Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Bezenby No wonder this was Lucio Fulci's personal favourite out of everything he directed. This is just about the darkest giallo you'll ever see, as it throws out all the kitsch, quirks and style and replaces it with social commentary, rage, and genuine emotion. (some spoilers ahead, but I don't reveal the killer)First off, the film is set out in rural Italy, swapping luxurious apartments for rocky hills and shepherds, and it's not sexy models being murdered, but a group of young pre-teen boys who are turning up strangled around the town. It's a strongly religious town where the boys are part of a youth club run by a young priest, but there's also an old magician living in the hills, with Florinda Balkan as his acolyte.Florinda sets the tone of the film as we see shots of her digging up a child's skeleton cut with that of three young boys taking the pish out of the town idiot. One of these boys encounters a totally naked Barbara Bouchet, who is new in town, and winds up the young guy by pretending to seduce him.*One of the boys goes missing and soon the town and land are full of Italian policemen with dogs. An mystery person claims to have kidnapped the boy and blackmails the family, only for it to turn out to be the town idiot who found the body and buried it. The cries of horror from the townspeople as the body is uncovered and their continual invading of scenes raises the tension throughout this film, as they turn on any suspect and bay for their blood - especially that of 'local witch' Florinda Balkan, whom we see doing voodoo on some child like dolls!Most of the cops aren't used to dealing with these mountain folk, and the only voice of reason seems to be journalist Tomas Milian, who is very restrained here. He seems to be the only one with any chance at all of figuring out the case, as he's the only one who seems to take a step back from the mounting hysteria. Unlike other gialli, Fulci really seems to have something to say here, and goes on to attack organised religion and its affects on sexuality, how it controls the masses, and the general ignorance of rural communities and the mob mind. No one in the film is entirely likable at all, and there's a whole vibe of alienation throughout the whole film, punctuated by an unidentified woman who sings, somewhere out in the hills.Of course the most famous scene of this film is where Florinda Balkan is cornered and beaten to death with chains by the murdered kid's fathers. With a car radio blasting inane tunes, Florinda is gorily ripped to shreds by chains and left to die. Except she doesn't. She crawls painfully to the highway (the only modern thing in the film) as happy families in cars blissfully drive by, and dies looking on a world she was never allowed. Fulci lingers on her corpse for a painful amount of time afterwards. The man was no hack and it's easily one of the most emotionally effective scenes in giallo.There's many other themes at play here, but I can't touch on them as they'll reveal the killer. This is a truly great giallo and just a plain great film. Viva Fulci!*Fulci got hauled over the coals for a lot of reasons because of this film, but he was brought to court for using a child in the nude scenes with Barbara Bouchet. Fulci had to reveal he actually dressed a dwarf in the kid's clothes for the scenes they appear together on screen. He also got blacklisted for having a go at the Catholic Church!

GL84 Following a child's death in a small-town, a reporter and a woman from a nearby city try to solve the strange killings that continue to be carried out on the children and once they find the demented culprit at the center they try to stop the rampage from continuing.This was quite the enjoyable and underrated Giallo. The biggest factor here for this one is the film flying boldly along and feeling comfortable in it's rather strong and confrontational themes that may be quite uncomfortable. Its initial premise is tied around a serial killer offing children that alone gives it some courage to be unique and brave, but there's more to that here as several scenes here with the opening strangling scenes or a rather chilling scene finding another drowned in a town well, though the fact that this features even more types of similarly controversial scenes is what really sells this one. The type of plot here is one thing, but to have the kids smoking, bullying the town retard and the film's showpiece scene of a fully naked woman openly toying with him, teasing him with her figure and about sleeping with her makes for quite a sleazy, depraved time in a truly memorable scene. Beyond this, the film is a fantastic Giallo that features a lot of stylistic elements usually associated with these as the stalking scenes come off incredibly well regardless of their target. The cemetery stalking here is impressive through the driving rain before the killer strikes, a chase through the open woods out into the mountains to corral a suspect and a later scene where the suspect is viciously and brutally beaten in retaliation for what happened all come together to give this one some really enjoyable scenes. As well, there are some great times in the big brawl at the end which gets fun with the action as well as the location playing into it for some fun here, and these here make this good enough to overcome the flaws. The biggest issue here is the flimsy plot line for a Giallo, where it jumps around to the different suspects here without any reason only to start doing investigative work in the final minutes as the rampage continues despite the supposed death of the killer which starts it up again. This might be a revolutionary ploy for the style, but it causes the film to flip around pretty constantly here. Along with the subject matter being a little tough for some to take, there here are the film's only flaws.Rated UR/R: Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, Graphic Language, children smoking, themes of pedophilia, violence-against-animals and children-in-danger.

qmtv Masterpiece. This movie cannot have been made before or after.Excellent story, acting, plot, cinematography. The cemetery beating scene is excellent. The ending fight scene. Many great location shots.See this movie. Masterpiece. This movie cannot have been made before or after.Excellent story, acting, plot, cinematography. The cemetery beating scene is excellent. The ending fight scene. Many great location shots.See this movie. Masterpiece. This movie cannot have been made before or after.Excellent story, acting, plot, cinematography. The cemetery beating scene is excellent. The ending fight scene. Many great location shots.See this movie.

Chase_Witherspoon Despite not boasting an A-list American actor, there's no shortage of especially female talent on display in Lucio Fulci's penultimate giallo concerning a spate of child killings which maybe linked to a bizarre ritual of a mountain recluse and a deeply disturbed woman accused of being a witch.Fulci's narrative is unwavering, even though the usual procession of red herrings are trotted out and routinely exhausted, the suspense is never subdued. Florinda Bolkan is magnificent as the maligned loner whose grief-fuelled antics raise the suspicions of a superstitious local population and their insatiable lust for revenge. Her character is an ordeal, and a tangent to this tale that's as sad and decayed as the town gripped by the fear of a relentless child serial killer.Bouchet strips nude for not her killer in the opening scenes, whilst versatile Irene Papas has a critical supporting role as the local priest's long-suffering mother. The formidable trio of Bolkan, Bouchet and Papas render leading man Milan (and Alex Cord lookalike) a virtual bystander, but this is an ensemble effort, like its storyline, lots of moving parts pulling in the same direction make for a very satisfying (and bloody) thriller.