Director: Sergio Martino
Year: 1975
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Morte sospetta di una minorenne; Too Young to Die
Genre: Giallo; Action (Politzioteschi)
Plot:
Following up on clues to a strange murder, a detective assigned to the case finds a series of connections to an underage prostitution and drug-racketeering ring in the city by a group of wealthy individuals looking to flex the underground for their whims and must evade a killer stalking the case.
Review:
Overall, this is a rather fun and fascinating hybrid of Giallo and Polittzioteschi. Among the more engaging features here is based on the initial exploits of the film managing a fantastic combination of both genres. The early setup here involving the murder of the one victim and getting the police involved which focuses on the series of crimes being committed and how they eventually come together in the eventual exposing of the crime ring involving the teenage schoolgirls is a lot of fun. That is a solid Giallo setup while the Politzioteschi elements featuring the depths of the corruption going on and his attempts at bringing them down give this a full-on setup worthy of the two genres.
There’s also a lot to like about mixing these elements to generate on-screen excitement. As the film’s kills are accomplished more with car chases and other high-energy action scenes this one becomes quite exciting throughout here. The mix of shootouts, brawling, and car chases add a lot of excitement to the film with the roller coaster shootout and the cityside car chase which are kinetic and rather exciting, moving throughout the city in various impressively-filmed scenes. With several somewhat brutal-by-comparison kills that provide a bit of graphic gore to the equation which goes along with the fast-moving comedy to give this a lot to like.
There are a few minor drawbacks to this one. Most of the issues here stem from the films' disparate elements coming together somewhat oddly despite the creativity of employing both at the same time, with this seeming to transition from sordid crime-thriller to brutal Giallo and then running through slapstick comedy and recurring jokes as gags that aren't that well-integrated together. This causes the film to feel incredibly scattershot in tone as there are a lot of elements at play that might only sometimes be appreciated. Also featuring some other problems in the film's half-hearted commentary on the rich preying on the poor and overall familiarity with numerous other films lower this one just enough.
Overview: ***.5/5
An interesting and mostly enjoyable combination of the genres at play, this one emerges as a solid and worthwhile second-tier effort from the director that manages to incorporate a lot of likable elements and just a few minor drawbacks. Those that find themselves drawn to either sub-genre attempted here, Eurocult genre cinema overall, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like while most others might want to heed caution with this one.
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