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Fight for Your Life

Fight for Your Life (1977)

October. 03,1977
|
6.3
|
R
| Drama Thriller Crime

A minister dispenses justice on three convicts who take his family hostage.

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acidburn-10
1977/10/03

The video nasties have always been something that has intrigued me over the years, I always love reading or hearing about it, and through the years I think that it's safe to say that I have seen nearly all of them, mainly the better known ones. This is probably one of the least remembered ones in my opinion as it kinda slipped through my radar for many years and have only recently came round to actually seeing it, as I have always enjoyed the home invasion genre of horror.This one sees 3 prisoners break out of jail and take a family hostage in their own home. I can see why this is so controversial seeing that the main villain constantly spews racist slurs amongst the family members, all the while murdering anyone who passes by and tortures the family in some very sickening situations. The positive aspects of this film are firstly the cast, from both the family members and the villains who are played really well. Plus while the story is very basic, it does move along at a decent pace and never gets boring, always keeping you interested at what's gonna happen next. The family itself are very decent and loving, giving you that nice warm feeling that these people are genially nice, following they're great chemistry with each other and they're interactions with each other, really makes you feel horrified when it comes to them being tortured by the impending doom that's about to wait for them.But the negative aspects of this are mainly in my opinion my personal tastes. Firstly the murder of the young boy was very disheartening and sickening in my opinion, just being there for shock value and I hated it, I would have rathered this being left out entirely, especially when you get to know the boy and his friendship with the black kid, was just uncomfortable. Also the level of violence that these criminals inflict on the family, does go over the top and becomes rather cartoonish, to be honest apart from this family being black, there was just didn't seem to be any reason why the main villain is doing this to them, except for just the fact that he's psycho and then only given a very quick tacked on excuse at the end, which just felt lazy. Then finally the pay off at the end when the tables are turned is very underwhelming, and didn't really feel that they quite got they're just desserts.The cast were very well played in their parts, William Sanderson who plays the ring leader Kane was the only standout from the bad guys side of things, and he was very despicable and really made you hate him, he played it very well and does have that eerie presence, never knowing what he's gonna do next. The other two convicts however were quite forgettable, while they did have their moments; there weren't any development on them to make them standout. The Turner family however made very solid performances, Robert Judd who plays the head of the family Ted with much dignity and restraint. The young son Reggie Rock Blythewood was played very well, showing true courage and braveness to a role that in any other young child actor's hands wouldn't have been half as believable. But the true standout was Lela Small as the wheelchair bound grandmother just stole the show, with her ballsy and no nonsense attitude was just a delight, especially when she shows no fear to her captors and cuts them down to size with her own brand of verbal abuse was just excellent, she stole every scene she was in.All in all "Fight For Your Life" is an okay overall movie, but it does leave a bad taste in your mouth and makes you feel uncomfortable throughout, but overall it is saved slightly by a very strong cast.

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punishmentpark
1977/10/04

More than textbook exploitation, with plenty of intelligent twists and details to keep the viewer alert. Nót shying away from lots of violence, but (for instance) when it comes to the obligatory rape scene, the viewer must use more imagination than with other, similar movies, but in this treatment lies a nice twist of the top cop condoning vigilante justice. The acting is good enough, though not great, even if William Sanderson comes awfully close, portraying a seriously damaged white man who hides his fragile state by laying the racism, degradations and violence thick on anyone who gets in the way. The rest of the cast do their jobs adequately, but that's pretty much it.The ending, though it has the smart idea of exposing the fragile state of Jessie, felt rather off-handed. Even if exploitation films are all about the revenge, somehow this one didn't feel completely right. The best way I can explain this feeling is that the reverend's demeanor changes way too fast. It's sort of disappointing to see him lower himself to the baddies' standards, even if every blow he deals out is a just one - or am I getting too old for this shiii-it...? Nah. Other than that it is a pretty good exploitation flick, with a lot of violence (including the necessary gore and a little nudity) and some pretty smart writing here and there.A good 7 out of 10 for now, perhaps more in the future.

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Scott LeBrun
1977/10/05

Veteran character actor William Sanderson lights up the screen as one of cinemas' most repugnant racist villains in this trash flick that truly does keep you on edge throughout. Constantly spouting various ugly racial epithets, his is a role without redemption, one that the audience will thoroughly despise and whose demise they will be craving for 86 minutes. Editor / producer / director Robert A. Endelson, working from the button pushing script by Straw Weisman, creates a gallery of vivid characters, the good and the bad alike. The pacing is non-stop and the movie is over almost before one knows it. (Which would likely be a good thing for those upset with the material.) Weisman treats many victims as fair game; the fact that Jessie Lee Kane (Sanderson) aims a gun at an infant will undoubtedly cause the film to lose some viewers, but those that stick it out will find this to be an interesting entertainment.Kane and his associates, a Hispanic named Chino (Daniel Faraldo) and an Oriental named Ling (Peter Yoshida) escape from a prison van and make their way to the country, where in the act of robbing a liquor store they abduct young Corrie Turner (Yvonne Ross) and take her back to her family home, where they proceed to terrorize the Turners, led by calm and pacifistic preacher Ted Turner (Robert Judd). Meanwhile, a detective named Reilly (David Cargill) who gets nicknamed "Rulebook" because he'll bust *anybody* for *anything* is on the trail of the trio of creeps.There are some pretty effective yet incredibly grim moments here. Yet the story is not totally without humour, and it even gets uplifting when, after Ted is forced to start singing, his whole family joins in and turns it into a show of defiance to the attackers. The violence is bloody and brutal when it comes. There's also partial nudity and (suggested) rape. The acting is actually pretty good from most of the cast; Judd is likable and retains his dignity the entire time. Lela Small is extremely feisty as the grandmother who's never afraid to tell the bad guys what she thinks of them. Those who do watch this to the end will find their blood pumping and likely raise a cheer at the conclusion.Undeniably a relic of its era and something that likely wouldn't / couldn't get made nowadays, this is therefore worth seeking out for exploitation aficionados.Eight out of 10.

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Wizard-8
1977/10/06

It's easy to see why "Fight For Your Life" would provoke certain viewers into a fury. The chief bad guy of the movie is an extreme racist, and over and over he subjects the black family that he holds hostage to various kinds of humiliation and degradation. However, while the movie does have some shocking moments, I wasn't as offended as I thought I would be. There is a touch of an absurd (and comic) tone in the background of the movie throughout. This has the movie frequently going over the top, and thus it's often hard to take things completely seriously. Also, the performance of William Sanderson is one that's of the right note. Although you'll hate his character's guts, he is so energetic and playful that at the same time you'll find him entertaining.But this movie is DEFINITELY not for everyone. If you haven't been offended by other notorious extreme exploitation movies like "Last House On The Left" and "I Spit On Your Grave", then it's probably safe to give this movie a look. If you are very politically correct and/or easily offended, stay away.

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