their home and they begin bullying her, trying to make her confess to the fact that she murdered Michael to protect Paul. They even force themselves on her in bed in a scene that's shot more like a horror film than a romance. Ruth just lies here, mouth wide open in terror, trying to fight them off. She finally runs and hides in a corner before her ex-husband and his new love consummate their relationship.

Ruth calls the police, who come with the news that Michael was killed with a chemical from Ruth's pottery supplies that she had just asked Paul to get for her. She set everyone else up to survive and walks down the beach with Michael's friend Roland as the film closes.

I've read that this film steals a lot from Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo and A Quiet Place to Kill, which I need to find and watch. That said — there are some moments of interest here and once you get past the slow opening, it all gets rather exciting.

"Odd for such a charming fellow to be so skillful with a pistol"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 30 September 2017]

Saw this under the title of 'The Fox With A Velvet Tail' which in the context of the film doesn't make any sense. There is a dog and a swan but not a fox. A woman leaves her husband to go frolicking at a seaside villa with her current lover. Then after a while things start to happen of a sinister nature. After a while indeed as the first part is very slow until things start to liven up in the middle promisingly. But the promise is unfulfilled and the last part gets a bit silly until the unsatisfactory ending.

It all looks beautiful on the screen and the acting is decent but the script doesn't know where it is going. When one ignores the story and looks at the scenery then one isn't that engaged with the film, which I wasn't a lot of the time. The swan is lovely though.

Not a giallo. But def a great film anyway

[dopefishie · 8/10 · 9 August 2021]

This is not a giallo. I want to get this out of the way immediately b/c it has effected some reviewers opinions of the film. There are no slashings and no body count here. There is no shadowy killer dressed in black stalking victims. There is no chase sequence. None of that.

Now for what this movie is. This is the movie Umberto Lenzi always wanted to make but never quite achieved. It's the wealthy woman in a dangerous world where a lover manipulates her, and you're not sure who to trust, but you're pretty sure everyone is motivated by money. The acting is great all around. But what makes this one stand out is a script that blessedly actually makes sense and a wonderful soundtrack by Piero Piccioni!

Go into it knowing this one is a slow burn psychological thriller, and you'll have a much better time :)

giallo that gets better every time i watch it

[gorytus-20672 · 9/10 · 14 April 2021]

April 2021

Unusally for me, i hadnt seen this giallo until a couple of years ago, i have already seen my favourite giallos 30 or 40 times, but i was just watching this for the 3rd time the other day.

1st time, i wasn't really sure i thought much of it, then with the 2nd viewing it was definitely a keeper and the 3rd viewing suddenly this is a really good giallo.

I think the only disappointment is the lead actress is not really an established gaillo actress, such as Edwige Fenech or Barbara Bouchet or Anita Strindberg, so i could just care about her a little bit more.

Still its a very good giallo

9 out of 10.

made me gasp and smile

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 17 February 2018]

I was surprised but delighted to discover that although I had a copy of a copy of this somewhere, I have never actually ever seen it before. Doubly delighted to discover that this Blu-ray print is so wonderful and with a rather catchy song too, this is rather a fun film to watch. Nothing terribly violent or bloody and even the infamous skin shots are rather carefully shot but this certainly has a certain something and is a joy to watch. Jean Sorel is fine, much as he always is but the two girls are very effective and such is the storyline that we are genuinely surprised on more than one occasion. Very entertaining, made me gasp and smile.

A tantalizingly twisted, irresistibly glamorous Giallo diorama for refined film hedonists of all ages!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 9/10 · 24 January 2021]

Fabulously flamboyant Spanish filmmaker, José María Forqué dazzlingly conjurors up one of the more luridly louche offerings of the superbly slinky, perkily permissive 1970s, with his divinely duplicitous Giallo, 'In The Eye of the Hurricane' which eye-bogglingly remains an entrancing, diabolically devious, slaveringly salty, perkily psycho-delic, salaciously skin-drenched, tantalizingly twisted, irresistibly glamorous Giallo diorama for refined film hedonists of all ages!

The stylish, sensationally suspenseful, tremulously titillating, dreamy-delicious erotic thriller, 'In The Eye of the Hurricane' is also known as the far more mellifluous-sounding, 'La Volpe dalla coda di velluto' (1971) and is generously endowed with an abundantly sultry, appealingly sun-slathered sexiness, now all glamorously gussied up in fashionably freakadelic High Definition! This erotically charged, murderously overheated ménages à trois is a deadly-decadent descent into juicily jet-setting, 'Martini-minxes-gone-mad', aqua-netting Giallo doom! This exquisitely playful Costa-del-death' celluloid curiosity has an outrageously camp 'swans-in-the-bathtub' eccentricity that electrifies 'In The Eye of the Hurricane' with an arrestingly perverse quality, making the misbegotten machinations of these handsome protagonists all the more fascinating! Those estimable cult aficionados at 88 Films have once again lovingly restored another exotic, little-seen 70s Giallo gem to a remarkably pristine quality!