I’m pretty sure whenever Lucio Fulci visited Disneyland (which we all know was often), he never bothered with souvenir mouse ears. The guy’s favorite character was obviously Donald Duck, so he probably made a bee line to the blue sailor hats.
Not only did Fulci’s sicko slasher in 1981’s The New York Ripper imitate the duck’s voice, a doll of ol’ Donald is a prominent component of Don’t Torture a Duckling (decapitated, of course). Italy’s daffiest director certainly had a soft spot for him, and if he had his way, probably would’ve had a guy in a duck suit square-off against the undead in Zombie’s underwater sequence.
That being said, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Lucio Fulci. On one hand, I’ve never found him to be a particularly skilled director and he was mostly content to follow in the footsteps of better directors, cranking out exploitation flicks in various genres (mostly horror during the last half of his career). On the other hand, his willingness to push the boundaries of good taste (especially in terms of on-screen violence) makes some of his work morbidly fascinating.
In the early ‘70s, Fulci dabbled in giallo, Don’t Torture a Duckling probably being his best known example. On paper, the premise sounds even more distasteful than The New York Ripper, that of a serial killer who murders children in the superstitious village of Accendura. As the local police investigate, there are numerous suspects, most notably local witch Maciara (Florinda Bolken), and later Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet), a morally ambiguous socialite hiding out in the village following a drug scandal.
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Lucio himself was a notoriously difficult director to work with. As with most of his home video releases I’ve reviewed, this one features plenty of bonus material featuring collaborators who find eloquent ways of confirming he was a dick. Don’t Torture a Duckling is no exception, though some interviewees do profess a little grudging admiration for him. As such, it’s a pretty good batch of extras, though little of it is new. What is new is Arrow Video’s brand new 4K restoration. While I have no basis for comparison, the overall picture and sound quality is pretty good.
For those who know and love Lucio Fulci for his gore pictures, Don’t Torture a Duckling will seem comparatively benign, though it does boast a few effectively nasty moments. As for his Donald Duck fixation, it’s sort of a shame Lucio didn’t live long enough to see all those Disney characters become public domain. He’d be a shoo-in to turn the duck himself into a serial killer.
EXTRA KIBBLES
NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.
ENGLISH & ITALIAN VERSIONS
INTERVIEWS - Who Killed Donald Duck?, with actress Barbara Bouchet (the disc’s only new bonus feature); Those Days with Lucio, with actress Florinda Bolken; The DP’S Eye, with cinematographer Sergio D’Offizi; From the Cutting Table, with editor Bruno Michel; Endless Torture, with make-up FX artist Maurizio Trani.
VIDEO ESSAYS - In Giallo a la Campagna, historian Mikel J. discusses the movie; Hell is Already in Us features critic/historian Kat Ellinger, who defends the film against charges of misogyny.
LUCIO RULCI REMEMBERS - A two-part audio interview.
AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Troy Howarth.
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