Films That Witness Madness

review

MAD DOG KILLER

MAD DOG KILLER is a terribly typical Italian crime flick with absolutely nothing going for it except it's undeserved reputation as a roughie. Whether or not it lives up to that reputation will largely depend on how well-versed the viewer is in these kinds of films. This is ALMOST HUMAN-lite, a crime caper with a lead criminal designed to be THE MOST BRUTAL, PSYCHOTIC CRIMINAL YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!!!!!! Unfortunately, director/screenwriter Sergio Grieco confuses brutality for brutality's sake with realism and, no matter how hard they try, Nanni Vitali never leaves the realm of exaggerated bully. That's the reason the whole picture fails. Without a convincing criminal mastermind, this flick is just another revenge film. It's nothing you haven't seen before and nothing you haven't seen done better.

Nanni Vitali and three of his thugs escape from prison and set off to avenge Nanni's arrest. They start by grabbing the guy who informed on him to the police. Along for the ride is the man's girlfriend, Giuliana, who catches the eye of Nanni. After forcing the snitch to watch him rape Giuliana, Nanni beats him to a pulp and his thugs toss him into a freshly dug grave, douse him with quick lime and bury him alive. A few days later, Inspector Santini visits Guiliana at home to grill her for information. After he's gone, Nanni makes his appearance, rapes her yet again, and spills the beans about a plan. He's going to pull off a robbery and then flee the country, taking her with him as his personal slave. This doesn't sit well with Guiliana - her father works as a security guard at the bank they're going to rob - so she sneaks off to see Santini, the cop who arrested him the first time around. From there, things go a bit wonky. The robbery turns out badly, Nanni's thugs are busted, and Nanni kidnaps Santini's father - coincidentally, the Judge who sentenced him - and sister, threatening to kill them unless Santini gets him a truckload of money and a safe way out of the country. Looks like Santini is going to have to handle this himself.

As I said in the opening, the character of Nanni Vitali is the instrument of this film's destruction. A few rapes, a few beatings, and a few shootings would classify any film character as a "bad ass" but a "bad ass" is not what this film needs to succeed. It needs something more. As it is, Nanni is given little to do except scowl and pace around, shoot an old lady and manhandle poor Guiliana. You might find yourself wondering as I did why this man has gotten a reputation as a "mad dog murderer", a larger than life criminal - his accomplice at the film's end proclaims to worship him. Nanni is a simple street criminal with a gun and nothing more. Hanging the whole film on his shoulders - and on the shoulders of constant under-performer Helmut Berger - was a mistake. On the flip side is Inspector Santini - Richard Harrison, looking every inch the American actor he was - perhaps the most relaxed Inspector ever in an Italian crime flick. When both ends of the moral spectrum are profoundly neutered and patently generic no film could be expected to succeed. And MAD DOG KILLER doesn't.

ALMOST HUMAN was not graphically violent but still managed to unnerve it's audience through the sheer force of it's nihilism. MAD DOG KILLER is a tad more violent but it's violence feels strangely passive. There's a good bit of beating going on but the impact is lessened by the cheap kung-fu sound effects and lack of intensity. The film's stand-out scene, the razor blade slashing of Santini's sister at the hands of Nanni, illustrates this the best. While Nanni draws the razor over her face, chest, and breasts, the actress barely reacts. She just shakes her head and whimpers "no" as he carves her up. It's rather underwhelming. The whole film feels this way, strangely detached, filled with action without consequence.

Recommended for Italian crime completists only.

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