Don't Torture a Duckling

Don't Torture a Duckling is a 1972 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian and Barbara Bouchet. The plot follows a detective investigating a series of child murders in an insular village in Southern Italy whose residents are riddled with superstition and mistrust. The film's score was composed by Riz Ortolani and features vocals by Ornella Vanoni. Released in the Autumn of 1972 in Italy, Don't Torture a Duckling is significant within Fulci's filmography as it is one of the first in which he began using violent gore effects, something he would continue to do in his later films, including Zombi 2, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead. The film has been noted by critics for its commentary on sexuality in the Catholic Church. The "duckling" in the film's title refers to a Donald Duck doll that has its head removed by a girl with an intellectual disability, which provides a clue to the murders. Fulci once mentioned it as "perhaps [his] best film".