From the early 1970’s Cold Eyes Of Fear is a largely slow-burning home invasion thriller, with slight giallo undertones, and some effective moments of tension & shadowy unease. The Italian/ Spanish production is set in London with some great shots of the city in the 70s and features a moody baying to brooding jazz score written by Ennio Morricone. Here from Powerhouse is a new release of the film- coming as either a UHD or Blu-Ray disc- taking in a new 4k scan of the picture, a new commentary track, and a great selection of new extras.

Cold Eyes Of Fear ( aka Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura, Desperate Moments) was made in the year 1971. The film was helmed by Rome-born Enzo G. Castellari- who between the mid-’60s and early 2010s had thirty-two features to his name. And it’s fair to say he managed to dip into a fairly few cult/ exploitation genres with his output. Going from spaghetti western satire Any Gun Can Play(1967), to wartime spy drama Eagles Over London(1969), onto Poliziotteschi The Heroin Busters(1977). Through to Sharkploation The Last Shark(1981), and a fair few post-apocalyptic thrillers/ action films such as 1990:The Bronx Warriors(1982),  Warriors Of The Wasteland(1983), and Escape The Bronx (1983).

Cold Eyes Of Fear opens in a fairly deceptively taut and pacey manner. As we go from busy & fog-bound footage of 70’s London all soundtracked by ragged ‘n’ raw jazz cue- blending together blaring horn & scorching guitar work. Onto sleazed ‘n’ tense footage of a man with a switchblade cutting off the underwear of a woman, then throwing her on a bed. Because after this the film rather slams on the breaks to largely coast along.

The film's main focus/ characters are thickly-haired & large sideboared lawyer Peter (Gianni Garko), and punchy Italian hooker Anna(Giovanna Ralli). After a few drinks at a London club the pair land up back at the home of Peter’s judge uncle Bedell (Fernando Rey)- and start trying to get it on. Fairly soon they discover the body of the Judges butler, and out of the shadows steps black booted crim Quill (Julián Mateos)- who has seemingly invaded the house.

As the film unfolds the three get a few visitors- who may/ may not be helpful. As well as taking more than a few calls from the judge, who is working late at night in his office. There is a feeling of slow-burning tension/low-boil claustrophobia thoughout. With along the way, some interesting revels/ twists occur. Aside from the already mentioned rather sleazed switchblade unclothing, there are a few other subtle touches of giallo- though this is most certainly more of a slow-burn thriller.

Both leads are good enough in their roles- with Rey as the on-the-phone judge adding a little bit more edged/ tension to the proceedings. The soundtrack is largely a fairly primal & raw affair, and if I was to compare the most prevalent cues/ focus- I’d say the grittier/ discordant side of Miles Davis Electric period.

On the whole Cold Eyes Of Fear is a good enough slow-burn home invasion thriller. Both its title, and its early scenes are somewhat misleading- having one expecting a more nasty & cruel film, but in reality, it’s a fairly talky affair. Yes, we do get a few moments of taut tension, and the odd bit of violence- this is one of the more tamer films in the home invasion genre.

Moving onto this new release, and we get a 4K scan of the film- this is nicely well-defined in its 70’s colour & tones, with even the nighttime scenes being well-defined. On the new extras side, we get a good selection of things. First off we get a commentary track from critics and authors David Flint and Adrian J Smith- this is a nice blend of info and banter.  They go from discussing the film's open credits, and how it was clearly filmed around the festive period in London. They point out notable supporting actors as they appear- with more than a few of them having rather tragic lives.  They talk about the clearly on-the-hoof shooting in nighttime London, and how due to its misleading start the film is seen as one of the disappointing Italian genre films of the time. They try to qualify what makes a giallo, and if the film to hand has any of these elements. We get bios of the two leads, and mentions of other notable films they appeared in. They point out some of the film's dodgier dubbing. Later on, they discuss the more dialogue-heavy scenes, with their blend of close-ups & interior shots. They comment on some of the key home invasion tropes, and some of the films more creative shots- like when they shoot up through ice cubes. They go in-depth on the director's career, and point out moments of the surreal & noir in the film. It’s an entertaining track from these two com track pros- so well worth a play.

Otherwise, we get Directing Fear( 24.18) an on-film interview with director Enzo G. Castellari, where he discusses how the film to hand came about, its production, and how he worked with its cast.  There’s An Italian in London (29.24) an on-film interview with actor Gianni Garko- he talks about his role in the film, and how it sits with the rest of his career. We have The Men in the Editing Room(26.52) a filmed interview with assistant editor Gianfranco Amicucci- discussing his work on the film. Lastly of the new stuff, we get Lovely Jon on Ennio Morricone (15.07) here the DJ & soundtrack collector discuss the film's score, Ennio Morricone and his collaborators on the score. This for me was the highlight of the interviews- as he talks about the influences on the soundtrack, how it was created, and much more. The disc is finished off with an image gallery, and trailer.

The finished release is topped off with an eighty-page book featuring a new essay by Roberto Curti, a career-spanning archival interview with director Enzo G Castellari conducted by Mark Wickum, an archival interview with actor Gianni Garko, a new interview with Giovanna Ralli, archival news reports on the death of actor Frank Wolff, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.

Cold Eyes Of Fear certainly sits at the more dialogue-heavy end of the home invasion genre- though there are effective moments of both tension & brooding atmosphere- with one or two neat twists along the way. The extras here are excellent, and really push up a passable thriller to another most worthy release from the fine folks at Powerhouse.