Come cani arrabbiati

Endowed with the ferocious bite of Sergio Grieco's maniacal 'Mad Dog Killer', and maestro Umberto Lenzi's nihilistic 'Almost Human', versatile film-maker Mario Imperoli's feral, politically enraged crime thriller remains a dazzling example of a much-maligned genre. Opening with a thrillingly violent heist at a packed football stadium, this brutal Poliziottesco gem relentlessly plunges the increasingly hypertensive viewer into the arbitrarily cruel murder machinations of three callous middle-class thrill killers. Led by pretty stone-faced psychopath Tony (Cesare Barro), the terminally twisted trio's orgiastic murder spree very soon becoming the greatly tormenting obsession of stolid cop Commissario Muzi(Jean-Pierre Sabagh).

Aided by the beauteous Policewoman Germana (Paola Senatore), gifted director Imperoli brilliantly orchestrates a violent, bullet-casing tight agitprop crime thriller that succeeds not only as an unflinchingly visceral Poliziotteschi, but makes for a fascinating document exposing the turbulent socio-political unrest of Italy in the 1970s. A meticulously constructed thriller that certainly rewards repeat viewing, and the resolutely cool, objective way Imperoli documents the gang's wanton sadism recalls Michael Haneke at his glacial best. Those cult film fans only familiar with Mario Imperoli's playful, Gloria Guido-starring, snugly denim-clad sensation 'Blue Jeans' (1975) are in for a shock, since 'Like Rabid Dogs' is an entirely more vicious, tarmac-shredding, balaclava-blasting beast! The inspired, rump-humpingly groovy score by maestro Mario Molino is a memorably ear-worming treat!

This is yet another Rich Kids Thrill Kill film, a sub-sub-sub-sub genre of Eurocrime that also includes The Kids Of Violent Rome, Young, Violent and Dangerous and The Savage Three. Three kids who all belong to rich families have taken to robbing places and killing people for kicks, starting off with a robbery at a football stadium where a cop takes a gunshot to the face. Shortly afterwards, his pregnant wife takes a very realistic dive out of a window.

This doesn't go down well with Inspector Muzi, a downtrodden police officer who thinks he knows whose behind the killings - A young, rich, thin, sporty, arrogant, high-cheek boned, self-confident jerk by the name of Tony, son of a rich businessman and probably heavily influenced by his father's ruthless approach to life. Other than being a part-time armed robber, he also likes to kill women, and so does his girlfriend Sylvia, and her other boyfriend, as the three of them share everything. In fact, as we'll find out, Sylvia shares everything with everyone and spends a lot of this film starkers!

Muzi can't find any real proof that Tony is behind the killings, but when Tony takes to killing his father's favourite prostitutes, Muzi gets a brain damaged idea to have his female associate go undercover as a hooker that almost gets her raped, which she recovers from fairly quickly in time to get it on with Muzi.

There's not much plot in this one but there sure is a lot of violence and nudity, somehow seemingly justified by Tony and Muzi having discussions about the political climate of mid-seventies Italy and how Tony things they are similar in nature. As these murderous rich kid theme goes, at least this one attempts to give us some background on the kids and show things from their end, as they discuss their hate for everything and their wish to live in a world devoid of other people. Plus, one of them blacks up as Othello. Ah, the seventies.

The gore level is higher than usual too as people are blasted with shotguns, hit in the face with spiked planks or shot through the head. What was going through the heads of people in Italy to produce so many of these nihilistic films? Where they genuinely troubled by the youngsters? Maybe they should have invented facebook faster, because the kids in my work have no interest in anything!

Despite having recently watched "Highway Racer", "The Savage Three" and other poliziottesci, I wasn't really prepared for the bleakness and brutality of this one.

There is the familiar anti-capitalist background and boredom of the young rich, and a reasonable plot, but the way that this one lingers on the (often sexual) violence was a bit of a surprise to me, and it comes across as an extreme example depicting a deeply corrupt and misogynistic society - even the "good guys" treat the women very badly. Just because they're not raping and murdering them (as the bad guys do) it doesn't make for easy viewing. I wonder what contemporary Italians think of this stuff?

Not for the faint-hearted.