Don't Torture a Duckling

About this episode

The episode explores the unsettling themes and societal critiques presented in Lucio Fulci's film 'Don't Torture a Duckling'.

Our second film for this year will also be our second dip of the toe into the filmography of Lucio Fulci (see episode 158 for our take on Conquest , his bonkers fantasy adventure, with our special guest Vincenzo Natali). Don’t Torture a Duckling ( Non si sevizia un paperino , 1972) is remembered as one of the most unsettling and thematically ambitious entries in the Italian giallo cycle. Its premise is deceptively simple: a series of brutal child murders shatters a seemingly idyllic community, prompting an investigation led by journalist Andrea Martelli (Tomas Milian) and local police. Suspicion falls quickly – and tellingly – on society’s outsiders: a reclusive “witch” (Florinda Bolkan), a mentally vulnerable man, and anyone who doesn't conform to the village’s rigid moral order. As the mystery unfolds, the film reveals a gallery of compromised adults whose piety and respectability mask repression, misogyny, and latent violence. Should Don’t Torture a Duckling be released from the oubliette and re-examined like an uncomfortable truth finally brought to light, or left buried with Maciara's baby? Find out! Support us on Patreon to nominate films for us to cover, access exclusive…

People in this episode

Hosts: Conrad Chambers, Daniel Goh

Guest: Vincenzo Natali

Topics covered

• Italian giallo
• film analysis
• child murders
• societal issues
• Lucio Fulci
• horror cinema

Keywords

• Lucio Fulci
• giallo
• horror
• film review
• child murder
• Italian cinema
• societal critique
• 1972 film

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Don't Torture a Duckling, Conquest

Places: Italy

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