THE SCAVENGERS (1969)
aka The Grabbers
Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region Free
Rating: Unrated, R
Duration: 104 Minutes 21 Seconds (Unrated), 94 Minutes 20- Seconds (R-Rated)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Lee Frost
Cast: John Bliss, Maria Lease, Bruce Kimball, Uschi Digard
The Scavengers (1969) is another western-roughie team-up from writer/producer Bob Cresse and director Lee Frost, made a year after Hot Spur (1968). Set towards the end of the Civil War we have a band a renegade Confederate soldiers lead by the ruthless, and seethingly racist Captain Harris (Jonathan Bliss, The Thing with Two Heads) are hungry and hate-filled, they are so starved that at the start of the film they are on the verge of carving steaks out of the carcass of a recently dead horse. They're also unaware that the war has ended and that the South has already surrendered. Harris and his men set out to invade a mostly deserted frontier town to intercept a fortune in Yankee gold meant for the Union soldiers' payroll. Arriving they find the place is mostly empty except for a brothel owner and his whores, who are non-political and seem only too happy to cater to the Confederate soldier's needs, but Harris kills him anyway and has the women locked up night a night of debauchery with his men. When he and his soldiers intercept the meager Union convoy, lead by Lieutenant Nelson (Warren James), his fiancee Faith (Maria Lease, Dracula vs. Frankenstein), and her black maid Nancy (Roda Spain), Harris is quite upset that the shipment is much smaller than he anticipated. He refuses to believe Nelson when he tells him that there is no more gold coming and that the war is over, torturing Nelson by letting his men have a go at his wife and maid. Later a small encampment of runaway slaves reluctantly take up arms against the Confederates after one of their own is assaulted, with an appropriately nihilistic and misanthropic finale.
Not as out and out sleazy as Hot Spur I found this to have some surprising depth to it in regard to racism and prejudices, tapping into the late-60's civil right movement through the lens of Civil War carnage and animosities, but make no mistake about it, this is still a seedy and misanthropic western-roughie from the team that brought us the nazisploittaion classic Love Camp 7. There's an interesting story here about racism in the South though, with characters that are not just one-dimensional but not exactly fleshed-out either, there are shades of grey, with even the the vile Harris getting some backstory explaining his unending hate for the Yankees and black folks, but it's still plenty sleazy with lots of naked prostitutes being groped by the sleazy Confederate soldiers, but the rape stuff is toned down a bit, but it still has quite a bit of impact.
Like Hot Spur I thought the production designs, locations, costuming and make-ups were well above board for a cheaply made roughie of the era, handsomely shot by Robert Maxwell (The Candy Snatchers), it replicates the era well enough, and looks great here in HD restored from the OCN. Severin offer both the R-Rated and Unrated cuts of the film on Blu-ray, both fully restored and looking terrific, and interesting the R-rated cut is not just the Unrated cut minus some of the stronger scenes, but featuring actual different takes and line readings.
Audio/Video: The Scavengers (1969) gets a region-free Blu-ray from Severin Films scanned in 4K from the original camera negative recently discovered in a Paris lab and presented in both its Unrated and R-Rated Release Versions, presented here in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) Both version looks terrific, like Severin's simultaneous release of Hot Spur this is remarkable well preserved for a late-60's sexploitation flick, colors are well-saturated, depth and clarity are pleasing and black levels are solid throughout. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, it's clean and well-balanced, with dialogue, score and the sound design coming through nicely.
Extras include an Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado And Temple Of Schlock's Chris Poggiali (Unrated Version Only); 7-min Theatrical Trailer; and the 7-min Theatrical Trailer (Hot Version). The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a 2-sided sleeve of artwork featuring Archival Marketing Materials Reproduced On The Reverse Of The Wrap, and inside is a 34-page Our Family Album – Promotional Program Replica which features cast and crew information, a synopsis, and a letter to exhibitors.
Special Features:
• Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado And Temple Of Schlock's Chris Poggiali (Unrated Version Only)
• Theatrical Trailer (6:56)
• Theatrical Trailer (Hot Version) (6:56)
• Our Family Album – Promotional Program Replica
• Archival Marketing Materials Reproduced On The Reverse Of The Wrap
• Audio Commentary With Vinegar Syndrome's Joe Rubin, Severin Films' Andrew Furtado And Temple Of Schlock's Chris Poggiali (Unrated Version Only)
• Theatrical Trailer (6:56)
• Theatrical Trailer (Hot Version) (6:56)
• Our Family Album – Promotional Program Replica
• Archival Marketing Materials Reproduced On The Reverse Of The Wrap
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