Slaughter

R

Released Aug 16, 1972

1 hr. 31 min.

Crime

Drama

List

17%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

After his parents are killed by a car bomb, a former Green Beret named Slaughter (Jim Brown) begins investigating and is shocked to discover they were targets of a Mafia hit. He decides to settle the score on his own and successfully takes out some of the gangsters responsible before being caught by police. Now faced with a murder charge, Slaughter strikes a deal with government officials to have the charges dropped provided he can find and kill another gangster who's since fled to Mexico.

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Audience Member

Jim Brown's blaxploitation showcase starts off really good with a bunch of quickly paced action scenes that set up the story, but goes downhill pretty rapidly. The whole middle of the film is slow and dull, and nowhere near as good as you'd expect from a film that has Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Don Gordon and Cameron Mitchell to play with. It picks up in the end, but I didn't really care all that much by then.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Finally crossed one of the last classic Blaxploitation films off the list as part of a double disc set and I'm happy to have finally gotten around to it. Fun stuff from the opening theme to the last big show-down, wonderful stuff. Well worth a rental.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Director Jack Starrett specialized in making exciting drive-in flicks, such as "The Losers," "The Gravy Train," and "Race with the Devil," and this Jim Brown vehicle was one of his two forays into blaxploitation cinema ("Cleopatra Jone being the other). As exploitation directors go, Starrett is not quite equal a talent as Larry Cohen, but I would say he is equal a filmmaker to say a Jack Hill. To this film specifically, Jim Brown is Slaughter and is an ex-green beret looking to avenge the death of family killed by the mob. It's a pretty standard story for the genre, but the film is elevated by Brown's wooden, yet oddly charismatic performance, along with a better than average supporting cast that include Stella Steven and more significantly, the brilliant Rip Torn as an delightfully over-the-top snarling villain. It's not the best of the genre, but it's definitely better than most.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the greatest blaxploitation flicks ever made. For me right up there with 'Shaft' and 'Coffy'. Former Green Beret Slaughter seeks revenge after his gangster Dad gets blown up in a gangland hit. Jim Brown is the balls as Slaughter and Rip Torn is a sleazy fuck as his nemesis. Billy Preston's theme song is immense and IMO the greatest tune to come out of this genre.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great title track and some nipples cannot save this mess of a movie

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Slaughter is the new funky and fresh film from seventies that proudly displays sticking it to the man. However, this film does teach us one valuable lesson; even though the Man can take a vacation, he will always be the Man. Slaughter is not a great film, but I did have fair amount of fun with the laughable action, inane logic, and silly villains. There are a number of scenes that the villains have the chance to kill Slaughter, but they then develop an idea that they can kick his butt which back fires. It is all pretty tiring, but I did not mind it this time and is definitely better some really awful films like Black Belt Jones or Sugar Hill. Plus, this film may have been shot in Mexico, so there are some pretty chicas in this film and you cannot go wrong with that.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Jack Starrett

Director

Jim Brown

Slaughter

Stella Stevens

Ann

Rip Torn

Dominic Hoffo

Don Gordon

Harry

Cameron Mitchell

A.W. Price

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Roger Greenspun

New York Times

Jim Brown plays Slaughter as if he hated doing it, which is to his credit.

May 10, 2005

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An absurd macho Mafia thriller.

Rated: C

Aug 5, 2023

Full Review

Rossi Jackson

New Pittsburgh Courier

Most of the action is staged so badly and the dialogue delivered so awkwardly that the effect is ludicrous.

Dec 13, 2021

Full Review

Samuel A. Hay

Baltimore Afro-American

You wonder what exactly is the meaning of this.

Jul 28, 2020

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

There are no saving good Bad Movie standards to rescue Slaughter.

Jan 6, 2020

Full Review

Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

After his parents are killed by a car bomb, a former Green Beret named Slaughter (Jim Brown) begins investigating and is shocked to discover they were targets of a Mafia hit. He decides to settle the score on his own and successfully takes out some of the gangsters responsible before being caught by police. Now faced with a murder charge, Slaughter strikes a deal with government officials to have the charges dropped provided he can find and kill another gangster who's since fled to Mexico.

Director: Jack Starrett
Executive Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
Screenwriter: Mark Hanna, Don Williams
Production Co: American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 1972, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016

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