I ragazzi del massacro (1969)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Fernando Di Leo

Writers:

Fernando Di Leo (writer)
Nino Latino (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Some youngsters kill their teacher; but they won't tell their motivation. The police detective on the case feels some sinister influence behind the young murderers.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Gang Rape | Classroom | Physical Abuse | Teenager

Cast

Pier Paolo Capponi	...	Marco Lamberti
Nieves Navarro	...	Livia Ussaro (as Susan Scott)
Marzio Margine	...	Carolino Marassi
Renato Lupi	...	Mascaranti
Enzo Liberti	...	Carrua
Giuliano Manetti	...	Fiorello Grassi
Danika La Loggia	...	Signorina Romani (as Danika)
Anna Maria La Rovere
Flora Carosello
Jean Rougeul
Ettore Geri
Priscilla Benson
Federico Mecca
Gabriella D'Olive	...	Nadia Novak
Sergio Serafini	...	Stenographer

Also Known As:

Naked Violence (Europe: English title) (USA)
The Boys Who Slaughter (Europe: English title) (UK)
Sex in the Classroom (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Company:

Cineproduzioni Daunia 70

Another excellent film from Fernando Di Leo

Naked Violence is yet another well made and effective offering from Fernando Di Leo; a director that often doesn't receive the praise he deserves. Di Leo would go on to make some of the best Italian crime films in the early to mid seventies, but he also made some interesting stuff in other genres; such as this film. The film is based on a novel by Ulkranian writer Giorgio Scerbanenco, who also wrote books that inspired other Di Leo films. The film is very concise and the director is keen to focus on the important elements of the plot, which helps the film to keep focus and in turn makes it more interesting. The film begins with a scene that sees a young schoolteacher raped and murdered by her class; which just happens to be full of delinquents high on alcohol. Police Inspector Liberti gets on the case and begins by interrogating the kids in the class, but as he continues his investigation; he realises that it's becoming less and less likely that the kids acted on their own accord, and his suspicions are confirmed when his best witness is found dead.

The film is essentially a character study and we mainly focus on the Police Inspector and a handful of the boys at the centre of the crime. The locations used are not particularly diverse; especially not during the first third when almost everything takes place inside a room in the police station. The film does have a very minimalist approach, but it's all done very professionally and the film is of a higher quality than a lot of the output from Italy in the late sixties and early seventies. The film is bolstered by a handful of good acting performances; Pier Paolo Capponi is absolutely great as the police inspector and receives good support from Giallo heroine Susan Scott (who in truth doesn't have a whole lot to do) and Giuliano Manetti as the main character of the school class. The majority of the film is build-up as we try to work out the reasons behind the heinous crime at the start of the film; and the brutal climax doesn't disappoint. The motive for the killings might not go down too well in some circles; but it's inventive enough and ensures that the film finishes well. Overall, this is an excellent thriller and comes highly recommended!