Admittedly, when Lucio Fulci’s name is brought up, I think more to his gorefests than his work in Giallo. Fans of the genre will lambaste me for that one, since Fulci really hit his stride doing Giallo films before achieving his international success with Zombie. With 1972’s Don’t Torture A Duckling, Fulci not only created a film that was one of his strongest, but also a Giallo film ranking up with the best of Argento and Bava.

In Accendura, a small rural Italian village, someone is committing a rash of child killings. Faced with the increasing fury of the village over their perceiving ineptitude, the police led by Captain Modesti (Ugo D’Alessio), are at wit’s end. However, a journalist from the city, Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian), finds a lighter at a crime scene belonging to Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet), a beautiful and promiscuous woman with some odd nighttime habits. Meanwhile, the police point the finger at Maciara (Florinda Bolkan), an outcast the locals believe is a witch. Soon after, Andrea finds a witness to one of the killings in the form of Malvina (Fausta Avelli), the mentally-retarded sister of the local priest, Don Alberto (Marc Porel), who harbors secrets of his own.

Often called an “anti-Giallo” with its rural setting in lieu of the big city, Don’t Torture A Duckling sports a feeling of isolation that one normally wouldn’t get from a film of this nature. In doing so, Fulci also uses the isolation and fear of the village to create suspects of those who are perceived as different. Indeed, in typical Fulci fashion, the film also casts the local Catholic church in a negative light, as it seeks to control the village, but in itself has to answer for its own sins. Combined with the masterful camerawork, the resultant atmosphere is chaotic and serves to draw the viewer into a world that is a departure from the normal Giallo.

Rather than being reserved as plot movers in typical Giallo, the characters and performances in Duckling are quite strong. Tomas Milian plays it cool and cocky as Andrea, but is also smart and (in typical Giallo) far more perceptive than the police. He’s also never over-the-top in his performance, which is a relief. Barbara Bouchet is perfect in her role of Patrizia as the beautiful temptress, but also conveys just how damaged the character is once we learn more of her character. Florinda Bolkan’s Maciara is probably the best example where (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here) the most innocent are subjected to the cruelest of abuses through ignorance, and her performance is exemplary in that case.

Duckling does falter in areas regarding special effects. These are a far cry from the effects used in Fulci’s later work, and in regards to the fate of one character, it’s pretty bad. Still, this was the start of Fulci’s veering into more gory efforts, so it’s not that big of a problem. What is a problem is the overdubbing (or not, depending on how familiar you are with Italian cinema of this time). The entire film was re-dubbed once filming was complete, and the effect can be frustrating if you’re not aware of the then-commonplace practice.

Minor qualms aside, Don’t Torture A Duckling is really Fulci at his most impactful, with great atmosphere and camerawork, and compelling characters. It’s part exploitation, part moral story that hits you sideways. It’s a welcome deviation from the normal Giallo formula that puts the film up there with the most well-known of the genre.

Video/Audio:

Presented in 2.35:1, with an AVC-encoded 1080p transfer, the included booklet details the troubles that Arrow had to go through in order to get this new 2K transfer. Needless to say, in spite of the obstacles, the film looks great. Details and texture are good, and the natural grain of the image is maintained throughout. The colors are gorgeous in the outdoor scenes, and print damage is minimal.

We have an English and Italian LPCM Mono tracks, and while there are some slight sync issues (as mentioned in the main review), dialogue is clear and free of distortion. Riz Ortolani’s score comes through clean and has some depth to it. There’s also no distortion to speak of.

Supplements:

For starters, we get an audio commentary track involving Troy Howarth, author of “So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films”. The track is chock full of information, from biographical data on everyone involved in the film (as well as Fulci himself), as well as a broader conversation about the film’s themes. It’s definitely a must-listen for those wanting to know more about the film, and about the Giallo genre.

“Giallo a la Campagna” (prefaced with a spoiler warning) features “La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film” author Mikel J. Koven in a “video conversation” covering the Giallo genre, as well as exploring the relationship between urban and rural Italy in the 70s. Koven also presents his theory that these films were made for a distracted audience who used the theatre for more of a social setting.

“Hell is Already in Us” (again prefaced with a spoiler warning) is a video essay by Kat Ellinger (who had previously contributed a video essay to Arrow’s Bird with the Crystal Plumage set) talks in detail about the perceived misogyny and cruelty in Fulci’s films, and how he actually has a more complex, critical portrayal of humanity with the murders in this Don’t Torture A Duckling. Like her previous essay, it’s an equally-fascinating discussion this time around.

Fulci himself appears in “Lucio Fulci Remembers”. Culled from 1988 audio interviews by Gaetano Mastretta (co-writer of “Spaghetti Nightmares”) and presented in two parts, Fulci responds to questions about his career, how he got into the industry, his foray into Giallo, thoughts on his contemporaries (including Argento), and more.

Rounding things out on the disc are individual Cast and Crew Interviews, starting with actress Florinda Bolkan. Bolkan talks about making this film, as well as working with Fulci on Lizard In A Woman’s Skin. She shares some interesting stories about her time working with Fulci, referring to him as “unpredictable” and a “devil” (in a nice way). An interesting story involves a deleted scene from Duckling where she was attacked by a bat.

Up next is cinematographer Sergio D’Offizi, who goes over how he started working with Fulci, and how he made his way through the Italian film industry back then. Assistant editor Bruno Micheli turns up next, going through a career overview before talking about he and the “easygoing” Fulci putting together the film with all the effects tracks and music. Lastly is assistant makeup artist Maurizio Trani, who talks about how he got into the business, as well as his penchant for creating the makeup and facial hair that was in demand during 1970s Italian cinema.

Rounding things out is an insert booklet (first pressing only) featuring liner notes by Barry Forshaw and Howard Hughes, reversible artwork featuring a new design by Timothy Pittides, and a slipcover that replicates this new artwork.

Frustratingly, the film’s trailer is absent from the set, even though portions of it were included during Sergio D’Offizi’s interview. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic set that should please Fulci and Giallo fans with its excellent transfer and supplements.