I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The premise of 'Fight for your life' sure sounds like an intriguing watch on paper: takes the vigilante rape/revenge format of films like 'Straw Dogs' (1971) and proto-type video nasty 'Last House on the Left' (1972) and apply it to a racial context. Even without the Civil Rights and Black Power movement still fresh in the public consciousness, the result was always bound to be explosive and some/many were always bound to be offended. However, the question concerning 'Fight for your Life' has always been: does the movie offer enough to escape the charge of just trying to shock? Many would answer "no", however I would disagree and say that, despite some flaws, it really does.William Sanderson (who would later star in 'Savage Weekend' and 'Blade Runner') plays Kane, the vehemently racist leader of a trio of escaped convicts who stumble across a house belonging to a black minister and his family and decide to hide out there. While there, the trio hold the family hostage and subject them to increasing levels of exploitation and sadism including a seemingly interminable array of racial swear words and a rape (although thankfully not graphically presented). However, the family resist the violence and abuse in various ways (some very moving) and as the upper hand swings and sways between the two groups the convincing performances from the cast definitely elicits fear, suspense, pathos, and rage from the viewer until the racists finally get their comeuppance.But is it a film about racism or is it a racist film? It's clear to me that, a similar way to D. W. Griffith's 'Birth of a Nation' (1915), it is a powerful film about racism and this power comes precisely from the depictions of racism in it. Sure there is an extraordinary amount of racially offensive language in it, but that's because the characters in it are racist! In fact, if there is any moral dubiousness in the film's premise it's the way the viewers' identification with the family sanctions the violent revenge enacted UPON the racists at the end of the film, a moral grey area acknowledged in the film by the police officer listening to the unfolding vengeance down the phone line.However, saying this, my issue with the film is that the while the racially offensive language used in the film is quite effective at the beginning, as it swiftly sets up both the perpetrators and the victims, the sheer quantity of these racial epithets lessens their impact considerably, even to the point of near boredom. I'm sure this felt "edgy" to the director at the time but set against the moral complexity mentioned before it comes off as unnecessarily crude. And yet, it was this very over-the-top language which got it on the list of Video Nasties drawn up in the UK in the 1980s and, like so many of the films on the list (although 'Fight for your Life' is more deserving than many of the others), it managed to gain a longer shelf life than it probably would have had otherwise.It's not a masterpiece by any measure, and the offence at times feels showy, but the film has heart and is definitely worth a (discomforting) watch.

This video nasty was banned outright in Britain and has yet to be accepted.No wonder! It is so full of racial epithets that I heard one or two that I didn't know.A trio of convicts - one white, on Hispanic, and one Asian - take over a black family hope on the run after breaking away from the police.The white one Jesse Lee (William Sanderson) spends all his time spewing racial remarks and humiliating the family. The three even rape the daughter (Yvonne Ross).But, paybacks are hell, as they just didn't have anything without their weapons. Daddy (Robert Judd) gets the upper hand and they wish the law would get there to save them.Not as bloody as most nasties, this was offensive because of the racial overtones.

"Fight For Your Life" is terrific ' 70s grindhouse entertainment from director Robert A. Endelson.Wild-eyed William ("Deadwood", "Blade Runner") Sanderson plays the racist on-the-run killer who winds up at the home of black minister Robert Judd. Things turn predictably nasty for Judd and his family as Sanderson and his psychotic pals start to entertain themselves.Still banned in the UK due to its racist themes and unpleasantness, this is a gritty movie but its heart is in the right place. Most of the performances are okay and the dialogue's not bad either. There are a few surprises and shocks along the way and the film never loses its pace. 82 minutes fly by watching this exploitation classic.The funky soundtrack by Jeff Slevin is splendid.It's something of a mystery that director Endelson and composer Slevin didn't move on to bigger and better things. There's a lot of talent visible in this low-budget gem.8 out of 10 on the Grindhouse score-o-meter.

I enjoy movies. They just have to be entertaining. This movie might be shocking to you if the only movies you've seen were after-school specials. The scenes are not that vile or outrageous either, which is both shocking and sad for this kind of movie. As I watched, I waited for something interesting to happen, only to see the most predictable scenes acted out by the worst possible actors. Dialog, plot, acting, isn't really B movie material, its just shoddy. After a while of watching you realize this is all there is and you can't help but feel a little cheated. It might have helped they made an attempt at a plot that made sense, or better yet actually did something with the characters. I saw this movie expecting a revenge film and got some director's attempt at trying out his camera angles. I could probably watch two cows chewing grass for an hour and half, and came back with more than this gunk.