Evil Eye

Evil Eye

  

"Do you think it's possible for a nightmare to continue when one's awake?"

  

Playboy expatriate Peter Crane (Jorge Rivero), who is haunted by dreams of satanic rituals and anguished souls, is shocked to meet a woman, Yvonne Chevrel (Lone Flemming) who shares the same visions. Peter is inexplicably compelled to murder Yvonne but then immediately wakes up from a dream - but was it a dream? And are the objects that seem to move on their own part of his hallucinations? To add to the confusion, Peter starts receiving threatening calls and letters from a blackmailer, who threatens to expose him as a murderer.  Even though Peter seeks help from psychiatrist Dr. Stone (Richard Conte) and beautiful Dr. Turner (Pilar Velásquez), he keeps envisioning murders before they happen. Is Peter insane? Or is he merely the puppet of a satanic cult? Skeptical Inspector Rameri (Anthony Steffen) tries to find answers and may become a believer in the process.

  

Evil Eye (not to be confused with The Girl Who Knew Too Much, which is sometimes also called The Evil Eye) is an interesting blend of Spasmo's psychadelic weirdness and L'Aldila's sense of supernatural dread, seasoned with elements and images from Dario Argento's early work.  It all amounts to a confusing mishmash of plot threads where motivations and logic get hazy, culminating in an anticlimactic ending that was certainly meant to be a heady twist.

• Evil Eye was co-written by Julio Buchs, who was responsible for Murder By Music. 
• Please to enjoy an appearance by legendary giallo actor Luciano Piggozi (credited here as Alan Collins).
• The Argento influences include shots of a creepy doll, dark trees blowing in the wind, glass breaking in slow motion and a ghostly face appearing in a high window.
• The title makes sense because it refers to the charm pennant that Inspector Ramieri carries (at his wife's insistence) to ward off evil spirits.
• The original Italian title, "Eroticofollia" translates as "Erotic Madness."

What the Hell am I Watching?

Even with all the voodoo stuff, naked ghosts, moving objects and unexplained ideas in this movie, the weirdest scene is the one where Peter and his girlfriend Tanya (Pia Giancaro) shower, brush their teeth and make out all at the same time.

Peter meets an old woman who, it turns out, is a ghost - but her timeline doesn't add up at all. His friend's wife, Elizabeth (Daniella Giordano) says that the old woman died three days before, implying that she was buried or at the morgue. But later, the police find the old woman's body in the yard. If Elizabeth knew the old woman was dead, why did she leave the corpse in her yard for three days? And are we to presume that Peter killed the woman three days ago, forgot about it, and then came back to see Elizabeth? 

Fashion Moment

 Early on, Peter wakes up in this stylish yellow (yes, "giallo") kimono.

Peter sees the doctors about his confusing dreams - but what he really needs is a cure for Saturday Night Fever.

 

And when he stops by Derek and Elizabeth's house, he's decked out in head-to-toe acid washed denim (shirtless, of course).

  

Naked Girl Killed In A Park

Naked Girl Killed In a Park

Johann Wallenberger, a wealthy industrialist, emerges from the haunted house ride at a Madrid amusement park dead and missing a bag of cash. His insurance company is suspicious, of course, so they assign the case to their top investigator, playboy detective Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman). Chris goes undercover by starting a relationship with Wallenberger's youngest daughter, Catherine (Pilar Velasquez) and she soon takes him home to meet her outspoken sister Barbara (Patrizia Adiutori) and her mother, Magda (Irina Demick). But Chris finds more than he bargained for as the fragile Catherine takes ill, hot-blooded Barbara seduces him, and Magda loses her grip on reality in the wake of her husband's suspicious death. Before long, more killings occur – could they be covering up a blackmail scheme? Or are long-held grudges finally coming due? Could the killer be Gunther (Howard Ross), the creepy caretaker or Magda herself? Or perhaps Chris's rival investigator at the insurance company is sabotaging his reputation?

The title Naked Girl Killed In a Park (not to be confused with Naked You Die) has a sensational newspaper-headline urgency, but the story hits all the standard giallo beats. It does have three endings, though. About an hour in you'll say "boy, they wrapped that up quicker than usual" and then discover that there are still questions to answer. Then there's a twist and a killer is named. Then that killer is murdered and the real mastermind is dispatched in a satisfyingly gruesome fashion.

• The title is sort of accurate. A naked girl is found in a garden on the grounds of the Wallenberger estate - not a public park as the title suggests. Johann's body was found fully clothed in an amusement park.
• You may remember Adolfo Celi (Inspector Huber) from Who Saw Her Die? or as Largo in Thunderball.
• The same year he composed the score to Naked Girl Killed In a Park, Carlo Savina conducted the recording sessions for Nino Rota's Oscar-winning soundtrack to The Godfather.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

 Shortly after they meet, Chris takes Catherine on a date to the amusement park. Yes, the same amusement park where her father was found murdered only days before. Way to be sensitive, Chris.

Fashion Moment

Just because she's in mourning doesn't mean Magda can't dress a little flashy. Check out this sparkly sequined jumpsuit.

And this sexy, backless evening gown.