O Segredo do Bosque dos Sonhos

Overall, this is a really good movie (pretty close to great). I actually think that when I revisit this film (as is bound to happen) I'll enjoy it more the next time through. As far as a giallo film, this movie wasn't nearly as much fun as any of Argento's entries, but it did try to do some things that I found innovative and compelling. For my first Fulci film, I was rather impressed, though I can almost say for certain he won't be replacing Argento as one of my favorite horror directors. This movie is a twisty entry into a genre I love, and it's one that I've already recommended to a few people. For our full review of Don't Torture a Duckling visit True Myth Media!

A journalist (Tomas Milian) and a morally-suspect young woman (Barbara Bouchet) try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that is rife with superstition and distrust of outsiders.

The script was constructed by a handful of writers, including Gianfranco Clerici, who is probably best known for his controversial "Cannibal Holocaust". This film in many ways is also controversial. Children are shown both as murder victims (which is taboo) and as less than innocent. The latter is probably more realistic than the Opie Taylor version of childhood, however. Over the years, the film has also come to be associated with anti-Catholicism and misogyny, though it would be far too simple to accept either of those accusations.

Briefly stated, the accusation of misogyny, at least in this film, is absurd. Yes, Barbara Bouchet is reduced to her unclothed physical form when we first meet her, so there is that. But the most gripping, emotional scene is the death of a woman and the agony drags on, eating deep into viewer's souls. If anyone watches that scene and thinks the intent was to torture a woman (on film) rather than to create sympathy, that point of view is within the viewer, not the creator.

The star names in this one are Barbara Bouchet, perhaps best known up to this point for "Casino Royale" (1967), and Tomas Milian, who took off with Carol Reed's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965). Bouchet has done well for herself, but Milian is the bigger name for fans of cult or genre film. He popped up again and again in spaghetti westerns before finally going mainstream (i.e Hollywood). Milian may be second only to Lee VanCleef in defining the entire genre.

"Duckling" is said to be Lucio Fulci's most personal film, as well as his favorite. It is also one of his better films, and it is a shame that so many others are better known (not that those others are bad movies, mind you). The voodoo, the child murders, the suspense and development of plot... this is a finely crafted film, and is worth watching again and again. While not as outright gory as some of his work or as exploitative (despite the Bouchet scene), this more subtle approach works well.

Interestingly, although the crumbling architecture of Matera as shown in the film is authentic, it has since had a bit of an economic boom thanks to tourism and repeated appearances on film. Known as "the Subterranean City", Matera has been considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1993 and was declared Italian host of European Capital of Culture for 2019. Those Fulci fans hoping to go location scouting may find that much of it has been revamped.

The 2-disc Blu-ray set from Arrow Video is most likely the last word on "Duckling". We have a new audio commentary by giallo expert Troy Howarth. A new 28-minute video discussion with another giallo expert, author Mikel J. Koven (the creator of he term "vernacular cinema"). A new video essay by critic Kat Ellinger, who addresses the misogyny claims. And extensive interviews with Lucio Fulci, actor Florinda Bolkan, cinematographer Sergio D'Offizi, assistant editor Bruno Micheli and assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani. It would take half a day or more just to view this material... and you should.

Sporting a title seemingly more suitable for a Looney Tunes featurette than a grisly giallo, "Don't Torture a Duckling" (1972) is nonetheless a Grade A thriller from horror maestro Lucio Fulci. In this one, someone has been strangling the preteen boys in a rural, southern Italian village and, typical for these gialli, there are many suspects. There's Barbara Bouchet (Patrizia), looking more scrumptiolicious than you've ever seen her, a rich girl hiding out after a drug scandal; Florinda Bolkan (Martiara), the local epileptic voodoo woman; her witchcraft-practicing beau; Giuseppe, the local idiot; the sweet-faced priest; his dour mother; and on and on. The film features some unusually violent set pieces, including a chain whipping of one of the main characters in a graveyard (one of the most realistically bloody sequences that I've ever seen) and a nifty dukeout when the killer is ultimately revealed. The film's bursts of violence compensate for the fact that there are no real scares or suspense to speak of. Still, this giallo fascinates, with its unusual rural backdrop, unsettling child murders, oddball characters, and freaky score by Riz Ortolani. The film has been beautifully photographed in what I presume to be Monte Sant'Angelo, near the Adriatic in southern Italy (at least, that town's police force is thanked in the closing credits). And while subtitling would've made this fine-looking DVD work even better (the American slang doesn't convince in this rural Italian setting), Anchor Bay is to be thanked for another job well done. Oh...that title DOES eventually make perfect sense, too!

Set in and near a poor working class town in the mountains of rural Italy, it's a story of madness. The landscape may be quite picturesque, but there's madness herein, concealed behind the mask of a person who seems outwardly normal. This person kills little children.

In style and tone this film resembles Dario Argento's famous Italian giallos, those fascinating whodunit horror films, except that Argento's films are much better looking. Still, the visuals in Fulci's "Don't Torture A Duckling" are competent, with some interesting compositions and lighting. Lightning and thunder on a rainy night enhances suspense in one sequence wherein one of the "ducklings" is vulnerably alone.

In one sequence the gore is a bit overdone. But this is no slasher film. A legitimate theme undergirds the story. And that theme is that madness can take many unexpected forms, not just the obvious delusions of people who practice voodoo or black magic.

Plenty of red herrings render the puzzle solution difficult if the viewer doesn't assume an agenda on the part of the director. Don't dismiss someone who might not seem to be a suspect. The twist near the end provides good misdirection. However, in one scene midway through, a line of dialogue could have been added to clarify the relationship between two characters, one of whom is the murderer. The film's finale takes place on a beautiful mountaintop with the wind whistling in the background. We see flashbacks to clues and get insights into the killer's mindset.

I don't care for the film's widescreen projection. But background music is effective, and ranges from jarringly creepy at the beginning to low-key jazz, to indigenous Italian songs. Acting is generally average, though in a couple of cases, it's a bit overdone.

Though not as visually brilliant as Argento's giallos, "Don't Torture A Duckling" nevertheless is a fine film, one that contains a thematic storyline and enough of a whodunit puzzle to interest most viewers who like thrillers and murder mysteries.

In a small, idyllic village, far more is going on than meets the eye. When a local boy is found murdered, a suspect is quickly arrested. The police commissioner has serious doubts about the man they've put in jail. It's the second such killing, and it won't be the last.

Director Lucio Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is a disturbing giallo, due to its subject matter. It is a tale of perversity, superstition / the occult, madness, and revenge. Packed with interesting characters, red herrings, mystery and suspense, this is one of Fulci's most satisfying thrillers.

Florinda Bolkan (A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN) is perfect as the insane, shattered Maciara. Her beating is brutal today, and had to be extreme in 1972! Barbara Bouchet (THE FRENCH SEX MURDERS, THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES) is also good as the VERY free-spirited, Patrizia. Though the bloody, final revelation is a tad overdone, it remains effective...