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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/almost_human_1974_ita_poster.jpg]]
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3-> ''"There is a reason for every living creature... with one exception."''
4-->-- '''Poster tagline'''
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6''Almost Human'' (1974), also called ''The Death Dealer'' and ''The Kidnapping of Mary Lou'', is an Italian ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi, with a musical score composed by Music/EnnioMorricone.
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8Giulio Sacchi (Creator/TomasMilian) is an trigger-happy small-time crook who, after getting kicked out of his gang for murdering a cop, kidnaps a wealthy heiress for a half-billion lire ransom. Straight-laced cop Walter Grandi (Creator/HenrySilva) follows the trail of drug-fueled death and destruction left in his wake, and tries to catch him before its too late.
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10The original Italian title is ''Milano odia: la polizia non-può sparare'', which translates to "Milan hates, the police can't shoot".
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12----
13!! This film provides examples of:
14* AffablyEvil: Giulio, whenever he's able to suppress his impulses. Doesn't stop him from being a brutal sadist who rapes and murders indiscriminately.
15* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: Giulio justified his crimes by arguing that the wealthy elite like Porrino have hurt him economically, so holding his daughter for ransom is simply a ''quid pro quo''.
16* AxCrazy: Giulio, in spades.
17* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Detective Grandi finally corners and kills Giulio after the justice system fails. But, he's probably going to prison for a long time, and it won't bring back any of the people Giulio killed.]]
18* BadassInANiceSuit: Grandi, replete with a gray blazer and spiffy maroon turtleneck.
19* DirtyCoward: When he finally gets cornered, Giulio pitifully begs for his life and tries to flee.
20* FanDisservice: Topless women in an Italian exploitation movie? A-okay. Said women being tortured, raped, hung from a chandelier, and machine-gunned to death by a drug-fueled psychopath? Not so much.
21* NeverTrustATrailer: The 1980 American promotional campaign inexplicably tried to pitch the film as a horror movie, with the tagline ''"There is a reason for every living creature... with one exception"'', and [[https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p97055_p_v8_aa.jpg a bizarre rendering of Giulio with green skin and bulging, slitted eyes]].
22* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: For trying to protect Marilú from execution, [[spoiler:Carmine is killed by Giulio.]]
23* PsychoForHire: Giulio is kicked out of his gang after his trigger-happy ways nearly get them caught during a simple bank hold-up.
24* SoleSurvivor: Giulio is the only one to make it out of the caper alive, [[spoiler:if only because he's killed everyone else.]]
25* {{Understatement}}: The morning after the massacre at the villa,[[note]]Which saw the occupants raped at gunpoint, hung naked from a chandelier, and machine-gunned to death.[[/note]] Giulio comments that things got "a little out of hand."
26* UrbanHellscape: Milan is a gray, perpetually-overcast, crime-riddled hellscape where murder, kidnapping, and robberies are everyday occurrences.
27** TruthInTelevision, at least at the time, when Milan had one of the highest ''per capita'' crime rates in Europe.
28* WouldHarmAChild: Giulio [[spoiler:shoots a child through a closed door.]] To be fair, it's a spur-of-the-moment reaction, and even he seems disgusted with himself afterward. It's the only time he shows any regret for his actions.
29* VillainousBreakdown: Like a petulant child, Giulio has one whenever he gets called out or doesn't get his way.
30* VillainProtagonist: Giulio has little-or-no redeeming colleagues, and any sympathy the audience may have for him has vanished by the time he's [[spoiler:raped and murdered an entire family for kicks.]]

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