Don't Torture a Duckling
Non si sevizia un paperino
A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town rife with superstition and a distrust of outsiders.
Why it matters
A simmering blend of giallo thriller and folk horror that exposes the dark underbelly of rural superstition and societal repression in 1970s Italy.
- Lucio Fulci’s direction sharpens his reputation beyond gore, crafting a tense mystery steeped in atmosphere and social critique.
- The film’s Sicilian village setting pulses with oppressive heat and suspicion, turning landscape into a character of dread.
- A rare giallo that foregrounds community paranoia and religious hypocrisy over flashy murder set-pieces.
- Ideal for fans of Euro horror’s golden era who want more than slick kills—a psychological probe into fear and otherness.
Director
22 horror films in catalog
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin 1971
Don't Torture a Duckling 1972
The Psychic 1977
Zombie Flesh Eaters 1979
City of the Living Dead 1980
The House by the Cemetery 1981
The Beyond 1981
The Black Cat 1981
The New York Ripper 1982
Manhattan Baby 1982
Conquest 1983
Murder-Rock: Dancing Death 1984
Ænigma 1987
Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 1988
Touch of Death 1988
Sodoma's Ghost 1988
The Sweet House of Horrors 1989
The House of Clocks 1989
A Cat in the Brain 1990
Demonia 1990
Voices from Beyond 1991
Door Into Silence 1991
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
43
Slow Burn
33
Psychological
29
Supernatural
60
Creature
0
Disturbing
100
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
85
Survival
33
