The Giallo Files: Eye in the Labyrinth

"A naked woman doesn't have to go into explanations, especially if she's as young and beautiful as you."

When psychiatrist Lucas (Horst Frank) goes missing, his girlfriend Julie (Rosemary Dexter) sets out to find him. With the help of a dapper stranger named Frank (Adolfo Celi), her search leads to a luxury villa owned by Gerda (Alida Vali), who surrounds herself with eccentric artists. While everyone denies ever seeing Lucas, Julie keeps finding evidence that Lucas has not only been there, but that he was murdered by one of the guests. Everyone seems to have a motive, but who really killed Lucas and why? Can Julie find the killer before he strikes again? And what clues can be discovered from a mysterious painting?

High on style and light on kills, Eye in the Labyrinth (not to be confused with Eyeball, a.k.a. Red Cats in a Glass Labyrinth) is a twisted thriller that takes some liberties with giallo tropes. There's no black masked killer here, but you'll find lots of gorgeous people in gorgeous locations keeping dark secrets. If you like the visual elements of giallo more than the blood and don't care if the plot makes any sense, this one is for you.

• In a title card at the beginning of the film, it's explained that a labyrinth may be a beautiful piece of architecture, but its main purpose is to confuse and trap anyone who wanders in. So the title is a metaphor for the hostile environment of Gerda's villa.

• In the checklist above, "Gay character" has been changed to "LGBT+." It's checked for the transgender character in the film.

• Composer Roberto Nicolosi turns in a wild bebop jazz score, similar to what Ennio Morricone would provide for Dario Argento's early films, Nicolosi previously worked with Mario Bava on both Black Sunday and Black Sabbath.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

One of the main clues to Lucas's death is this painting done by pervy orphan Soro (Benjamin Lev).

This whole plot point was lifted directly from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, wherein an artist witnessed and painted a murder. The painting is even done in a style similar to the one in Crystal Plumage:

Also, the title might be a metaphor, but there are some visual references to labyrinths as well. When she first arrives in town, Julie is told to look for Lucas in an abandoned villa with winding corridors and staircases that lead nowhere. As she goes deeper in, you can see that someone has written "MOSTRO" (monster) on several walls, with arrows. Perhaps warning visitors about a minotaur?