Cut-Throats Nine

Brutal, bleak and gory, this is an effective Spanish spaghetti western with no good guys at all. There is a hint at the start when we see the seven chain gang prisoners being led by the seeming good guy and his daughter, because counting up the procession, it is clear that the nine of the title includes them too. An engaging film, however desolate, but this is always going down all the way. There are one or two moments of respite but there are too many killings, a rape and hints of cannibalism, for this to be likely to have any happy ending. A rather good plot line, some excellent music, good photography in what looks like very difficult conditions in the mountains and yes, some really nasty killings.

Joaquín Romero Marchent's "Condenados A Vivir" aka. "Cut-Throats Nine" is a raw and uncompromising film about survival, hate and violence, that has the reputation of being the most violent Eurowestern. And for good reasons - The most violent or not, it certainly is the goriest Eurowestern out there (I'm not calling it a Spaghetti Western since the film is Spanish and Claudio Undari is the only Ialian actor involved in it), and the movie is full of entirely despicable characters and a constant atmosphere of hate, greed and brutality.

Sgt. Brown (Claudio Undari) is to escort a bunch of dangerous criminals through a mountain wasteland in a cold winter. The Seargant's beautiful daughter (Emma Cohen) is also traveling with her father and the prisoners, who are chained together. Convinced that it transports gold, a gang ambushes the coach in the middle of nowhere, and the Seargant, his daughter and the seven murderous, blood-thirsty prisoners are forced to walk...

"Cut-Throats Nine" is a gruesome Eurowestern that is, in some aspects, atypical for the Western genre. There is not too much gunplay, for example. Gore-fans will be pleased to hear that there is a lot of more explicit violence, such as cutting, burning and stabbing instead. The (well-deserved) reputation as the goriest Eurowestern is not the only reason to watch his film, that not only Spaghetti Western enthusiasts like myself should enjoy. Any fan of brutal, uncompromising, pessimistic cinema should be pleased by this hero-less movie, in which almost every character is a real bastard. The bleak winter mountain setting reminds of Sergio Corbucci's masterpiece "The Great Silence" of 1968, although the locations and photography are, of course, not nearly as impressive here.

"Condenados A Vivir" may not be everybody's taste, but it is definitely a film experience that one is not likely to forget. Uncompromising, brutal and not for the fainthearted, "Cut-Throats Nine" is highly recommended to any fan of Eurowesterns and Gore-flicks!

By 1972, the spaghetti western was already past its hay day and was looking for different ways, styles and themes to push the envelope. Cut-Throats Nine belongs to that small variety that brought horror sensibilities to the genre (like Sartana, Django the Bastard and others) but it also took it one step further. Whereas other westerns were content to be dark and brooding in an atmospheric kind of way, Cut-Throats is as violent and graphic as any Italian horror movie from the 70's.

The plot is minimal but quite good. For better or for worse, the director doesn't go for the psychological angle between captor and captives like Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur did, but instead focuses on the violence and nihilism that is the logical conclusion when nine ugly, dangerous criminals chained to each other are transported through the barren, desolate terrain to a nearby fort.

On the western front, Cut-Throats is as bleak and unforgiving as the gritty works of Sergio Corbucci minus the finesse and style of that great cinematician. The feeling is there though. The snowy, rocky landscape, the nihilistic, unredeemable characters, the grit and the violence. There are no heroes and cowboys with white hats here. If John Wayne were to set foot in the western universe Cut-Throats portrays, he would sooner pack his things and find a new hobby like sewing. Much like Hitchcock's Psycho, the person closer to what we could identify as the "hero" is burnt to a crisp 30 minutes in. That's where the movie ultimately succeeds. By being deprived of all certainty, you're left hanging there in the snow with a bunch of ugly cut-throats. Speaking of cutting throats, there's more: people get stabbed, intestines pour out, others are burnt alive, beaten mercilessly, nailed to hooks, get their brains blown out, corpses are burnt, legs are cut off. And with all the same graphic detail one would expect from a gruesome Italian horror from the likes of Fulci or Lenzi. Coupled with the general take-no-prisoners, mean-spirited air that permeates every minute, Cut-Throats is more likely to appeal to exploitation fans than the traditional western crowd.

Yep, terror masks. That's what they handed out to US audiences as a gimmick, when this ULTRA violent Espano Western hit their shores in 1970 or there abouts.

This very good movie is about a bunch of sadistic convicts being transported to a penitentiary. They get ambushed and their carriage is destroyed in the event. They then take off on foot, with a rather angry Sargeant and his daughter having to guard this evil chain-gang on the journey.

I won't say much more than this:

Gore hounds and western fans, find this movie! It is supremely violent and makes Peckinpahs "Wild Bunch" seem quite tame in comparison. All others get your Terror Masks ready!!!

Dunno what the last reviewer was on, but this bleak movie was rather good, although very grim and quite gory in places. A neat ending which suited the tone of the rest of the film. Emma Cohen was good in the sole female role, and convincing enough to be scared and unsure of the all male cast. The snowy settings were a good addition, although I agree that the music was too repetitive, and the dubbing unconvincing. But as a macho western, this flick sure kicks arse!....quite disturbing in places. A sort of 'And Then There Were None' for grown ups! The type of movie that would not get made today, and a great addition to any exploitation collectors collection.