Plot: While the idea of fighting in Vietnam wasn’t a beloved one, a group of black men decide that given the racism rampant in their hometown, perhaps they’d be better off overseas than at home. So Ray (Roy Jefferson) and his brother Junior (Haskell Anderson) enlist and are shipped off to the jungles, with their good friend Ned (Le Tari) also along for the adventure. While in Vietnam, the trio learned how to use guns, survive off the land, and engage enemies in all sorts of situations, but now they’ve returned home and just want to relax. As it turns out, the racist atmosphere that was bad when they left has only escalated in their absence. Now the Ku Klux Klan has taken over and pretty much runs the town, doing whatever they please. When a young woman is attacked and raped however, the returning veterans have had enough and despite the long odds, vow to take a stand. But with the Klan so deeply in control of the town, can even these seasoned warriors stand up and reclaim their hometown?

Entertainment Value: If you’re going to make a movie about race relations, there’s few better conflicts than blacks battling the Ku Klux Klan. Brotherhood of Death has some heated race related content and while it does feel at times like exploitation, it has more to offer than cheap thrills. The story centers on three black soldiers back from Vietnam who discover their town has been overrun by the Klan, so they decide to step up and take a stand. This movie does have elements of both blaxploitation and hicksploitation, but this isn’t often light hearted stuff. The cast includes members of the Washington Redskins, which might seem like an odd casting choice, but the performances turn out to be pretty decent. Not much in terms of character development, most of the villains are one dimensional with no real depth and the heroes follow suit, aside from the race issue, there’s little narrative development. I suppose we don’t need complex motivations and such for a drive-in flick, but it would have been nice to see some effort made to flesh out these characters. In the end, the movie is a wild ride and provides solid entertainment for fans of the genre. The mean spirited nature is bound to offend, but that’s part of the goal in a movie like this, the shock value involved. If you’re a fan of blaxploitation or hicksploitation, give this one a shot.

Just one topless scene and its brief, so not much nakedness. The blood is sparse for most of the movie, but it picks up toward the finale. A set piece showdown that closes out the movie provides some gun shot wounds and a nice throat slash. I’ve read the blood was spaghetti sauce, which makes it even better. So a few splashes here and there, but not much overall bloodshed. As far as dialogue, this one has a lot of mean spirited attacks and racial epithets slung around. There’s also some soldier speak like war tactics and such, which adds a little. So a lot of dysfunction, racism, and hatred in this one, just as you’d expect. As far as craziness, the movie’s dark tone adds to the score, as well as the finale which features some fun guerrilla warfare moments. But otherwise, this one sticks to the genre basics. This never feels over the top or flashy like some of this kind, so its not all that off the deep end. Although, the Vietnam scenes are so poorly done, you might consider those a little kooky.

Nudity: 1/10

Blood: 2/10

Dialogue: 4/10

Overall Insanity: 2/10

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