Don't torture a Duckling

[peteyt]

So I wasn’t planning to watch another Fulci film for my next Giallo one but this has been a film I;ve been wanting to watch for ages, especially considering it’s often rated as one of his best. I’ve probably seen all of his Giallo films now apart from Murder Rock although I’ve not reviewed all of them as of yet.

Now as I mentioned this film is often said to be one of his best - It certainly is interesting but I’d not go that far. It seems quite popular as it touches on some taboo subjects, mainly the fact that the majority of the film's victims are young children. While sometimes children die in Giallo films, victims are mainly adults or late teenagers. It is quite unusual to have the majority of those killed to be young children and I can see, certainly for the time it was released, for this to be seen as shocking. I suppose if you're a parent (I’m not) this would probably be a lot more effective (not saying it wasn’t good).

Children are the film's main point, with someone killing them in a small Italian Village. The villagers are portrayed as quite superstitious, with the film basically taking jabs at superstition and religion, which would have added to the tabboness and I can imagine it causing some controversy.

The film has a lot of red herrings, and I spent most of the film with multiple ideas of who could be the killer. I found this kind of works and doesn’t - I do enjoy a film that keeps me guessing, but sometimes it can be nice if the film adds in things that later make sense and point the finger. The film does kind of try to do that, but with so many misdirections you just don’t know what to do.

However it does partly work, because the film shows the majority of its characters as flawed people or at least people with pasts and secrets. It kind of reminded me a little bit of Twin Peaks, just not as blown up - a small town with people who may seem ordinarily, maybe even boring, but that's just on the surface. One of the main female characters is a strange one because she seems to be trying to seduce the very young children, which as others who have reviewed the film mention, adds a weird awkward edge to some of the scenes.

The children themselves though are strange, because while they are very young and apparently supposed to be around 12, they seem to do stuff that would hint at them at being older, such as smoking, being too interested in girls etc. I’m not saying that male children at that age aren’t always like that, but normally young children that young are portrayed as just that, young children, so I found the film a bit strange and off putting to begin with.

It’s also important to note that this film came well before Fulci’s gory films like Zombi and The Beyond. There are some violent scenes but the majority of deaths actually happen off screen and we just see the damage later. This was interesting but I’ve seen it done better such as in Henry - Portrait of a Serial Killer.

I just felt in general, the film was a little generic. Some great scenic shots and I like what they tried to do by exploring taboo stuff, but I much preferred The Psychic which I reviewed last time - that was far from your typical Giallo film and I thought the idea and even the way it was executed was really good and clever and something I'd expect from Argento rather than Fucli.


I've read an interesting theory, but to explain it you need to know who the killer is so I've spoiled it bellow. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
The film is a dig at the Church for telling people to deny their sexual urges - the priest seems to say when the lead female arrived the killings started, hinting that he possibly started having feelings for her, causing rage and in turn leading him to kill. Possibly killing to preserve their innocence 

[endo]

I've seen this movie before and I liked it. I need to watch it again, maybe this year for the Halloween marathon. Nice review.

[peteyt]

Sept 4, 2020 14:02:10 GMT -5 endo said:

I've seen this movie before and I liked it. I need to watch it again, maybe this year for the Halloween marathon. Nice review.

Yeah I liked it just didn't really think it was as amazing as a lot of people make out. One thing I have been finding is once you've seen a few Giallos a lot of them are quite similar.

I think what this film might have missed was a bit more tension. There's a scene I didn't mention with one of the children hiding in long grass with someone walking around cutting it seemingly and it worked and added some tension wondering If this was the killer and if he'd get caught although the scene is also random and never really explained.

Have you seen the psychic as that to me was far more entertaining and just more interesting and clever to me

[endo]

Not sure if I've seen that one or not. Have to check and see if I have it.

[NDX]

I feel a lot of Giallo flicks fall flat. It might be the way they told the stories. Usually the gore was solid, though, so it's worth sitting through these films at least once.

[peteyt]

Sept 5, 2020 20:58:26 GMT -5 NDX said:

I feel a lot of Giallo flicks fall flat. It might be the way they told the stories. Usually the gore was solid, though, so it's worth sitting through these films at least once.

I do prefer when Giallos are clever. For example Argento often gives you clues that tells you who the killers are but generally you don't tend to realise its significance until the end. Memory is a recurring theme he uses, with often the lead character realising he's seen something important but can't work it out the same as the audience

[peteyt]

Sept 5, 2020 20:30:45 GMT -5 endo said:

Not sure if I've seen that one or not. Have to check and see if I have it.

I belive it might be on YouTube. For a fulci film it is very restrained but the concept really interested me

[gorepolice]

This one was okay, but only a one time watch for me. Never been a fan of giallo films, they all feel too samey for my taste.