SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
PiraBit
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Michelle Ridley
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Stephanie
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Coventry
Like all the other reviews stated clear already, "Thou Shalt Not Kill
Except" offers more interesting trivia details than actual good cinema. The film is somewhat of a side-project of the "Evil Dead"-team; only the roles and duties were exchanged for this once. Bruce Campbell (co-)wrote and Sam Raimi (nowadays the acclaimed director of blockbusters such as "Spiderman") stars as a thoroughly depraved, sneering and serial killing gang leader. He's totally awesome in a tacky kind of way! That means Raimi is a downright lousy actor, but if you see him go over the top here and then subsequently picture him sitting in the director's seat of a $200,000,000 box office hit
it's just a priceless image! The plot is familiar revenge/exploitation camp but ever more violent, senseless and uncompromising than it is usually the case. Four buddies that fought side by side in Vietnam reunite in their Michigan hometown for some random hard-drinking, sex with minors and blasting the hell out of wooden outhouses with shotguns. Meanwhile, there's a murderous gang of bikers active in the area. They're self-acclaimed messiahs, already killed several entire families and always clad nightmarish messages on the wall in human blood. You know, lovely stuff like "The Bloodbath is Coming!" Real-life scum as practice-shooting targets were just what our 'Nam buddies needed and it even gets personal when it turns out that the gang killed Stryker's befriended bartender and kidnapped his high school sweetheart. The body count in this film is enormous and each separate killing is somewhat imaginative. Unlike most Vietnam-themed retribution/vigilante flicks, like for example "Rolling Thunder" and "The Exterminator", the avengers here weren't depressed, embittered or dehumanized after serving in the war. Quite the contrary, they love bringing up memories about their tour together and literally enjoy shooting up the enemy
ANY type of enemy! Much more than the other entries in this sub genre, "Thou Shalt Not Kill
Except" is a pure glorification of violence. The filming style is gritty and very cheap, the editing and sound effects are really clumsy and the forced "happy" ending is truly hilarious. In other words; pure & genuine exploitation that won't get appreciated by everyone, but if you like this kind of trash and/or you want to see the other - more secret - side of Sam Raimi, "Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except" comes with my highest recommendation.
polysicsarebest
This film has Sam Raimi as a Charles Manson-like figure with a big gang taking on a Vietnam veteran and his gang in Bruce Campbell's backyard. Tons of blood, death, and some nice gore happens. What more do you need to know? I really have nothing else to say that could make you see this. You've already made up your mind. This film is filled with tons of hilarious segments, including some army men doing kung-fu. The last 30 minutes or so of this film is just violent scene after violent scene, and here's the thing: it never gets old. I've seen so many films where the action gets pretty old after a while. After 500 explosions or so, I usually get tired. In fact, war films are probably the most notorious for this, featuring way too many deaths and action scenes and not enough compelling moments. But this film is actually entertaining in so many ways that I can't not recommend it. It's another film you'll want all your friends to watch. Just a straight-up good time.Even though it's listed on IMDb as "Stryker's War", my copy is indeed known as "...Thou Shalt Not Kill, EXCEPT" which is probably the best movie title in history. Get this today. Also, check out "Intruder" which also has Sam and Ted and Bruce. Man, they used to all be doing such interesting, awesome things. Now... Spider-Man? Come on.
pogotheklown
There is not one thing that I really liked about this movie. I thought if Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi were involved, then this would be a decent flick. Boy, was I wrong. I found the story lacking. All but like two of the death were worth a darn.
batturtle
Not a good movie by any means. But, it is very cool to see the early no budget work of some of the guys that went on to bring you such favorites as Evil Dead, Darkman & Xena. If your a fan of Renaissance Pictures & Sam Raimi, this one's well worth checking out.