ALMOST HUMAN is a really clever kidnap thriller. I found myself rooting for the cunning, wretched, murderous and lecherous Giulio Sacchi (played by Tomas Milan who is unrecognizable after I saw him play an earnest journalist in DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING a couple of days ago). He is a character straight out of a Jim Thompson novel.

After he botches up a bank heist, Guilio hatches a plan to kidnap a rich heiress and demand 0.5 billion as ransom. He commits a string of murders during the kidnapping and hostage taking.

One of the main features of Italian police thrillers is that they pushed the boundaries with regard to what could be put on film. Some of the stuff that the Guilo character pulls off in this film would be frowned upon today.

The film has some great writing filled with witty one liners and jokes. Hope it gets a blu ray release.

Anita Strindberg as Milan's hapless but devoted girlfriend invoked sympathy. I find it hard to take Henry Silva seriously. He is unintentionally hilarious like in Cry of a Prostitute.

(8/10)

After having enjoyed Lucio Fulci's entertaining,though slightly muddled Italian Crime film Contraband (also reviewed),I was extremely interested in seeing an Italian Crime film from Umberto Lenzi,who introduced me to the brilliant "Giallo" genre with his very under rated film Spasmo (also reviewed). After having put the DVD on,I realized that I needed to hold on tight,because I was about to find out,what it is like to be almost human.

View on the film:

Whilst director Lenzi has toned down his excellent scatter-shot jump-cutting that make his brilliant Spasmo so distinctive,he has impressively put all of his relentless energy into making Emesto Gastaldi's great screenplay move at an unbelievable pace,with the beginning of the film starting with a very intense looking car chase.

Along with Tomas Milian entertaining slime-ball performance of Giulito Sacchi,Lenzi does an excellent job at making Sacchi a great lead character,which includes turning Giulito into a proto- (Pacino) Scarface character,who instead of being at the bottom of the pile,wants to be the man that has the world,and everything in it.

For the violence in the film,Lenzi cleverly has the extremeness of the violence increase,as Sacchi gets more insane (although scenes of Giulito and his gang invading a villa,where the daughter is hiding, at around the 30 minute mark show that Giulito Sacchi has already jumped over the edge,in his mad lust for money and power.)

Diving head-first into the final act, Lenzi gives the film a brittle Neo- Noir mood,with part of the films ending taking place around a river,which allows Lenzi to make the plot fill a lot more intense,by giving the scenes a very stark murky look with Sacchi trying to get away from the foggy area,even though Lenzi shows that even Sacchi,must now be questioning if he has any chance to succeed at all?

Final view on the film:

An explosive,adrenaline-fulled Italian crime film,with a gripping screenplay and dazzling directing from Lenzi.