Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)

While never being my favorite film from Lucio Fulci, "Don't Torture a Duckling" is definitely one of the better 'giallos' I have seen which I make a point to revisit from time to time. Not one of his 'funner' or 'sleaziest' movies, but there's enough here to sink one's proverbial teeth into, I'd say.

Dead, adolescent boys begin turning up around a rustic Italian village and the local authorities are rolling up their sleeves to find the killer. A plethora of suspects are brought into the picture, such as the town pervert, the town witch doctor and the hot rich chick that is laying low after recently turning up in a drug-related scandal. All while a determined journalist begins sifting through the accused in search of the real murderer and his/her motive...

Being one of his earlier forays into the 'giallo' market, "Duckling..." is far from his goriest work, but still has a nasty, mean-spirited 'tone' to it. Not much in the way of on-screen child killing, though the aftermath sequences are effective - involving battered kid corpses and baby remains. Not to mention the pretty 'rough' chain lashing of a woman. The extraordinarily sexy Barbara Bouchet offers up the eye-candy with an undeniably memorable nude scene (in which she sexually propositions a prepubescent boy, which was awesome...) which will certainly get your 'nethers' tingling. And, while not huge on gore and slaughter, the plot is solid enough to hold your attention with it's numerous twists and somewhat peculiar pay-off (sparks??...). For Fulci or 'giallo' fans, in general, this film is a must.

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