Director – Max Pecas (The Fashioned in Saint-Tropez, Hot Dogs in Ibiza
Starring – Thierry de Carbonnieres (Highlander, How I Killed My Father), Jean-Marc Maurel (China Blues, Blue Helmet), and Lillemour Jonsson (Dog Day, Hello Beatrice)
Release Date – 1985
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 3/5
I love these odd and obscure titles that so many of these boutique labels bring us. I’m always open to a lost early 80s slasher, a never released S.O.V. horror titles, a giallo that never made the jump the the U.S., or an unreleased title from the 90s that found itself in distribution hell. That brings me to Mondo Macabro.
I’ve been reviewing their releases for years now and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them for the most part. A few weeks back I was sent a review copy of the 1985 crime thriller Death Squad. The film is a French flick released under the title Brigade of Death and is one I had never heard of until Mondo released it. Like always, I want to thank Mondo Macabro for sending this one over for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a cop investigating the murder of three prostitutes and a fellow female officer. The deeper into the seedy side of France he goes, he uncovers that these murders are connected and something much bigger is at play. **Spoiler Alert**
I was not expecting to like Death Squad as much as I did but I did. It’s not the film I was expecting and I think that added to my enjoyment to some extent. I was expecting a street vigilante film similar to the film Vigilante. Instead, I was greeted with a sleazy crime thriller that had so much nudity that I often thought I was watching a softcore flick.
The acting in this one is extremely campy. The cast really does ham it up in front of the camera but it adds to the fun of the film. In fact, it’s the acting in this film that I now suspect a lot of directors and actors model their performances from in the direct to video action flicks of the 90s and early 00s.
The story for this one is fairly predictable but it’s one of those films that you still enjoy even if you know how it will end. The character’s interactions, the action, nudity, and so on comes together to hold the viewer’s attention even if the last act of the film doesn’t have that much of an impact.
Finally, the film has several gun wounds with minor effects and lots of nudity from both sexes. The nudity doesn’t really make up for the lack of blood for us genre fans but it’s still fun to look at. Overall, Death Squad is another must own release from Mondo Macabro. It’s a raunchy crime film that doesn’t disappoint. Check it out.
Special Features:
Choice of French audio with Eng subs or English dub
Interview with actor Therry de Carbonnieres
Interview with actress Oliva Durtron
Interview with cinematographer Jean-Claude Couty
Trailer
