Almost Human

My summary line obviously referring to the international title of the movie (Almost Human). Now there is some crazy things going on and this is quite the understatement. The main bad guys are really mean. One maybe the meanest of them all. Depending on your mood and how you feel about moral codes and if you can see the humor in this (although it is mostly vicious), you may like what you get served here or not. The movie is mean lean and ready to give it all. It also is crazy, which comes from the characters and how they operate. Kidnapping is not a fun game ... terrorising the victim is giving it a whole new note. But again, remember this is a movie and it is supposed to shock. So in that regard the movie succeeds quite well ...

This movie seems to be rated highly by some reviewers but I found it hard going, only liking the music score of the legendary Ennio Morricone and the city location shooting of cinematographer Federico Zanni. Henry Silva isn't in it much sadly, and Tomas Milian's performance as psychotic Giulio Sacchi I soon found tiresome. It may be better in Italian but the English dub I watched made him drone on drearily most of the time. His hilarious face-pulling didn't help either. There was nothing original in the movie. Even the climax was underpowered. 1970's Italian crime films are some of the best but I found this rather disappointing. The car chase at the beginning was exciting but for most of the film I was a trifle bored.

Thomas Milian gives a stunningly evil performance as a mad dog killer, while Henry Silva is uncharacteristically reserved as the pursuing police detective. Milan seems to go out of his way trying to control everyone around him, while at the same time killing innocents just for the hell of it. "Almost Hunan" does have a simplified kidnapping plot that is easy to follow, unlike many Italian crime films where the scripts can be muddled. If you are in the hunt for an Italian crime movie, this is one to get. The Ennio Morricone score is another plus, and is memorable. The film has plenty of violence, nudity, and totally acceptable acting. Be warned however that you will see some bloody action that could provoke a bit of disgust, especially as relating to children. Good of it's type, and recommended. - MERK