set in and near a poor working class town in the mountain of rural italy and it a story of madness . the landscape may be quite picturesque and but there madness herein and conceal behind the mask of a person who seem outwardly normal . this person kill little child . in style and tone this film resemble dario argento famous italian giallos and those fascinating whodunit horror film and except that argento film be much well look . still and the visuals in fulci don not torture a duckling be competent and with some interesting composition and light . lightning and thunder on a rainy night enhances suspense in one sequence wherein one of the duckling be vulnerably alone . in one sequence the gore be a bit overdone . but this be no slasher film . a legitimate theme undergirds the story . and that theme be that madness can take many unexpected form and not just the obvious delusion of people who practice voodoo or black magic . plenty of red herring render the puzzle solution difficult if the viewer doesn not assume an agenda on the part of the director . don not dismiss someone who might not seem to be a suspect . the twist near the end provide good misdirection . however and in one scene midway through and a line of dialogue could have be add to clarify the relationship between two character and one of whom be the murderer . the film finale take place on a beautiful mountaintop with the wind whistling in the background . we see flashback to clue and get insight into the killer mindset . i do not care for the film widescreen projection . but background music be effective and and range from jarringly creepy at the begin to low key jazz and to indigenous italian song . acting be generally average and though in a couple of case and it a bit overdone . though not a visually brilliant a argento giallos and don not torture a duckling nevertheless be a fine film and one that contain a thematic storyline and enough of a whodunit puzzle to interest most viewer who like thriller and murder mystery .