Review of Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) by David S — 21 Nov 2007

One of those films that is praised to no end by genre aficionados... yet I don't see much justification for it. The plot is very generic and straight-forward (the killer is obvious in the first twenty minutes) and the characters are essentially one-note stereotypes (the female pedophile, the ladies man, the witch-lady, the priest.

.. all with no complexity). The only positives I can detect is its sun-washed landscape (a rare locale for a giallo) and its political subtext (which is only in the background and not developed). For a Fulici film, it is subtle.

.. but for anyone else, it's as subtle as a hammer blow to the skull. Pure exploitation... and not very good nor even entertaining exploitation. Watch an Argento or Bava film instead if you want a giallo fix.