Slaughter

Slaughter (1972)

When the mob kills off the parents of an ex-Green Beret Vietnam vet they start themselves a war. Slaughter tracks down the killers and takes care of them, but by doing that screws up a long running investigation. The Feds threaten to send Slaughter away for a long time, unless he helps them bring the mob down in Mexico. Soon Slaughter is in Mexico mixing it up with the local Mob and helping the Feds track down the computer that contains all the information they will need to bring down the whole operation.

This is a typical revenge movie with an indestructible hero running about gunning down all the bad guys and I loved it! While not original the story moves along quickly and is never boring. The movie also has a cool hero that is played perfectly by Jim Brown. Sure this is just another variation on the same tough guy persona that he plays in every movie, but it is perfect for the character of Slaughter. The movie also does a wonderful job of creating an excellent villain, played by Rip Torn, for him to go up against. One of the big mistakes these movies make is to not give the hero a good villain to play off of. Rip Torn is awesome as the mobster Hoffo (Hoffo instead of Hoffa, get it?), which makes this an even better movie. I also wanted to mention Stella Stevens who plays the woman caught between Hoffo and Slaughter. She isn’t asked to do much, but still manages a decent performance. Can you really ask for more than cool characters and a plot that keeps the action coming? Now to be fair there are a few annoying things with character and story. Early on I was pretty excited to see genre vet Cameron Mitchell appear as a big shot Fed. But he disappears for most of the movie and gets very little screen time, which is disappointing. Also some of the henchmen characters were clearly chosen for their parts because of their skills fighting and not their acting abilities.

From a technical viewpoint this is a well-put together movie. There are a couple of shots during a few of the fight scenes that use some sort of “fish eye” lens that distorts the visuals. I have no idea why they do that, but it is very annoying, especially with how well choreographed the fights are. The cast is very physical, especially Jim Brown, and sells the fights better than most of the other low budget movies I’ve seen. I also need to mention the music, which is very cool. Luchi De Jesus, who also did the scores for a couple of my favorites Get Christy Love and Black Belt Jones, composed the music. The camera work, except for the previously mentioned “fish eye”, is competent and doesn’t take away from the movie.

Bottom line is that if you are looking for a well-made Blaxsploitation movie starring a familiar face then Slaughter is the movie for you. Oh and if you are interested in this one don’t forget to check out the equally cool sequel Slaughter’s Big Rip Off.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer