Pleasant screams, boils and ghouls! John and Curtis return to the spooky canon this week for its second screamy offering: 1972's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Barbara Bouchet (and one of Curtis's giallo favourites). The boys are also joined by their favourite librarian, the very hot and cool Katie! They discuss the film as giallo, libraries, the rural setting, misogyny and patriarchal oppression, Donald Duck, the film's taboo topics, and much more.
Next week, Simon is taking the helm with THE UGLY STEPSISTER (2025)!
WHAT WE WATCHED THIS WEEK
Curtis: One Battle After Another; Good Boy (2025 Leonberg film)
John: Grand Ciel; The Ice Tower; Dracula (2025); The Hyperboreans; #MissingCouple; Black Caesar; Megadoc
Katie: Chimp Crazy (HBO Miniseries)
TIME STAMPS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:28 What We Watched This Week/New Releases/Shoutouts
00:39:22 DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING Discussion
01:15:41 Our Scores for DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING
01:19:36 Coming Up Next!
CREDITS AND PLUGS
Intro: "Quei giorni insieme a te (Theme)" by Riz Ortolani (DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING OST)
Outro: "The Adulteress' Punishment" by Riz Ortolani (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST OST)
Follow John on Letterboxd—@johnnycakes91
For a list of films covered at Genre Gems: https://letterboxd.com/johnnycakes91/list/genre-gems-2025-festival-lineup/
Curtis: https://www.the-back-row.com/ - check out 'Runstedler's DVD Pick of the Month'
https://curtisrunstedler.ca/
Dr Curtis Reads: https://www.youtube.com/@curtisrunstedler