Revenge is the focus in
this grubby, low-budget Western, but don’t get your hopes up for something
metaphorically vital in the mode of, say, a good Clint Eastwood oater or even a
pulpy Lee Van Cleef offering. This one’s strictly by-the-numbers, so were it
not for the presence of R-rated sex and violence, Cain’s Cutthroats—also known as Cain’s
Way—would seem like an episode of some generic TV series. The biggest name
in the cast is John Carradine, who plays a supporting role, and in the movie’s
only novelty factor involves seeing Carradine play a somewhat normal character.
After all, he spent much of his late career playing underwritten crazies and
drunks and ghouls. Despite his second billing, bland he-man Scott Brady is the
film’s actual star. He portrays Justice Cain (yes, that’s really the
character’s name), a former soldier who declares a vendetta against his onetime
colleagues after they wrong him. Specifically, the men who previously served
under Cain’s command form a criminal gang and seek his leadership. When he
refuses, they retaliate by gang-raping and murdering his wife, then leaving him
for dead. Predictably, he survives and sets out to balance the scales.
The
premise of Cain’s Cutthroats is okay,
and more adept filmmakers could have taken the material in worthy directions,
such as exploring the moral gray areas between killing for one’s country and
killing for one’s personal enrichment. Instead of visiting that lofty terrain,
the folks behind Cain’s Cutthroats
wallow in the mud of human depravity. The criminals are portrayed as filthy
idiots, spitting and swearing whenever they’re not squabbling with each other.
The rape scene features sensationalistic nudie shots, as does a subplot
featuring the curvy woman who travels with Cain for spell. As for how Carradine
fits into the mix, he plays a preacher who is also a bounty hunter, so his
character also travels with Cain. A number of far superior films tell similar
stories, including Eastwood’s The Outlaw
Josey Wales (1976), so while Cain’s
Cutthroats is hardly the worst movie of its type, one is hard-pressed to
put forth a compelling reason to watch the thing.
Cain’s Cutthroats: FUNKY
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