Cut-Throats Nine (1972)

- Condenados a vivir
Is this the goriest Western ever?, 13 July 2005

A group of soldiers is transporting seven prisoners in a wagon through the snow to a new prison. After an attack by a band of hijackers, most of the soldiers are dead and the wagon is destroyed. The only survivors - one soldier, his daughter, and seven murderous prisoners. Can the lone soldier get the prisoners to their destination on his own?

I do not claim to be a Euro-Western ( I don't know if I can call it a Spaghetti Western as it is a Spanish film) expert , but Cut-Throats Nine is the most violent, bloodiest, and most sadistic Euro-Western I've seen. The brutality and gore on display feel more like a horror movie. You've got bodies thrown in a fire, up-close shootings to the face, rape, and a stabbing that seems to pull the whole intestine out. Fulci would be proud.

Combine the brutality and violence with the desolate, snowy setting, and it creates a very bleak movie. There's very little to be happy about. The ending fits perfectly with the mood of the rest of the film. It's like a visualization of despair on screen. Powerful stuff.

6/10