Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)

Who payed the critics

Great Film overall

Charming and brutal

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

No wonder this was Lucio Fulci's personal favourite out of everything he directed. This is just about the darkest giallo you'll ever see, as it throws out all the kitsch, quirks and style and replaces it with social commentary, rage, and genuine emotion. (some spoilers ahead, but I don't reveal the killer)First off, the film is set out in rural Italy, swapping luxurious apartments for rocky hills and shepherds, and it's not sexy models being murdered, but a group of young pre-teen boys who are turning up strangled around the town. It's a strongly religious town where the boys are part of a youth club run by a young priest, but there's also an old magician living in the hills, with Florinda Balkan as his acolyte.Florinda sets the tone of the film as we see shots of her digging up a child's skeleton cut with that of three young boys taking the pish out of the town idiot. One of these boys encounters a totally naked Barbara Bouchet, who is new in town, and winds up the young guy by pretending to seduce him.*One of the boys goes missing and soon the town and land are full of Italian policemen with dogs. An mystery person claims to have kidnapped the boy and blackmails the family, only for it to turn out to be the town idiot who found the body and buried it. The cries of horror from the townspeople as the body is uncovered and their continual invading of scenes raises the tension throughout this film, as they turn on any suspect and bay for their blood - especially that of 'local witch' Florinda Balkan, whom we see doing voodoo on some child like dolls!Most of the cops aren't used to dealing with these mountain folk, and the only voice of reason seems to be journalist Tomas Milian, who is very restrained here. He seems to be the only one with any chance at all of figuring out the case, as he's the only one who seems to take a step back from the mounting hysteria. Unlike other gialli, Fulci really seems to have something to say here, and goes on to attack organised religion and its affects on sexuality, how it controls the masses, and the general ignorance of rural communities and the mob mind. No one in the film is entirely likable at all, and there's a whole vibe of alienation throughout the whole film, punctuated by an unidentified woman who sings, somewhere out in the hills.Of course the most famous scene of this film is where Florinda Balkan is cornered and beaten to death with chains by the murdered kid's fathers. With a car radio blasting inane tunes, Florinda is gorily ripped to shreds by chains and left to die. Except she doesn't. She crawls painfully to the highway (the only modern thing in the film) as happy families in cars blissfully drive by, and dies looking on a world she was never allowed. Fulci lingers on her corpse for a painful amount of time afterwards. The man was no hack and it's easily one of the most emotionally effective scenes in giallo.There's many other themes at play here, but I can't touch on them as they'll reveal the killer. This is a truly great giallo and just a plain great film. Viva Fulci!*Fulci got hauled over the coals for a lot of reasons because of this film, but he was brought to court for using a child in the nude scenes with Barbara Bouchet. Fulci had to reveal he actually dressed a dwarf in the kid's clothes for the scenes they appear together on screen. He also got blacklisted for having a go at the Catholic Church!

In the small Italian town of Accendura a young boy goes missing. A ransom note is delivered and the police arrest a suspect, the town idiot who claims he is innocent. To make matters worse, the boy's body is found strangled. With the public incited by this even they call out for the suspect's blood. But then another boy goes missing.The body count rises and the list of suspects remains as narrow as it did from the start. A promiscuous newcomer to the town is a suspect at one time but she has an alibi. Forming an alliance with a reporter the pair attempt to solve to murders before the police.The police in the meantime continue to look for the more standard suspects. One is a recluse the townsfolk consider a magician. A woman who helps him is suspected as well, having had issues with the boys when they were alive.The only tie that the boys shared was playing in the local churchyard. The priest their offers to aid the reporter and young woman sharing any and all information that he has. But as the film progresses the odds of finding out just who the murderer is remains to be seen.The movie progresses slowly and can be a bit confusing at times. Much of the story does has the usual problem of losing something in translation. It wasn't until watching the extras that I learned the film was talking about the difference in lower and upper class areas, something that would be unknown to most. While I enjoyed the film I found it not among my favorite Fulci films or among my favorite giallo films. Still, it is an important part of film history and deserves the spectacular treatment that Arrow Video has given it.Director Lucio Fulci had directed another giallo film the year before with A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN but was more well-known for the gore soaked horror films he made. These included ZOMBIE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE BEYOND and HOUSE BY THE Cemetery. He was considered one of the premiere Italian directors during the 70s and 80s. But for some reason only those who consider themselves horror fans are acquainted with his name.With the popularity of first VHS and now DVD that's changed. More and more of his movies have become available in recent years. Now Arrow is providing a fantastic looking edition of this film. I saw the film years ago on VHS from Anchor Bay. While the quality was better than a bootleg it still seemed fuzzy and faded. That's not the case with this new edition. The film looks better than ever.In addition to that Arrow has accompanied the feature with their usual bag of goodies when it comes to extras. Those include a new audio commentary track by Troy Howarth (the author of SO DEADLY, SO PERVERSE: 50 YEARS OF Italian GIALLO FILMS), THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS a new video discussion with Mikel J. Koven (author of LA DOLCE MORTE: VERNACULAR CINEMA AND THE Italian GIALLO FILM), EVERY WOMAN THEIR OWN HELL new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger, interviews with co-writer/director Lucio Fulci, actor Florinda Bolkan, cinematographer Sergio D'Offizi, assistant editor Bruno Micheli and assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork.

Despite having a loyal legion of fans and cementing his name as one of the pioneers of Italian splatter, the work of the so-called 'Godfather of Gore' (a title I reserve for Herschell Gordon Lewis and nobody else), Lucio Fulci, has never completely won me over. Arguably his most popular film, Zombie Flesh Eaters, left me struggling to stay awake, and the likes of The Black Cat, The New York Ripper and Warriors of the Year 2072 range from p**s-poor to tedious at best, although it could be said that these are minor works in an extensive filmography. However, I adored The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, and there is something quite spectacular about his early gialli. A Lizard in a Woman's Skin was dazzling and truly weird, and Don't Torture a Duckling, made the following year, stands on its own as one of the strangest and most engrossing thrillers to be found in the genre.In a remote Italian village, three young boys spy on couples about to engage in sex through a barn door and later torment the local idiot and peeping tom Giuseppe (Vito Passeri). Soon enough, the boys start turning up dead, murdered and discarded in the surrounding areas. Giuseppe is arrested, but is soon released when another boy is killed while the simpleton is in custody. A media circus descends on the town, while intrigued journalist Andrea (Tomas Milian) and police chief Captain Modesti (Ugo D'Alessio) search for clues. Tongues start to wag as the beautiful Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet) arrives in town with a shady past and skimpy outfits, as she is quickly viewed with suspicion. Yet with a town full of eccentrics and loners, it's difficult to figure out just who the killer is. Is it the old nut at the top of the hill, or are the murders the result of black magic performed by demented witch Maciara (Florinda Bolkan)?The village of Accendura and its surroundings are a beautiful backdrop for the carnage and unspeakable horror playing out in the story. The ignorance of isolated small-town folks and the dangers of pitch-fork-waving mentality seems to be the main theme, something that Fulci explored later in his zombie movie City of the Living Dead. However, themes tend to take a back-seat in a film this bonkers, and Fulci has fun lining up the band of possible suspects and weaving in convoluted red-herring sub-plots to keep the audience guessing. There are many strange moments, including a scene in which Patrizia seems unnervingly comfortable displaying her naked body in front of a nervous young boy. Fulci can't resist dabbling in a bit of gore, and it's here that Don't Torture a Duckling stutters, climaxing with an unintentionally hilarious death featuring some diabolical special effects. Still, it's up there with the director's best work, and a must-see for fans of the more out-there gialli.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

"Don't Torture A Duckling" is a rather unsettling movie which central themes are rather quite sick and twisted, but being a big fan of Italian slasher movies and the fact this movie was directed by Lucio Fulci, I was very keen to give this movie a go. The setting is rather unique and as always the scenery and location is as beautiful as ever. That's where all the action takes place, the victims are not beautiful scantily clad models but young boys, despite a list of suspects the police as always clueless so it's up to a reporter and a local woman to work together and solve the crimes themselves. That aspect of the movie I rather enjoyed and all the performances by the cast were convincing and each worked well to they're situation.In what starts off as a murder mystery quickly becomes violent and vicious especially the part where a local woman gets lynched by a mob of angry townspeople, which was prolonged and very nasty. The child murders are thankfully not shown in great detail but still shocking and unnerving , and the final showdown was a real highlight and kept me on tenterhooks which I enjoyed.All in all this movie offers a rather different story in a beautiful setting, but still the central theme is not to everyone's taste.