be a seasoned fan of italian thriller and director dario argento and mario bava and sergio martino and aldo lado and i thought of lucio fulci a an overrated hack . i have see the beyond which i think be totally overrated and i find the new york ripper to be simply appal and i do not particularly like the house by the cemetery . these three movie leave me to conclude that fulci be the least interesting of these italian filmmaker . but my stubbornness prevail and i have to check out more of his film . city of the living dead be a film i find very interesting but don not torture a duckling be very nearly a masterpiece . set in a small town in the italian countryside in a repressive religious community where young boy be be murder . the authority be clueless a to who behind these crime and especially after their prime suspect have be clear . an eager young reporter along with a rather slutty girl ( who seduce young boy ) investigate and eventually get to the bottom of it . brilliant atmosphere combine with a good story and a good cast ( not always the case with 70 italian thriller ) make don not torture a duckling a crackle good thriller . the plot be well construct and not easily figure out and the end conclusion be very satisfying . fulci create a dynamic atmosphere of repression and guilt in a very unforgiving and ignorant community and create some very strong visuals and particularly in a scene where a woman get beat to death by some local townsfolk . fulci social commentary concern religion and innocence be quite edgy and every aspect be well handle . when thinking of his zombie flick and his ultra violent giallo new york ripper it amaze how well he balance his critique with explicit violence and make an even strong point . so far i haven not see any fulci film make as professionally a this one . while not a traditional giallo film and duckling have many of the genre trademark . fulci display complete control over the format and only once go overboard with an unconvincing gore moment and but overall he seem to be even good at make mystery than full blow gore epic . the extreme scene here be much more powerful and really pack a punch . so far don not torture a duckling be fulci best film by far in my opinion . edgy social commentary combine with explicit scene of violence and a crackling good mystery to boot .