Although it isn't too surprising that "Rapists At Dawn" is banned in it's native land, I'm not sure why it isn't available elsewhere. It's counterparts, like "Last House On the Left," "House On the Edge of the Park" and "I Spit On Your Grave" etc are out there for commercial consumption. What makes Dawn more disturbing isn't the graphic nature, as the film never ventures into hardcore territory; but the sheer amount of rape and violence. This is one nihilistic and angry film. The four youths depicted are like a gang of hyenas, raping and beating random women with utterly no sense of guilt or remorse. And it just goes on and on. Women, always attractive, with beautiful bodies, are beaten, whipped with belts and degraded in every way imaginable. One girl is gang raped until she is bleeding from her vagina, and the gang of thugs walk away laughing when they have finished satisfying themselves. This movie is supposed to be some political allegory on the level of violence among youth during that time, but the scenes of brutality are filmed in a voyeuristic way that seems to be designed to sexually arouse the viewer. If this were straight forward porn, it would actually be less offensive, because it would be written off as adult entertainment, But because it is a legitimate film, it must be taken seriously.
As a fan of violent, grind-house cinema from this period, I quite like "Dawn Rapists." It is even more powerful and well-made than some other movies in it's genre. Sadly the copy that I have doesn't have English subtitles, and there doesn't seem to be any available. I'm surprised because there must be a cult following for this. In fact, due to it's rarity, and troubled history, I wouldn't be surprised if some consider this movie the 'Holy Grail' of rape films..
