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 DON’T TORTURE A
DUCKILING (Anchor
Bay) DVD. 1972. Italian giallo. 102 minutes. NR, slight gore, brief
nudity. Directed by Lucio Fulci. Several young boys are brutally murdered
in a small Italian village and the locals are itching to find out who the killer
is. Along with the police, a hard-nosed reporter and wacky young lady
investigate the crimes and hope to find the child killer. As the reporter
begins his conquest, he realizes there are a number of suspects within the
village. First, we have the town moron who is often the butt of the young
boy’s jokes. Of course, the town witch is a suspect solely because she
is a witch, and because she supposedly killed her baby years before. Last
but not least, there’s the town floozy who likes to seduce young boys
and walk around naked in front of them. This charming chick was also
involved in a drug scandal, which her rich Daddy bailed her out of. But
wait, could there be a witness to one of the brutal attacks? Yup, but the
witness is a little girl who can’t hear, talk, or even communicate with
others. My God, who is the killer and what exactly is the motive behind
the killings?
Although this flic appears to be your
average “who done it” thriller, it really isn’t. The killings are a
bit unsettling due to the fact that the victims are children. Although, I
did find it hard to feel all that bad for the boys because they were
little pricks and got on my nerves. However, any time a child is killed or
murdered, things tend to be extra sad or weird. Fulci also tackles a
touchy subject concerning the town floozy seducing the boys. She flirts
with them, prances around nude for one of them, and even tries to contact
one of the boys to “play.” Of course, if I was a boy and had a grown
woman after me, I would love it. But to see it as an adult (for lack of a
better word) was rather icky. The nude scene is rather brief and exhibits
the woman’s boobs and butt. Nothing to get all worked up over, although,
she is a cute 70’s chickie. The gore is nothing to make note of. The
ending gore scene is meant to be shocking and gross, but it just made me
laugh hysterically. I will say this, the ending close up shots are
original. The DVD is presented in widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is
enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Special features include: cast/crew bios,
interactive menus, scene access. The picture is crystal clear and the
sound is right on, but there really is nothing special to see or hear. A
video tape would be just as good. Italian giallo fans are going to dig
this DVD. – Denis Sheehan
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