By the mid-1970s, the appeal of the giallo genre had begun to wane. Whilst not as prolific as they had been, there were still such productions released with some success. 'Eyeball' features a tour bus, the host of which is the staple giallo 'horrible male'; not so much a red herring, just a bit of a cocky twit (his stream of practical jokes only succeed in scaring the girls on the trip, which he alone finds raucously amusing).
Murders begin, directed at the female members of the cast. And amongst the gore involved is the removal of one eye. There's a brief but particularly gruesome moment when a farm-girl who is busy feeding the pigs gets attacked. As she falls to the ground minus one eye, the animals move hungrily in Among the group of attractive nubiles is a lesbian couple, one of whom is hugely insecure and jealous of her partner. Their arguments seem only an excuse to film them making up afterwards.
The acting in this is invariably good. Andrés Mejuto is very commanding as Inspector Tudela, fearlessly pursuing the mystery despite his career nearing its end. The more he mentions his imminent retirement, the more I fear he might not live long enough to reach it! His subordinate Inspector Lara (José María Blanco) is clipped and eager to learn. John Richardson, relieved of the furs and excess hair that adorned him during Hammer's '10 Million Years BC (1966)' is authoritative as hero Mark, and thankfully devoid of the smugness that often afflicts leading giallo men.
Bruno Nicolai's music is excellent as usual, but re-occurring, whilst the locations are as captivating as you might expect. After a gruesome unmasking, the villain is a genuine surprise. Her end-of-scheme gloating is as gloriously clichéd as these moments often are, and none the less effective for that.
Murders begin, directed at the female members of the cast. And amongst the gore involved is the removal of one eye. There's a brief but particularly gruesome moment when a farm-girl who is busy feeding the pigs gets attacked. As she falls to the ground minus one eye, the animals move hungrily in Among the group of attractive nubiles is a lesbian couple, one of whom is hugely insecure and jealous of her partner. Their arguments seem only an excuse to film them making up afterwards.
The acting in this is invariably good. Andrés Mejuto is very commanding as Inspector Tudela, fearlessly pursuing the mystery despite his career nearing its end. The more he mentions his imminent retirement, the more I fear he might not live long enough to reach it! His subordinate Inspector Lara (José María Blanco) is clipped and eager to learn. John Richardson, relieved of the furs and excess hair that adorned him during Hammer's '10 Million Years BC (1966)' is authoritative as hero Mark, and thankfully devoid of the smugness that often afflicts leading giallo men.
Bruno Nicolai's music is excellent as usual, but re-occurring, whilst the locations are as captivating as you might expect. After a gruesome unmasking, the villain is a genuine surprise. Her end-of-scheme gloating is as gloriously clichéd as these moments often are, and none the less effective for that.