Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972) – Film Review

Director: Lucio Fulci
Cast: Florinda Bolkan, Barbara Bouchet, Tomas Milian
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

The Poet of the Macabre or The Godfather of Gore… whichever of Lucio Fulci’s nicknames you prefer, there’s no doubt that when it came to the horror genre, his striking visuals made him stand out in the crowd.

But there was far more to Fulci than an ability to scare his audience, or repulse them with gruesome scenes. During his long career, he also made comedies, spaghetti Westerns and giallo; the latter, for the uninitiated, were a collection of Italian movies prevalent in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s which usually focused on crime with elements of the slasher movie, sexploitation and psychological chills thrown in for good measure.

One of the best of Fulci’s work in the genre is Don’t Torture a Duckling which, unusually for this type of film, has an urban setting, taking place in rural southern Italy, where a young boy has been found murdered.

“Shocking tale”

Several of his classmates are subsequently killed off, with the finger of suspicion initially pointing at a local simpleton, and then a woman suspected of being a witch.

Two outsiders – Andrea, a journalist from Rome, and Patrizia, a beauty sent to recuperate in the village where the murders take place following a drugs scandal – join forces to track down the real killer, uncovering a shocking tale in the process.

Tomas Milian and Barbara Bouchet, two veterans of the genre, take the lead roles in a tale that gives Fulci an opportunity to criticise elements of the Catholic Church, as well as the small-minded approach of some of those living in rural communities at the time.

“Genuinely tense”

The director doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to depicting violence, something for which he’s become renowned in the decades since, although the final scene depicting the killer’s fate is rather laughingly rendered. And that’s a shame, because Don’t Torture a Duckling is one of Fulci’s most successful works, featuring a genuinely tense and thrilling plot.

It also features wonderful cinematography from Sergio D’Offizi and an atmospheric soundtrack by Riz Ortolani.

Special features include interviews with the cast and crew, video essays and an audio commentary by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films.