Four outcasts are thrown out of town by corrupt sheriff Donal (DR. BUTCHER) O'Brien. There's card-sharp Fabio Testi, pregnant prostitute Lynn Frederick, drunk Michael J. Pollard and Harry Baird, called a "Mexican" by some other characters though his ancestors are definitely from a big continent across the Atlantic. Their struggle to survive in the desert is bad enough but the filth really hits the fan-blades when they encounter sadistic outlaw Tomas Milian, star of a few million spaghetti Westerns.
There is a rape scene, a bloody gunfight with shotguns, and Lucio Fulci is one of the few who would throw a live skinning and cannibalism into a western. (Once you find out who gets cannibalized, you'll want to barf right there.) And only Fulci could turn such a western into a colossal snore. He plays the old exploitation trick of throwing all the red stuff into the first half, just to keep the audience from walking out, and then practically nothing happens during the second half. By the time Testi catches up with Milian you won't care who murders who, as long as the film comes to an end.
This was supposedly based on a story by Bret Harte. I'm no authority on that writer but based on his reputation, the source material must have been better than the movie.
I won't give this flick a "Bomb" rating, only because the gore is well-executed and Lynn Frederick, as always, is easy on the eyeballs. However, judging from this and CONQUEST, Uncle Lucio should have stuck to the horror movies he did so well. I'll be taking my own advice when I rent Fulci films in the future.
There is a rape scene, a bloody gunfight with shotguns, and Lucio Fulci is one of the few who would throw a live skinning and cannibalism into a western. (Once you find out who gets cannibalized, you'll want to barf right there.) And only Fulci could turn such a western into a colossal snore. He plays the old exploitation trick of throwing all the red stuff into the first half, just to keep the audience from walking out, and then practically nothing happens during the second half. By the time Testi catches up with Milian you won't care who murders who, as long as the film comes to an end.
This was supposedly based on a story by Bret Harte. I'm no authority on that writer but based on his reputation, the source material must have been better than the movie.
I won't give this flick a "Bomb" rating, only because the gore is well-executed and Lynn Frederick, as always, is easy on the eyeballs. However, judging from this and CONQUEST, Uncle Lucio should have stuck to the horror movies he did so well. I'll be taking my own advice when I rent Fulci films in the future.