Like Rabid Dogs (1976)

Part of the 'poliziotteschi' sub-genre of crime thriller whose heyday came during the seventies in Italy, Mario Imperoli's film centers on Tony, a young man who spends his time outside of work persecuting and murdering prostitutes with the help of a couple of friends.

Critics took unkindly to Imperoli's film on its release, as well as against films in the poliziotteschi genre generally with many claiming the fascistic overtones were problematic. This point of view wasn't shared by a lot of the movie going public, with many of them feeling a connection with the films' depiction of social concerns of the era.

Looking back now, the poliziotteschi films very much feel like a product of the era, and appear a lot more important in hindsight. Like Rabid Dogs was preceded by Vittorio Salerno's Savage Three (1975), a film that also concerned random acts of brutal violence by disillusioned young sociopaths, and Imperoli's piece doubles down on the shock value, most notably in a scene where the perpetrators force a terrified couple to have sex at gunpoint.

Like Rabid Dogs is part of a sub-genre (and to an extent, culture) that is rarely seen on our screens in cinematic format, and if you can track down a copy it makes for raw, interesting, at times impressive, whilst tricky watching. 6.8/10