Cry of Death (1968) (orig. Carogne si nasce) - Director: Alfonso Brescia - 5/10.
Though film’s storyline about a group of farmers getting terrorized by well-off ranchers is not particularly novel, the movie feels slightly different for a number of reasons: firstly, the settlers are far from being defenseless victims, being ready to have recourse to underhanded tactics to get their own way, e.g. forcing a marshall to sign a document under the threat of being gunned down. Secondly, it is tough to tell who is supposed to be the leading man here in virtue of the character of the deputy marshall turning out rather ambiguous along the line.
Even if the said ambiguity is subsequently clarified in the final act, this introduces quite a bit of variety and adds a pleasing element of surprise in the midsection. Glenn Saxson’s imposing presence additionally carries the part, his somewhat snide disposition going particularly well with his role’s general properties. Gordon Mitchell puts on a great show as well, this being possibly one of his finest appearances in the history of the genre. Though production values are predictably on the cheap side, what with Lallo Gori’s lovably cheesy score and gravel pits galore, Brescia renders the material with adequate focus and verve with most action sequences coming out galvanizing enough. At the end of the day, even if the work is inferior to Brescia’s Days of Violence, it still packs a punch for a relatively undistinguished project.