utgard14
After his parents are killed by the mob, a former Green Beret (Jim Brown) joins forces with "The Man" to get his revenge. An enjoyable Blaxploitation film that's not without its share of flaws. Obviously, NFL great Jim Brown's acting leaves a lot to be desired. He doesn't do well in the quieter, more emotional scenes. When he's ticked off and kicking butt, though, he's fun to watch. Cameron Mitchell is fine as a cop. Rip Torn is the villain and he spends most of the movie squinting and saying the N word. Don Gordon is amusing as a sort of comic relief sidekick. Highlight of the movie is sexy Stella Stevens, in particular her memorable nude scenes. This isn't one of my favorite Blaxploitation flicks but it's solid with some nice action and T&A. Give it a look if you're a fan of the genre or a fan of nice boobs.
merklekranz
There are only three reasons to see this and they are Stella Stevens three nude scenes, two in bed with Jim Brown, and one in the shower. Other than Stella, there is little to recommend. All you get is plenty of meaningless action, car chases, and other nonsense. Cameron Mitchell is totally wasted, and Rip Torn unfortunately is forgettable as a Mafia boss. The revenge plot seems forced, and the government's involvement has something to do with computers, but is murky at best. One plus is the Todd AO photography, which produces several intriguing wide angle shots. "Slaughter" is nothing more than a weak mafia film, with Stella Stevens being the only attraction. - MERK
Michael_Elliott
Slaughter (1972) ** (out of 4)Ex Green Beret Slaughter (Jim Brown) seeks vengeance against the Mob who killed his father and soon teams up with some Feds to track down the gang and take them out one by one including the head guy (Rip Torn). This AIP blaxploitation flick has a lot going for it but I found the direction to be all over the place and there were a few too many slow spots to be a complete winner, which is a shame because there's a terrific cast on display here. The screenplay is your typical revenge tale but I think the film could have benefited from a small re-write because what we have here isn't all that interesting because the script really lets us down in terms of the bad guys. We have a couple different bad guys but neither of them are very interesting and I think the film would have benefited by touching them up a tad bit more especially since you have an actor like Torn eating up the scenery and turning in a fine performance. Brown, not the greatest actor out there, but he still manages to be quite cool in the role and he's got some funny comic timing as well. The sequence where he crashes into a party and the servant asks if he has an invitation and Brown slowly pulls out his gun and says "yep" is certainly one of the highlights of the film. We also get Cameron Mitchell in a couple brief scenes and it's always fun seeing him. Even though all the guys do a good job it's the beautiful Stella Stevens who steals the film. It's not her acting that steals the movie but her chest, which is constantly coming out of no matter what type of outfit she's wearing.
Woodyanders
Rugged ex-Green Beret Slaughter (excellently played with mucho smooth macho aplomb by football great Jim Brown) goes to South America to exact a harsh revenge on the gangsters who killed his parents. Slaughter locks horns with coarse, nasty, racist mob boss Hoffo (a deliciously odious Rip Torn) and romances Hoffo's sweet'n'sexy moll Ann (a charming performance by the breathtakingly beautiful Stella Stevens, who has a splendidly steamy gratuitous shower nude scene). 70's drive-in movie maestro Jack ("Race With the Devil") Starrett directs with his customary tight'n'brisk streamlined efficiency: the snappy pace rarely lets up for a minute, the copious action scenes are vigorous and exciting, there's no pretense to speak of, and the violence is startlingly raw and brutal (Brown really seems to enjoy pounding on various extras with his fists during the ferocious hand-to-hand fight sequences). Kudos are also in order for the stellar supporting cast: Don Gordon as Slaughter's antsy, bumbling partner Harry, Marlene Clark as pesky government agent Kim, Norman Alfe as wise, gravel-voiced Mafia kingpin Mario, and Cameron Mitchell as a huffy treasury inspector. Luchi De Jesus' funky score, Rosalio Solano's slick cinematography (the frequent use of the fish-eye lens is very groovy), Billy Preston's awesomely hip'n'ripping theme song, and a couple of smoking hot interracial love scenes with Brown and Stevens further enhance the overall sterling quality of this on the money solid and satisfying vintage down'n'dirty 70's blaxploitation blast.
AD
