I’m always surfing the edges of horror in October. I have to pace myself and mix things up to stay engaged. Giallo films bring thriller and mystery elements alongside gruesome murders, but Eye of the Labyrinth saves its horror to the final few minutes. Until then, it’s a whodunnit, or a didanybodydoit, or a whydidsomonemaybedoit.
Julie is looking for her missing psychiatrist (hard relate) and travels to a remote Greek island to search for him. Once there she finds herself at a villa on a clifftop with a commune of artists all acting suspiciously. The location has Glass Onion vibes, and the people are similarly kooky, but these residents are painters, actors and composers, all working under the patronage of Gerta, the terse older woman who runs the place.
Julie doesn’t make much progress until she begins to have flashbacks to a painting — an eye at the centre of a labyrinth. The twists and turns kept me hooked, and I have a soft spot for these seventies euro mysteries, especially when the people and locations are attractive. The horror at the end is good fun and Julie gets to have her revengeful moment in the sun.