Michael_Elliott 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.

Witchfinder General 666 Among fans of Italian genre cinema, director Umberto Lenzi is known as a master of many genres, be it gruesome Cannibal films or tantalizing crime cinema, and furthermore has earned himself the well-deserved reputation of one of the most uncompromising directors of gruesome films. It is therefore no surprise, that one of the most ultra-violent and tough-minded highlights of Italian Crime cinema, namely "Almost Human" comes from Lenzi. "Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare" aka. "Almost Human" of 1973 is a brutal and brilliant Poliziottesco, one of the most uncompromising films of its genre, coming along with an ingenious score by none other than Ennio Morricone. Apart from the brilliant score, the brutal, uncompromising violence, the raw atmosphere and gripping story it is furthermore two of the greatest stars in Italian 70s cinema that make "Milano Odia" an absolute must-see for lovers of cult cinema.One of my personal all-time favorite actors, Tomas Milian, stars in his most sadistic and despicable role of Giulio Sacchi, a ruthless small-time crook who has no scruples to rape, torture and brutally murder Innocent victims for his own benefit. Milian is truly brilliant in his role, and excellently personifies perverted sadism and greed. His opponent is played by another true great of Italian crime cinema: Henry Silva plays super-tough Inspector Grandi, a man who hates criminals as he hates crime, and who is not afraid to take the law into his own hands once the legal ways have failed to bring a delinquent to justice... These two brilliant actors are the perfect cast for the film. Milian and Silva alone are capable of making a film great, and "Milano Odia" has so much more to offer. The supporting performances are also great, Laura Belli, Guido Alberti, Luciano Catenacci, who plays a crime boss, and the wonderful Anita Strindberg are especially worth mentioning.Brutal, tough-minded and tantalizing from the beginning, "Almost Human" is definitely not for the sensitive when it comes to violence, but an absolute must-see for every fan of Italian Crime cinema. This is Eurocrime at its grittiest and most uncompromising. It simply doesn't get more intense than "Milano Odia". Lovers of 70s genre-cinema can not afford to miss this gripping and ultra-violent masterpiece! 10/10

Coventry Even if you're only just slightly interested in cult-cinema of the golden 60's-70's period, you know that whatever trend the Italian directors took on; they did it better. Whether it was horror, westerns or – as in this case – crime thriller, the Italians always surpassed the standards of any other major film-producing country and delivered politically incorrect but hugely entertaining & genre defining movies. One of the few (brilliant) directors active in all different fields was Umberto Lenzi, whose marvelously restored "Almost Human" is a truly terrific and ultra-violent classic. Tomas Milian gives a formidable one man show as a small time crook who desperately wants to climb up Milan's crime-ladder and therefore commits the vilest and most atrocious crimes, like relentlessly shooting people for the spare change in their pockets and buy cigarettes. Hell truly breaks loose when Giullio, along with two companions, kidnaps the daughter of a prominent businessman and demands a gigantic ransom. Many people, all innocent, get killed in order to still Giullio's sadistic hunger for violence. Particularly one sequence is excruciatingly intense, namely when the kidnapped girl Mary Lou briefly escapes and hopes to hide herself in a secluded country mansion. Giullio & C° also invade the mansion and extendedly torture, humiliate and terrorize all the inhabitants. Umberto Lenzi totally went berserk here and blends sick violence with ultra-sleazy footage, as Giullio even forces a MALE hostage to give oral sex. The kidnappers are hunted down by obsessive copper Henry Silva, who totally lives up to the stereotype of 70's cops. Inspector Grandi is rough, tough and actually prefers to personally execute the bad guys rather than to put them behind bars. "Almost Human" is incredibly fast-paced, with super-exciting car chases and outrageous gunfights throughout the entire playtime. The script offers a lot of unexpected twists to keep you on the edge of your seat and Tomas Millian's performance alone is enough to consider this a masterpiece of 70's exploitation cinema. The camera-work is masterfully restored in the new DVD-release, but Ennio Morricone's score is as mesmerizing as it ever was. A true must!

Golgo-13 Wow, I was not expecting this one to be as good as it turned out! Possibly Umberto Lenzi's best film, Almost Human is a violent and mean-spirited Italian crime-thriller from that golden age of the 70's. Tomas Milian stars as Giulio Sacchi, a lowly thug who is despised even by his peers. Sacchi has a lot of criminal perseverance, though, and manages to come up with a kidnapping/ransom scheme that should set him and his small crew up for life. Of course, the fact that Sacchi is a mean and crazy bastard makes things difficult (and deadly) for just about everyone involved, inadvertently or not! The dedicated, stone-faced cop investigating Sacchi's reign of terror was played by Henry Silva, who did a fine job in the role. To the tune of the thumping theme by Ennio Morricone, Almost Human delivers the details and action at a strong pace, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout. And with cool dialogue that Tarantino would love, well, this was just a very entertaining and well-made piece of Eurocrime. The new DVD from No Shame features several interview extras, the best of which being from Milian, who even at his old age manages to be a lively, funny guy.