Everything I'd read about this film prior to seeing it pointed to it being rubbish, but after reading the plot description; I figured that it might actually be OK. However, I was wrong. The plot sounds like Cold Eyes of Fear could be a gritty cross between the Giallo and the slew of 'house' films (e.g. House on the Edge of the Park, The Last House on the Beach) whereby criminal(s) take innocents hostage inside their home. It sort of is a cross between these genres; but it's so damned boring that any positives that may have come from this are instantly sucked away. The film takes place in London, which is unfortunate as it means that we're 'treated' to a load of phoney British accents. It really annoys me that some people actually think we talk like this! Anyway, the plot focuses on Peter; a young man who picks up an Italian hooker and takes her back to his place. However, they arrive to find a criminal in wait for them. Peter's father, a judge, then sends a copper to sort the situation; but the man who turns up is an impostor, hell-bent on revenge...
The film actually gets off to a good start...but that then turns out to be a stage show, and that pretty much sums the entire film up. Other directors have proved many times that the Giallo can be wholly entertaining, despite the often rubbish plots; but Castellari shows here that they can be really boring too! It's a shame really, as the director has proved himself to me with a trio of great crime films (The Big Racket, Street Law and The Heroin Busters), as well as one of the best Jaws rip offs in the form of The Last Shark - but the man obviously can't handle Giallo. It's strange that a man with such a penchant for violent action would make a film so boring, and perhaps one of the reason why it is so boring is that a lot of the main 'action' focuses on talking, and Castellari is obviously better suited to shooting car chases and fist fights. The acting is as crap as you would expect, and this isn't helped at all by the awful dubbing. Not even Morricone's score is up to much. Overall, don't bother with this one - there are FAR better Giallo's out there!