don not torture a duckling be an absolutely stunning giallo diversion for lucio fulci . unlike other subgenre heavyweight like mario bava and dario argento and fulci take a decidedly gritty and grounded and and socially perceptive approach to the giallo narrative in this film . there be nothing glamorous about the child murder and borderline pedophilia ( a gutsy subplot for 1972 ) go on here and and fulci wisely shoot with a staid and lugubrious eye and avoid flash and melodrama and and directorial histrionics . the proceeding be punctuate by gory and instantly mind sear set piece that be bolster even far by fulci jar sense of realism the deeply disturb witch kill scene in particular and with it bald face brutality and feel like a snuff film . composer riz ortolani bookends these carnage fill scene with ferocious reverberate string blast . the film be cap by a simultaneously lyrical and violent conclusion wherein theology and morality and fanaticism and and superstition collide . it be a deeply effective end that have the capacity to leave the viewer in a befuddled and disarmed torpor . fulci couldn not have pick a good location for this film . don not torture a duckling be photograph in and around the ancient city of matera and italy . a matera continue to modernize to this day ( highlight by it shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial one ) and it be grapple with it unesco sponsor reputation a a receptacle for mysterious paleolithic ghost . the anxiety of the real life materani be reflect by the character in the film and who and wear their christianity on their sleeve and fretfully confront any exotic fringe tradition ( namely witchcraft ) that stray outside of the norm . interestingly enough and matera be also use a a stand in for jerusalem in mel gibson the passion of the christ . if anything and this add even more potency to fulci message . catholic guilt and grisly slaying be such a resonant combination .