31 days of Horror: Day Twelve: Occhi Di Cristallo

Occhi Di Cristallo (Eyes Of Crystal) (2004)

Directed by Eros Puglielli

One of my favourite film genres is the Giallo. A type of Italian Thriller that was pioneered in the 60's by Mario Bava under the influence of Hitchcock's Psycho, and exploded in popularity in the 70's with directors like Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci. Umberto Lenzi, and Sergio Martino. Gialli gave lip service to complicated mystery plots, but really put the focus on stylish visuals, beautiful people, and explicit violence. The violence of the Giallo led directly into the American style Slasher, and as the Slasher rose in popularity, the Giallo went into decline. In the last few years a number of film makers have gone looking to the Giallo for inspiration, with mixed results. It seems there was some magic quality that allowed even mediocre directors to produce passable Gialli in the 70's, that has been lost. Even so when I start hearing about a new Neo-Giallo, I know, I'll eventually track it down.

Occhi Di Cristallo is a modern Italian Serial Killer Thriller that works on a number of levels. First off it works as a post-Se7en Thriller. You don't need any knowledge of obscure Italian cinema to enjoy this well acted suspenseful film. If you do have a knowledge of Giallo, you will immediately notice the influence. The elaborate whodunit structure, with a dizzying number of red herrings. The fetishistic, and obsessive nature of the killer. The thematic focus on eyes, and watching, and surface meaning. Even the end of the film made me think of the end of a classic Fulci movie. This blending of styles is a big part of what makes the movie work. I watched Hélène Cattet, and Bruno Forzani's Amer (2009) last year with a friend of mine who also likes Gialli, and we both found it plodding and pretentious. It felt like it was going through a check list of elements, whereas Occhi Di Cristallo seems much more at ease with it self.

The plot of the film is about Ispettore Amald, a handsome cop who has a hard time keeping his violence in check, and who has obsessive desire to protect women, connected to a failure in his past. When a doll obsessed serial killer goes on an extended killing spree,  Amald is on the case. Also a young collage student has been having a problem with a stalker. These fairly standard Thriller elements are handled with an abundance of style. The film happily revels in it's own silly trashiness, and so we're happy to be carried along to the improbable ending.

I mostly don't care for the Serial Killer Thriller, so it says a lot that I enjoyed this film as much as I did. Fans of stylish Thrillers whether Giallo or not will find much to enjoy here.