Contains Spoiler! This lesser known early Giallo tells the story of a young count (played by a very young looking Franco Nero) who loses his sanity completely after his fiancée has died in a car accident. The accident happened because the jealous housekeeper of the count and his dominant mother sabotaged the fiancée's car. The young count takes the body back home, only to learn that his mother has died too. She died after the housekeeper had pushed her down the stairs and beaten to death. So, now the count is alone with the murderous housekeeper, and he himself starts to kill every woman he takes home with him. The housekeeper helps him, but only to pursue her own interests. One year later, the sister of the dead fiancée appears, and she looks just like her...
Mainly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (the overtly dominant mother, the count likes to prepare dead animals, hints on necrophilia), this sinister thriller was also the inspiration for Aristide Massacesi's best horror film "Buio Omega" (1979). Filmed in black and white, it boosts an uncomfortable atmosphere throughout, and even though it's not very graphic, there are some unpleasantly violent scenes (especially a stabbing towards the end of the movie). There is also a squirm inducing sequence when the count eviscerates a dead bird to prepare it. The only thing with the movie that is annoying are the credits: Almost all people involved are credited with phony English aliases.
"Il Terzo Occhio" is a catching movie which deserves to be rediscovered by an audience keen to the Thriller and Giallo genre. For my part, I can't understand why the movie is that little known. Rating: 7 out of 10.
Mainly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (the overtly dominant mother, the count likes to prepare dead animals, hints on necrophilia), this sinister thriller was also the inspiration for Aristide Massacesi's best horror film "Buio Omega" (1979). Filmed in black and white, it boosts an uncomfortable atmosphere throughout, and even though it's not very graphic, there are some unpleasantly violent scenes (especially a stabbing towards the end of the movie). There is also a squirm inducing sequence when the count eviscerates a dead bird to prepare it. The only thing with the movie that is annoying are the credits: Almost all people involved are credited with phony English aliases.
"Il Terzo Occhio" is a catching movie which deserves to be rediscovered by an audience keen to the Thriller and Giallo genre. For my part, I can't understand why the movie is that little known. Rating: 7 out of 10.