Don't Torture a Duckling

 

I'm hitting a lot of 1972 films. Not sure why - I'm really not trying to. :)

Today we have DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING by the masterful Lucio Fulci and he doesn't disappoint in this brutal, giallo masterwork.

 

DUCKLING came shortly after Woman in a Lizard's Skin and many years before he hit his big sweep start with Zombie in '79, but this film packs a bunch of well placed gut kicks firmly in place as the mystery plays out and it keeps you guessing all the way through.  He mentioned that the film had some political commentary tied into the plot, but it really seems to be more of a "HOLY CRAP! FULCI IS KILLING CHILDREN ALL OVER THE PLACE!" more than anything political. 

IMDB sums things up nicely here:

A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that's rife with superstition and distrust of outsiders. 

 

We have some fantastic plot development here. It's a solid story ( Sorry, I love CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, but it's really thin on plot! hehehe )  with some fun characters and wicked....WICKED scenes playing out. And some seriously messed up items throughout as well including a boy of 13 or so being seduced and teased by a nude woman when he delivers drinks to her. Seriously disturbing! heh! But, as the killings keep happening, the gravity of the situation takes over. Who is killing...and why?

And of course we get to see the wondrous Barbara Bouchet and Florinda Bolkan :::swoon::::   Dreamy. 

A fantastic giallo offering I'll say no more about. :)

A must for Fulci fans!