Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Beyond Naschy #10 - EYEBALL (1975)


The new Beyond Naschy episode brings us another giallo and our first chance to talk about director Umbeto Lenzi. If you are only familiar with Lenzi's work through his horror movies EYEBALL might come as a shock. We discuss the amazing number of highly entertaining (and competently made!) films from this under-sung Italian genius (?) and speak about his skill at crafting fun tales.

EYEBALL is a very fast and witty murder mystery that has a number of pluses and very few minuses. One of the best elements is the energetic, exciting score by maestro Bruno Nicolai which is peppered throughout the show. Of course, the main, reoccurring theme will be familiar to longtime NaschyCast listeners but there are several other melodious tracks. The discussion ranges all over the film with each of us finding it amusing that the cast of American tourists in Spain are very much like a group of typical stereotypes from an Irwin Allen disaster epic - TOWERING EYEBALL INFERNO, perhaps? And Troy comes another step down the path of accepting that a Giallo is always going to screw you by withholding vital need-to-know information - Guessing the murderer's identity is the only chance you have because empirical evidence is useless in one of these thrillers. You just gotta enjoy the ride!

I have to give a nod to the excellent plot synopsis by Nick Thomson from his great blog DeadShed Productions. His clever way with words helped us dive into this film and give its due.  I recommend checking  his site. if you have any feedback for us please write to naschycast@gmail.com or visit us over on the Book of Faces NaschyCast page. And, thank you downloading and listening!