Eyeball

A group of tourists head to Spain for a tourist tour. All sorts of people join in, from lesbian models and photographers, amateur cameramen, and wealthy businessmen with their daughters. The trip doesn’t stay too happy for long, however, since a killer starts butchering women and ripping their left eyeballs out. Could it be Mark Burton (John Richardson), his mentally unbalanced wife Alma, his mistress Paulette (Martine Brochard), or is there someone else?
Politically incorrect yet badly hilarious, this is one of the most memorable giallo of the 1970’s, if for all the wrong reasons. The cinematography is pretty plain, and the acting ranges from bad to really bad. John Richardson has very beautiful eyes, but is incredibly dull. I also hate his forehead, it’s too big. And Martine Brochard is very beautiful as well, but very dull, except when *SPOILERS* she goes batshit insane at the end, ripping out women’s eyeballs and stuffing them inside her eye socket. It’s pretty gross but original as well. It was a real shock when she was revealed as the murderer, considering how much of a lead she was. I was expecting it to be the priest, like in Seven Blood-Stained Orchids. One thing I also liked were the killings. Umberto Lenzi was never very subtle, and it helps on an entertainment level. There is an influence of Mario Bava, especially in the opening credits, and in the murder of the young woman during the scary carnival ride. As in Bava’s blood and black lace, the greens and reds clash all over. There’s also a lot of nudity, and nice natural nudity at that, not a drop of silicon in sight. The best comes from the black lesbian model, who seems to get her clothes ripped every time she gets attacked, causing much hilarity. So yes this is a pretty cool giallo, but only because of how goofy it is.