Blu-ray Review – Death Occurred Last Night

1970's "Death Occurred Last Night" is a difficult film to gauge. Although it teases giallo interests with unsavory criminal behavior and police procedural highlights with some minor supercop beats, the feature doesn't rest any place in particular. It's not a thriller, but far from a drama, capturing an uneasy tone of discovery that drives interest in the story, along with nicely shaded characterization that elevates its emotional potential. Director Duccio Tessari manages to find a unique gravity to the endeavor, delivering on a kidnapping concept that heads into unexpected places, while the screenplay (adapted from a novel) provides at least an effort to avoid the norm when it comes to the cliches of nosy cops and overprotective fathers. "Death Occurred Last Night" is a grim picture, but always compelling with its mournful tone, broken up by flashes of exploitative habits that keep the movie approachable, even downright goofy at times, but the asides rarely break Tessari's concentration. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com