Death Ranch

source: Death Ranch

Opening (and later, closing-) credits date the setting of this 2020 blaxploitation homage to the early 1970's, with clothing, transistor radio and reference to the 'new' Disneyworld to make sure we didn't miss it, but really the story is timeless. With only one car and one building on screen, this could have been anytime 1965 to the present. Three siblings, with strong family bonds but significantly different life paths, end up at an isolated farm building, where they run into a clichéd band of Klansmen - a strong leader but weak and not too bright followers. One of the family rescues a woman (who then disappears without trace) from the Klan, and they have to fight their way out. Not too many ideas, but some neat inversions: the bad guy throws dirt in the antihero's face; the female sibling is the most ruthless and most effective; a white man dies first and at least one black character survives to the end. Slightly lacking in ideas, so some of the more personal violence is repeated with only slight changes - an eye bitten out after an ear earlier, two separate hands thrust into gunshot wounds - but there is enough gore and ingenuity to keep us entertained. I wondered how many actors were involved, or whether crew members stood in. Only eight characters show their faces, while most keep hoods on. One Klansman walks like a young woman, while most never speak or do anything but shoot and turn their heads - hardly Juilliard standard. Continuity is not great, dialogue is barely comprehensible for the first twenty minutes, and some behaviours beggar belief - standing upright behind a waist-high fence to reload while being fired on? Overall, though, a terrific low-budget thriller with shocks, cringes and laughs aplenty. Well worth the 78 minutes it takes.

If your answer is yes, and you like Grindhouse violence, watch this film. The dvd cover has a Tarantino comparison, because films like this usually do, but in this case it isn't only a marketing ploy, it's true. Tarantino films are, above everything else, always cool, and so is this.

I must say that I liked this 2020 movie's cover/poster and it definitely had a retro blaxploitation feel to it. And since I hadn't already seen this movie before, and I had the opportunity to do so now in 2021, of course I did so. And while "Death Ranch" certainly is a watchable movie, it was sadly also a rather bland and mundane movie. "Death Ranch" doesn't bring anything new to this particular style of revenge horror movie that haven't already been seen or done better in other similar movies. Now, don't get me wrong here, I am not saying that "Death Ranch" was a bad movie. Not at all. It just was a mediocre one when it came to it. The storyline was pretty straight forward, but to the point where it was rather predictable, and that was something that served as an anchor and held the movie back. So writer and director Charlie Steeds sort of shot himself in the foot here with the way he opted to take the story and the movie. It should be said, though, that what made "Death Ranch" watchable was the amount of blood, gore and mayhem throughout the course of the movie. There certainly was more than enough to keep a seasoned horror veteran and gorehound such as myself content. And I will say that the this movie is rather visceral and visual, and that definitely worked well in favor of the movie. The acting in "Death Ranch" was adequate, taking into consideration the type of movie that you are sitting down to watch. So don't go expecting any grand, stellar acting performances that will reap an abundance of Academy awards. All in all, "Death Ranch" was a watchable, albeit generic and bland one. It can easily be watched a single time around, but I doubt that I will ever be sitting down to watch "Death Ranch" a second time. My rating of "Death Ranch" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

Death Ranch