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Sure, the lead hero guy here is a bit bland and not given much to do, but thankfully the two bad guys here - George Eastman and Horst Frank, save the film! Maybe director Ferdinando Baldi knew this, as he seems to focus more on Eastman than anyone else. That, and there's a them tune seemingly sung by a pre-op transvestite whose hormone supplements have gone wrong.

26 foot tall Eastman plays Gary Stevens, and when we first meet him, he's riding into town following a guy called Dakota, who owns half a map that leads to a gold mine. After no one in town will help Dakota, and grinning Stevens guns him and his wife down (he doesn't spot their son, however). A local undertaker saves the son and takes him to Dakota's brother, who is also called Dakota.

This, more alive Dakota, starts things off by giving local sheriff Franco Fantasia a good kicking for not helping his brother, but it's really Stevens he's after. Things get a bit complicated as Stevens actually works for evil Horst Frank, and Frank wants that map, but also doesn't want to give Stevens his share - cue double crossings! The good thing about Frank is that he likes to force people to fight each other using huge metal claws. Why I don't know, but it looks cool and it's not something you see often in these films. That's another thing this film has going for it - claw fighting. And explosions.

While it's mostly a kind of run of the mill Spaghetti Western director Baldi throws in enough weirdness to grab your attention (claw fighting!) so it kind of stands out that way. Plus, Baldi also made Warbus so he ain't no fool. Eastman is good as the goofy, laughing Stevens and Horst Frank has a stare that could pierce metal. Needed a better leading man, though.

In the long line of spaguetti westerns, this has a double right to belong to the genre: it is a product 'made in Italy', and it has enough ketchup blood on the 'pasta'. Besides a few shootings, the highlights that may make this rather unique is the 'classic' addition of iron-claws used in two duels to the death: one between two Mexican slaves for their masters pleasure; and one between two 'gringo' bandits for possession of a tract of land, and a woman. Either the filming, or the video copying, are so bad as to diminish greatly the original intended gore effect.

This Eurowestern has a solid revenge storyline that holds your interest from start to finish. Horst Frank is fantastic in the role of the cool as a cucumber villain Chris Malone. George Eastman also gives a great performance as Malone's enforcer/partner. The score is typical of the genre, which to me, since I really dig spaghetti western music, means that it is excellent even if it doesn't rank among the very best. There is a little bit of that annoying kind of unfunny comic relief in this one, but thankfully just a very small amount. The overall feeling here is brutal and dark. And it has a bit of that spaghetti western strangeness that I love so much. I would have given this movie a 7 1/2 if I could have. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's great even if it isn't "one of the greats." I highly recommend it if you are really into these movies like I am.

Along with the town undertaker, a Man follows his brother's killer (George Eastman) to Mexico, where sinister (and I mean sinister!) gringo Horst Frank forces his Mexican slaves to fight to the death using steel claws. Frank then sets his sights on Eastman's secret goldmine, holding him captive and torturing him until the justice seeking brother comes to take him away.

A fairly standard revenge plot is helped along nicely by some interesting ideas, unusual developments, and some fairly graphic violence, keeping things exciting and entertaining throughout.

Due to the crackpot nature of some of the film's plot elements, this seems more like a drive-in movie than a spaghetti western.

Horst Frank is a lot of fun to watch as the deranged, yet urbane bad guy, while George Eastman is good and nasty too. However, the hero is too bland and cardboard. You don't really feel anything about him, one way or another.

I gave this movie a 2 only because the dubbing into English was pretty good. Other than that: simplistic, unbelievable and amateurish. I watch these things only for the comic value while wondering why anyone would actually spend money producing it. I like westerns, but they have to have some semblance of reality. Apparently the director invented a whole new way of fighting when the two fighters with the steel hooks would dance around each other covering their faces. Very strange. And it was amazing that so many men could be shot with one bullet and just fall over dead. One even got stabbed in the stomach and just died instantly. Give me a break.