Fight for Your Life (1977)

The Worst Film Ever

A Brilliant Conflict

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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.

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.

Well, I've now seen two of the video nasties. While I'm sure I will encounter worse films, I'm sure few will be as damn uninteresting and boring as this. A standard house invasion/hostage movie with blaxploitaion/race wars crap thrown in, awful use of music, and a thriller script so standard that the only fun I had while watching this was giggling at the worst part and eating a Quality Street chocolate every time I guessed something right (drinking would have made the movie more enjoyable, and I'm attempting to sit through all these fully sober). That doesn't sound like much fun, does it? The movie's really no fun either. As for why it was classified as a video nasty, I have no idea, and I'm expecting to have a similar reaction to a bunch of other stuff.

Three escaped convicts led by racist Jessie Lee Kane head across the state line in a stolen car.They conduct a convenience store robbery where they shoot the owner and take black woman Corrie Turner hostage.They drive to her place where they take the Turner family prisoner as they sit down to Sunday dinner.There the gang proceed to torture,rape and racially abuse the family.This blacksploitation version of "Last House on the Left" is worth checking out especially for insane William Sanderson's performance as Kane.His racial hatred and use of racial insults can be pretty hard to stomach for non-exploitation fans.The scene of a young boy,who has his head bashed in with a rock by Chinese criminal is also pretty brutal and disturbing.It's a shame that "Fight for Your Life" was the last film Robert A.Endelson would ever get to make.