Some people really like Don't Torture A Duckling. They view it as a great giallo, and they view it as a great film from director Lucio Fulci. I need to start this review by saying that I am not one of those people. It's generally entertaining, but not necessarily in the way that was intended.
The plot is quite simple. A number of children have been murdered in a small Italian town. The police work their way through a few suspects, including a woman who seems interested in witchcraft, while a visiting journalist (Andrea, played by Tomas Milian) and a shamed young woman (Patrizia, played by Barbara Bouchet) stumble on some information that may eventually lead them to solving the case.
Co-written by Fulci with Roberto Gianviti and Gianfranco Clerici, this is, on the one hand, a sharp commentary on hypocrisy and at least one major institution. On the other hand, it's a bit too silly and amused by the many distractions littering the runtime to be considered a real classic. I assume that those who are fans of it appreciate the sleazy vibe and the nasty edge to it, especially in the cold approach to depicting the multiple child deaths, but there's a disappointing lack of tension here, nor anything that could be considered particularly stylish or visually attractive (with the notable exception of Miss Bouchet, of course).
Milian and Bouchet are the stars, even if they have to linger in the background as the film heads off to show us another murder or a suspect being side-eyed, at the very least. The fact that Bouchet has to act in a couple of scenes in which she teases a couple of different young boys is an odd choice, but one that all involved commit to. Florinda Bolkan is the witchy woman who becomes the number one suspect, Irene Papas and Marc Porel end up dragged into the unfolding pain and misery, and Vito Passeri is enjoyable as a character who has to convince everyone that he "didn't murder any kids, honest, it was just an opportunity to make some money by demanding a ransom in exchange for details of where a body is buried".
This doesn't have any of the Fulci treats that I find in many of his other features, personally. It's not even his best slasher movie to make use of a duck (that would be the dark and violent The New York Ripper, which has the killer being ducky during a number of phone calls). I'm not one to yuck anyone's yum though, as it were, and many others would probably recommend this. I didn't hate it, and it's too enjoyably bonkers to completely dismiss, but I can't see me being keen to revisit it as I revisit a number of other Fulci greats.
5/10
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