Almost Human

Almost Human (1974)

*** (out of 4)

Exciting crime picture has psychopath Giulio (Tomas Milian) growing more and more dangerous as he kidnaps the daughter of a rich man and holds her for ransom. A police inspector (Henry Silva) is following some murders and believes that it is the work of the kidnapper so he sets out to find him.

Umberto Lenzi's ALMOST HUMAN is an extremely entertaining mix of EuroCrime as well as something like DIRTY HARRY. The film offers up two great actors turning in great characters and this is just part of the fun. Many people have called this film dirty and nasty but I'm going to disagree because even some of the American crime pictures from this era contained more violence and blood. What this film succeeds at is telling a very good story and showing what a psychopath one can be.

Lenzi's direction certainly deserves a lot of credit and especially with the flow and style of the picture. There are some effective car chases at the start of the movie but what I liked the most was how Lenzi shows this madman slowly losing more of a grip on reality and falling into his madness. I really liked the character structure of the killer and thought it worked perfectly well against the cop who knows what he's dealing with and wants to handle it himself.

Of course, Milian and Silva are both wonderful in their roles and they bring a lot of entertainment value. Milian is a pure evil snake here and I thought he worked wonderfully as a villain that you love to hate. Silva is a lot more straight and doesn't have as flashy of a role but he too is still a lot of fun. The support cast are also quite good and help keep the film moving. Then you've got a terrific score by Ennio Morricone as well as some very good cinematography.

ALMOST HUMAN is certainly one of the better crime pictures out there. It has a nice story, some great characters and the style that you'd expect.

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

ALMOST HUMAN (Umberto Lenzi - Italy 1974.

I had missed out far too long on Umberto Lenzi's best known crime flick, which is hands down one of the best poliziotesschi I've seen so far, almost on par with the best of Fernando Di Leo's work, together with Lenzi one of the more prolific directors within the genre. Whilst generally acknowledged to be one of the better Italian crime flicks, Lenzi's somewhat ham-fisted approach to his gialli, had made me a little reluctant to catch up with any of his other work. Although Lenzi's own VIOLENT NAPLES is also a well-made, highly effective genre entry, this one comes close to beating out that one when it comes to sheer brutality and an almost unbelievable barrage of nasty violence.

A rarity in most Italian crime thrillers, this film benefits enormously from an intriguing and woefully ambivalent central character, played with tremendous vigour by Tomas Milian, who plays Guillio Sacchi, a violent low life scumbag with no regard for human life at all and with a real penchant for torture and rape. The other side of the law is represented by stone-faced Henry Silva, who switches to playing a cop this time, instead of his usual turn as the calculating crime kingpin. The story by Ernesto Gastaldi is simplicity itself and doesn't take all kinds of distracting side-roads that make many other genre efforts so forgettable in that department. Anyway, if you're still in doubt about the merits of Italo-crime flicks, watch this one. An intriguing story, Tomas Milian in a great role and Ennio Morricone contributes another impressive soundtrack what must be one of his most recognizable scores this side from Sergio Leone. I keep wondering if the members of the Academy, who recently honoured Morricone with the honorary Oscar, had any idea what kind of films the maestro generally got involved in.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

One of my favorite Italian director is Umberto Lenzi, sadly he was extremely stigmatized by the critics, not to me, he was a benchmark for his outstanding career, possible it was his best work undoubtedly, Tomas Milian better known from Spaghetti's pictures here he makes an iconic psychotic cheap thief, who has an awful idea to kidnap a young daughter of a rich business man, tragic happenings come forward, he and his frightened beginners partners made a brutal bloody wave of needless violence against all in their path, a true milestone at Lenzi & Milian's careers, maybe the unique sin made by Lenzi was put Henry Silva in the role of the Police Commissioner to replace the previously contracted Richard Conte who had died one day before of the movie starts shooting, Henry Silva doesn't disappoint at all, but sounds weird so tagged actor linked at banditry making such role, also on DVD has a bonus on a rare interview gave by Lenzi before he pass away, talking about this picture and others subjects on small details over Milian's relationship !!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.5

"Almost Human" is the best known of the "poliziotesschi", or Italian crime films, made by the highly respected Umberto Lenzi. It's a crackling story that travels far on the unholy magnetism of its unbalanced villain, and it's also a story with its fair share of dark twists and turns. The action scenes are first-rate, and the script (by the prolific Ernesto Gastaldi) keeps one absorbed, wondering when, or if, our antagonist will ever receive his comeuppance.

Tomas Milian stars as Giulio Sacchi, a low life criminal who never passes up an opportunity to make some money - or spread some blood around. He actually has a girlfriend (Anita Strindberg), and while sitting with her one day he gets the bright idea: kidnap his girls' boss' daughter for a hefty ransom. He seems to be one step ahead of the law the entire time, although a determined police inspector (Henry Silva) does soon pick up his trail.

Mean-spiritedness prevails in this interesting, effectively violent film, and it's never more interesting than when it follows the activities of the piece of scum at the story's centre. Milian is a force of nature to behold here, having no regard at all for human life and fixated on that "big score" that will make him an insanely rich man. It's something of a treat to see Silva as the good guy who will ultimately work outside the law to see justice done, although truth be told, he's often been at his best when playing roles similar to Milians'.

Punctuated by the typically grandiose talents of composer Ennio Morricone, "Almost Human" is very, very good of its kind. You won't believe what depravities Giulio will be capable of from scene to scene; in particular, that moment in the country manor will definitely drive that point home.

You may not like Giulio Sacchi, but you may find him fascinating as he sometimes just can't control himself from his most vile intentions.

Seven out of 10.