MILANO ODIA: LA POLIZIA NON PUO SPARARE (1974)
aka Almost Human
Article 5155 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-12-2016
Directed by Umberto Lenzi
Featuring Tomas Milian, Henry Silva, Laura Belli
Country: Italy
What it is: Crime thriller

A small-time psychotic crook hits upon a kidnapping scheme to put him in the big time. He’s not going to let anyone get in his way. But how far will the policeman who is chasing him go to catch him?

This crime thriller was marketed as a horror movie in certain quarters, which was probably tempting to do given that the English title lends itself to that interpretation. There’s no doubt that the villain is a psychotic madman, so it nudges into horror on that item, but it definitely plays out like a crime movie rather than a horror movie. It is, however, a very good if brutal crime thriller, with strong performances from Tomas Milian, who practically oozes twitchy psychosis, and Henry Silva, effectively cast against type as a police inspector. It’s one of those movies where you don’t harbor much hope for any of the side characters; at least one of them knows that there’s no hope for them, but given what they know about their boss, I’m a little surprised that the villain’s accomplices weren’t better prepared for what was going to be their fate. Yeah, there’s a few cliches here as well, but the convincing performances are what sell the movie.