Fight for Your Life

The Flick

Born of an era when every low-budget film producer was looking for an angle to make a quick buck in the exploitation market, “Fight For Your Life” plays the race card with a vengeance — pitting a trio of escaped cons (led by white trash kingpin William Sanderson) against an innocent suburban black family. Hurling epithets and punches with equal ferocity, the movie aims to shock (especially with a third act twist akin to “Last House on the Left”) but is actually fairly tame by cult cinema standards. Sanderson and his crew taunt their hostages with every “darkie” insult you can imagine, but the presiding head of the household (Robert Judd), a minister, insists on turning the other cheek…until he just can’t take it anymore! (Yup, just like the movie poster). There’s one or two cold-blooded murders, one attempted rape, three successful rapes, and the brutal braining of a 12-year-old boy. And that’s before anyone starts fighting back! As ferocious as it all sounds, director Robert A. Endelson pulls back from most of the violence, getting more mileage out of the “Desperate Hours”-style interplay between the cons and their captives. The racial rabble-rousing seems self-conscious today; so much so, even the gritty, East Coast photography can’t make it terribly believable.

The Features

Blue Underground’s William Lustig hosts a running commentary with writer Straw Weisman and DP Lloyd Freidus. Weisman carries the bulk of the conversation — quick-witted and adept at keeping the discussion on track. Both the director and stars chose not to participate due to the film’s controversial subject matter (which seems silly since it would have given them a chance to explain their motives directly, but, oh well). Trailers (one for black audiences and another for whites), TV spots, and a still gallery complete the package. The transfer itself seems in keeping with a “grindhouse classic” of its time — sharp, but with moderate wear inherent from the source material.

Final Score

A DVD time capsule for the cult cinema crowd, “Fight For Your Life’s” instigator intentions is more obvious than similar films like Larry Cohen’s “Bone” (also from Blue Underground) and ultimately less interesting. But the mechanics of the plot gain enough momentum to make it a mean-spirited thriller of note.