In a claustrophobic villa in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, Alessandro still lives with his blind mother and three adult siblings. Tormented by twisted desires, Alessandro decides to take drastic measures to cure his dysfunctional family of their various afflictions—by plotting to murder them all.

The twisted psychodrama of a degenerate provincial family make for riveting viewing in this truly subversive debut from the great Italian filmmaker. Taking aim at social decadence, religious hypocrisy and the myth of the nuclear family, Bellocchio’s film landed a punch to the gut of Italian cinema.