Directed by Enzo G. Castellari (The inglorious bastards), Cold eyes of fear is a stylish giallo in the form of a home invasion thriller, laced with hallucinatory imagery and backed with an edgy score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone. An ex-con abducts the nephew of the judge who put him behind bars, and holds the nephew and his beautiful companion (Giovanna Ralli) hostage in their home. But the criminal's carefully-planned revenge runs off the rails when he realizes they are caught up in an even more elaborate plot, orchestrated by more powerful forces. From the opening scene, in which a woman is - or perhaps is not - brutally assaulted by a prowler in her home, Castellari plays with the idea of illusion and deception, and weaves these elements throughout the film. Cold eyes of fear becomes a claustrophobic game of cat and mouse, with the viewer caught in the center of the deadly guessing game.