"Contraband" review

Contraband (1980)
AKA Luca il contrabbandiere

Directed by Lucio Fulci
Writing credits Gianni De Chiara Lucio Fulci

Fabio Testi.... Luca Di Angelo
Ivana Monti.... Adele Di Angelo
Guido Alberti.... Don Morrone

I had wanted to see this one for some time. Fulci. Mafia. Gore. The pieces were there. I've enjoyed most of Fulci's horror flicks so I thought I would give this one a try.

Gangsters are feuding in Naples. The main character Luca goes to war against a rival Mafia gang. Luca is a gentle sort who only wants to smuggle cigarettes. The new gang wants to use Luca to smuggle drugs. They reach an impasse in the negotiations. Soon they will settle their differences with an obscene amount of bullets. Mangled corpses start piling up.

As a Mafia movie, it was OK. It takes about 20-25 minutes to get to the action. Soon gangsters are causing each other pain. This is where Fulci shines. "Contraband" gives him the chance to go for some serious bullet gore. Blood is spraying. There is one effect where a guy gets shot in the stomach with a shotgun and his belly opens up like a giant red piñata. It's his birthday! There were plenty of other nasty bullet shots too. Fulci also delivers three or four disfigured corpses. Oh, and two torture scenes, one involving a Bunsen burner and lots of seared flesh. What I'm saying is, "Contraband" has its points. There is enough gore here to make it interesting. I can't say I was on the edge of my seat with suspense, but I did enjoy the Mafia blood and guts.

SCORE: 2 out of 4 Mafia guts