Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Roman James Hoffman The premise of 'Fight for your life' sure sounds like an intriguing watch on paper: takes the vigilante rape/revenge format of films like 'Straw Dogs' (1971) and proto-type video nasty 'Last House on the Left' (1972) and apply it to a racial context. Even without the Civil Rights and Black Power movement still fresh in the public consciousness, the result was always bound to be explosive and some/many were always bound to be offended. However, the question concerning 'Fight for your Life' has always been: does the movie offer enough to escape the charge of just trying to shock? Many would answer "no", however I would disagree and say that, despite some flaws, it really does.William Sanderson (who would later star in 'Savage Weekend' and 'Blade Runner') plays Kane, the vehemently racist leader of a trio of escaped convicts who stumble across a house belonging to a black minister and his family and decide to hide out there. While there, the trio hold the family hostage and subject them to increasing levels of exploitation and sadism including a seemingly interminable array of racial swear words and a rape (although thankfully not graphically presented). However, the family resist the violence and abuse in various ways (some very moving) and as the upper hand swings and sways between the two groups the convincing performances from the cast definitely elicits fear, suspense, pathos, and rage from the viewer until the racists finally get their comeuppance.But is it a film about racism or is it a racist film? It's clear to me that, a similar way to D. W. Griffith's 'Birth of a Nation' (1915), it is a powerful film about racism and this power comes precisely from the depictions of racism in it. Sure there is an extraordinary amount of racially offensive language in it, but that's because the characters in it are racist! In fact, if there is any moral dubiousness in the film's premise it's the way the viewers' identification with the family sanctions the violent revenge enacted UPON the racists at the end of the film, a moral grey area acknowledged in the film by the police officer listening to the unfolding vengeance down the phone line.However, saying this, my issue with the film is that the while the racially offensive language used in the film is quite effective at the beginning, as it swiftly sets up both the perpetrators and the victims, the sheer quantity of these racial epithets lessens their impact considerably, even to the point of near boredom. I'm sure this felt "edgy" to the director at the time but set against the moral complexity mentioned before it comes off as unnecessarily crude. And yet, it was this very over-the-top language which got it on the list of Video Nasties drawn up in the UK in the 1980s and, like so many of the films on the list (although 'Fight for your Life' is more deserving than many of the others), it managed to gain a longer shelf life than it probably would have had otherwise.It's not a masterpiece by any measure, and the offence at times feels showy, but the film has heart and is definitely worth a (discomforting) watch.

ElijahCSkuggs Don't get that twisted, I liked this flick. That was just one of the many offensive lines our lead villain had. And he had a couple doozies. I really enjoyed the time he told his Asian side-kick to get a move on by saying, "Chop-chop!" What made it funny was that he laughed at his own creativity. We all know creativity makes racism funny so take it easy.Anywho, what we got here is a story about a trio of villains who are out on the lamb and trying to escape the coppers. They take shelter at a black family's house and let's just say they aren't the most polite guests the Turner family have entertained. So now the Turner family have three murderous convicts in the house and they're making themselves comfy by drinking loads of booze, humiliating the head of the house, threatening the grandma and a whole bunch of other awful things. Do the Turner's make it to see another day? Find out in Fight For Your Life.Overall, FFYLife was a pretty entertaining ride. From the over-the-top acting and writing the villains had, to the look at how the family is reacting to their abuse. The picture managed to keep the viewer (me) interested in what will go down next and how the picture will finally end. And by the end, I was completely satisfied. Alright! Definitely give this flick a looksee if you're into some old-school exploitation. It's a serious drama at heart, but it has that hardcore racism and violent themes to throw it over into exploit territory. Really good film here, y'all! Just ask Turd.

HumanoidOfFlesh 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.

BA_Harrison In Fight For Your Life, a delightfully trashy and very un-PC piece of 70s exploitation littered with racist language, three vicious criminals on the lam (a 'honky', a 'spic' and a 'chink') hold a family of bible-thumping 'black-assed coons' hostage and submit them to a day of torture. Eventually, the 'jungle bunnies' get the upper hand, decide not to turn the other cheek, and smite down their oppressors. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, sayeth the good book.In the UK, this now infamous movie was added to the Video Nasties list (where it has remained ever since); some nasty murders and a gang rape no doubt have something to do with that, but it is probably the film's endless array of racial slurs (see first paragraph for examples) delivered by bad-guy Jessie Lee Kane (William Sanderson) that keep this film from being released in 'good old Blighty'!Of course, it is not the film that is racist, rather than the character portrayed within the film, but our moral defenders here in the UK rarely take the time to consider the facts, preferring to take no chances by stopping us from seeing such things altogether. Any sane person can see that the movie just uses racism to shock the audience (a great example of true exploitation). In fact, the black family who are victimised are presented as a morally upstanding bunch and are the 'heroes' of the film.The film does suffer at times from some unnecessary and rather talky scenes, and Kane's verbal abuse becomes tiresome towards the end, but there are plenty of other moments that make this film worthwhile if you dig grindhouse cinema: a baby has a gun pointed at its head; a young boy has his head smashed in with a rock; a man is impaled on a huge shard of glass; and a woman is chased through some woods, her clothes come off, and she is pushed over a waterfall.And when the family does get revenge, even the dog joins in by taking a leak on one of the criminals. Now that's entertainment!