The Third Eye

Mino, a wealthy count and taxidermist, decides to marry his fiancée Laura despite the domineering mother who controls him. Marta, the plotting maid who also longs to be countess, resents the engagement and schemes to keep Mino under her thumb. The tense household dynamics set the stage for a deadly pursuit of status and desire.

On the eve of Laura's drive, Marta sabotages the brakes, triggering a fatal crash that sends her car plunging off a cliff. Mino witnesses the accident from behind and races to the wreck, rescuing Laura's corpse. Laura dies, setting off a chain of macabre decisions.

Mino salvages Laura's corpse from the wreck and hides the car in a lake. He transports the body to his taxidermy lab and begins preserving her as if she were an animal specimen. The completed figure is placed in their marital bed, signaling his warped obsession.

Marta eliminates Mino's mother by shoving her down a flight of stairs, removing a major obstacle to their union. The act clears the path for their plans and emboldens the couple to proceed with their macabre arrangement. The mansion becomes a stage for power and murder.

Mino begins inviting prostitutes to the mansion and has sex with them in the same bed that holds Laura's stuffed corpse. The disturbing routine underscores his detachment from reality and his use of the preserved body as a perverse silent partner. The atmosphere in the house grows increasingly unstable.

When the prostitutes see Laura's corpse in the bed, they scream in horror; Mino responds by strangling them to death. He continues to hide the crimes within the mansion, avoiding outside suspicion for the moment. Marta grows aware of the killings and starts to scheme anew.

Marta confronts Mino with the option of disposing of the bodies in acid if he marries her and makes her countess. He agrees to the idea at first, fueling the conspiracy between them. The plan would give Marta the status she craves and deepen the danger in the house.

Daniela, Laura's twin sister, shows up at the estate hoping to learn whether her sister's body was dredged from the lake. The discovery unsettles Mino, who now faces the possibility of being found out. Marta watches for opportunities to exploit the situation.

Upon seeing Daniela, Mino's mind snaps and he thinks Daniela is Laura returned from the dead. He cancels his pact with Marta and tells her to leave so he can marry Daniela. The tension escalates as his grip on reality fractures.

Marta attempts to stab Daniela with a huge butcher knife, but Mino intervenes and stabs Marta repeatedly. The scene is heavily edited in the Italian release. Marta collapses, leaving Mino to confront Daniela alone.

Leaving Marta for dead, Mino kidnaps Daniela and drives out into the countryside, ranting as they go. Marta, not actually dead, manages to drag herself to a phone to alert the authorities. A manhunt begins as the police race to intercept the couple.

Authorities mobilize after Marta's call, launching a region-wide manhunt to capture Mino before he can harm Daniela. The chase unfolds across rural roads as investigators close in. The story builds toward a confrontation with the authorities in pursuit.