Cut-Throats Nine (1972) User Reviews

Violent Chorizo Western filled with chills , brutal scenes , gory images and grisly killings

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 11 January 2013]

Good Gazpacho Western well realized by the best Paella Western director , Joaquin Romero Marchent , under pseudonym Paul Marchenti . Typical S. W. with itinerary's structure in which step by step are dying various cutthroats . Since a gold mine until Fort Green , a wagon load of convicts formed by an assortment of seven sadistic , murderous prisoners (Manuel Tejada , Antonio Iranzo, Ricardo Diaz , Alberto Dalbes , Rafael Hernandez , Jose Manuel Martin and Carlos Romero Marchent , director's brother) condemned to death row on their way to jail is being escorted through the mountains by a cavalry sergeant (Robert Hundar) and troopers . But it results to be a trick to deceive some bandits who attempt to rob the wagon . They then are attacked by a nefarious gang led by Woody (Xan Das Bolas) along with his hoodlums (Dan Van Husen) , and only survive 7 convicts and the sergeant , his beautiful young daughter named Kathy (Emma Cohen) whose wife (Mabel Karr) and mother has been killed by one of them . The survivors are left without horses or a wagon and the chained gang flees throughout snowy and dangerous landscapes . The sergeant must find a way to get his prisoners to their destination while protecting his daughter , watching out for the still chasing outlaws and attempting to determine which one of the cutthroats was the man who raped and killed his spouse.

This exciting picture contains thrills , chills , good dramatic pace , slick direction , graphic violence , action-filled with fierce fights and loads of gore and guts . Director Marchent achieved in "Nine cutthroats" possibly his best work of a modest career , with some memorable scenes , shockingly violent ,and good camera movement , as he creates a strange Western that manages to be both scary , tragic and skilfully made . This in a 1972 Spanish Western whose brutality and gore quotient led it to be marketed as a horror film during its original U. S. release with "terror masks" given out to ticket buyers . It turns out to be a rare spaghetti Western , as you can bone up on the bloodier side of that genre ; including rape , bloody killing , cannibalism , nightmares with zombie-alike and many other things . It relies heavily on a complex narrative , modern narration full of flashbacks , stop-frames and an uneven screenplay written by both , Santiago Moncada and the same director Joaqin Romero Marchent . The creepy images of wide range from the genuinely horrifying to the bizarre along with eerie and amazing frames . It packs a high body-count , it is sometimes slow moving and claustrophobic , in spite of setting on outdoors . It's a thrilling western with spectacular scenarios and breathtaking confrontation among protagonists . This interesting but depressing film contains nasty characters , ambition , human drama , passion , tragical events , complemented with a colorful cinematography and moving musical score . These elements provide the setting for this piece of dramatic deeds , giving it its own special quality and ambient ; making a strong description about a drama of survival and greedy . The musician Carmelo Bernaola composes a nice soundtrack , well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of thrilling sounds and haunting musical background . Nice cinematography , though being necessary a right remastering , photography in Panoramic and Eastmancolor filmed by excellent cameraman Luis Cuadrado on locations in Spanish Pyrenees from Huesca , including gorgeous snowy outdoors ; good sets by Cubero and Jose Luis Galicia who carried out most production design on Western shot in Spain.

The motion picture was compellingly directed and in personal style by Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent at his best . He began directing two films for producer Ignacio F. Iquino such as ¨Juzgado Permanente¨ and ¨Sor Anqelica¨ . Marchent replaced Mexican director Fernando Soler filming ¨El Coyote¨ and the sequel titled ¨Revenge of Coyote¨ , both of them shot in Mexico . These successes along with ¨The shadow of Zorro¨ and ¨Revenge of Zorro¨ became a notorious writer and director of good Western . He went go directing Paella Western as ¨ Riding to death ¨ , ¨Adventures in the West¨ , ¨Three good men¨, ¨Sabor Venganza ¨ , ¨Fedra West¨ and of course ¨Condenados a Vivir¨ . Plus , he wrote for his brother Rafael Romero Marchent the followings Western : ¨Manos Torpes¨, ¨Ocaso Un Pistolero¨ and ¨Garringo¨ . Although he also made Neo-realist comedy such as ¨Fulano Y Mengano¨ , Hombre Viajaba Despacito , and ¨Hombre De Paraguas Blanco¨. ¨9 Cutthroats¨ rating : Better than average , this is his most popular and violent Western . Worthwhile watching .

Brutal, bleak and gory

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 24 February 2013]

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.

Once Upon a Time in the Ugly Spanish West

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 15 March 2018]

A wagon transporting both gold and seven nefarious convicts who are bound for prison gets attacked by bandits in the wild frontier. The survivors of said attack are the resolute Sergeant Brown (a convincingly rugged performance by Claudio Undari), his beautiful young daughter Sarah (an appealing portrayal by fetching brunette Emma Cohen), and the seven sadistic criminals. Brown has his hands full getting the chained together hoodlums to trek through the mountains while keeping Sarah safe from harm.

Director Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent and writers Santiago Moncada and Joaquin Romero Hernandez pull zero punches with the harsh premise: The bleak and desolate snow-covered landscape, the unsparingly grim'n'gritty no-holds-barred tone, the jolting moments of brutal'n'bloody violence, the alarmingly dismal depiction of human beings as greedy and selfish back-stabbing bastards who are all out for themselves, a rich rogue's gallery of primarily grotesque and hateful characters, and the shocking nobody wins nihilistic ending all ensure that this film packs a ferocious punch right to the gut. Carmelo A. Bernaola's spare moody score does the brooding trick. Luis Cuadrado's proficient cinematography makes striking occasional use of jarring freeze frames and boasts lots of striking shots of miserable people trudging across a bitterly cold and unforgiving godforsaken wilderness. A nice'n'nasty little nugget.

Not *that* gory but still pretty potent stuff.

[Hey_Sweden · 9 November 2011]

Intriguing, grim and gritty Spanish Western has a very harsh, uncompromising tone. Sgt. Brown (Claudio Undari), a cavalry officer, is escorting a sextet of lowlife criminals, all of them chained together, across rugged terrain to prison. As it turns out, he has more than one reason for being deeply committed to this task. Accompanying him is his daughter Sarah (beautiful Emma Cohen). However, a gang of bandits intervenes, and they end up having to make their journey on foot.

As the viewer may expect, the forceful personalities of these cretins ensure many angry confrontations along the way. A flop upon its original release, an enterprising distributor came up with the idea, upon re-releasing it, to punch it up by adding a lot of gory business, all of it quite effectively nasty, and providing theatre goers with cardboard masks that they could wear if they couldn't stomach this material. This really didn't help the movie either, but it did acquire a cult following nevertheless.

Making no clear distinctions between "good" and "bad" in terms of its characters, it comes up with a fairly surprising and sadistic twist at about the half way point, and is very compelling for its portrayal of human beings at the mercy of the elements. With exteriors filmed in the Aragonese Pyreneo region of Spain, the scenery is breathtaking and the winter atmosphere genuinely chilling in more ways than one. The characters are interesting and entertaining in their own sordid way, with the actors delivering convincing performances. The music by Carmelo A. Bernaola is good if repetitive, and the frequent use of flashbacks is arresting, with much use of freeze frames. The ending is effectively downbeat, too. The pacing is rather unhurried, yet there are always fine moments, especially around the 67 minute mark as one of the convicts is stumbling through the wilderness on his own.

Western fans looking for something dark, violent, and morally ambiguous might want to check this one out.

Seven out of 10.

A very good, and gory film

[spope2 · 7/10 · 6 January 2007]

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.

CUT-THROATS NINE (Jose' Luis Romero Marchent, 1972) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 14 February 2008]

I knew this Spanish-made Spaghetti Western had some kind of notoriety in Euro-Cult circles but, since I was totally unfamiliar with its director, I didn't really expect a lot from it; as it turned out, it's one of the nastiest films of its kind – surpassing even DJANGO, KILL! (1967) in its bleakness, nihilism and graphic depiction of extreme violence!

The plot itself is highly unusual: a cart-load of slimy, murdering convicts is being transported through dangerous terrain in the mountains by a cavalry officer and his daughter; the catch is that one of them was responsible for the brutal killing of the soldier's wife – and, ingeniously, their gold cargo (coveted by bandits) has been disguised as the length of chain shackling the prisoners together! Soon, they lose their transport, provisions and one of their number – and they're forced to continue the journey on foot; the already tenuous relationship within the party continues to deteriorate – as the sex-crazed men turn on the girl, leading the soldier to himself commit cold-blooded murder; then, half-way through the picture, the convicts get the upper hand and the soldier (ostensibly, the hero figure) is killed in gory fashion! Still, the girl has a surprising ally in one of the remaining prisoners…except that his tenderness is belied by the final revelation concerning the nature of his crimes (most of the characters' back-story is effectively retold in intermittent flashbacks heralded by freeze-framing)!

The effective choral score (reminiscent of Gothic horror movies, no less) admirably evokes the danger and the savagery of the narrative; while most of the cast members were also unknown to me even when their faces looked vaguely familiar, I especially appreciated the contribution of a couple of Jess Franco alumni – namely Emma Cohen (from the startling if still little-known THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR [1973]) as the only female presence in the film of any stature and Alberto Dalbes (star of all three of the Spaniard's Universal horror pastiches) as the gambler leader of the chain gang.

To get to the brutality, it comes in all varieties (including a shot to the back of a woman's head at point-blank range) – though, especially disturbing, is its propensity for severed limbs, charred corpses and, worst of all, gut-spilling!! I should mention here that the script (courtesy of renowned Euro-Cult scribe Santiago Moncada) also includes a sequence where one of the prisoners suffers a hallucination of the murdered soldier's corpse coming back to life to haunt him. The finale, then, sees no survivors – as the long-suffering girl decides to take the matter into her own fragile little hands with a single, definite explosive act.

Wonderful but brutal...

[paulof1999 · 9/10 · 23 May 2015]

Cutthroats Nine, one heck of a bleak movie. Coming out in 1972, spaghetti westerns were no longer at the height of their hype, as most of them became terrible parodies of themselves. Then came along this ultra violent movie by Joanquin Romero Marchent. I for one woulden't call this the most original spaghetti western or paella western (since it's Spanish), but that don't mean it has to be bad. The scenery of where the movie is set is beautiful, which helps the film have a bigger feeling of a claustrophobic tension. Claustrophobic? Why i say that? Because despite it being set outdoors for most of the time, our nine main characters are cut off from the rest of the world and they only depend on each other, in order to survive. Essentially speaking, you don't really see any good characters and even though Spain were not completely fascist during the second world war, you could tell that elements of fascism found it's way in it's script.

As stated earlier, this movie has a claustrophobic vibe throughout the film and making the situation our nine titular characters are involved in even worse are most of the gruesome killings that take place throughout the film, including to the main character, played by Robert Hundar. Spoiler alert but seeing his character dying early on the film by being burned to death, leaving his daughter, played by Emma Cohen, distraught and alone and that part right there deeply affected and it made me realise "These guys have no future".

Overall, the film has good performances, although the dubbing is what one would say as amateur. The soundtrack is chilling, although it does get a little repetitive sometimes and it would have been great if this was way longer then the 90 minutes and make it into an epic 3 hour movie. I know Tarantino is influenced by this movie but it don't really affect the storyline that much. Great and unknown movie to watch.

The Bad and the Ugly ...No good men here!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 11 January 2006]

"Cut-Throats 9" is frequently named as the most violent euro-western ever made but, even though this is a righteous and well-deserved reputation, it shouldn't be the only reason why genre lovers have to see it! This film primarily tells an engaging story, which describes itself best as a variation on the 'survival of the strongest'-theme blend with Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians", and makes excellent use of its depressing filming locations. The film opens quite atmospherically, with the introduction of seven tough and feared convicts that are being escorted from one prison to another. After a clumsy hold-up, they have to continue their journey on foot; chained to each other and guided by only one remaining prison guard and his gorgeous daughter. Ingenious plot-twists follow pretty soon and, even though it's no real spoiler, I prefer not to mention them here already, because they're well worth checking out yourself! Don't immediately assume that "Cut-Throats 9" is a non-stop series of bloodshed and gratuitous violence, though. The murders are indeed shown very graphically and the nature of this violence is truly mean-spirited, yet director Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent (nice name, by the way) never at one point loses his focus on the compelling storyline. This is one of those very rare flicks in which really none of the characters can count on your sympathy, since even the supposed 'good guys' are greedy and egocentric bastards. Admittedly, there are a couple of tedious moments to struggle yourself through and the acting often comes across as rather amateurish. The music, however, is great and the abrupt, nihilistic ending excellently fits the overall disturbing tone of the movie. There's few to no sleaze, but the extreme and downright sick violence widely makes up for this. Definitely recommended, IF your stomach can take it

Bleak, mean spirited and unpleasant , this film is quite good if you divorce yourself from the reputation

[dbborroughs · 9/10 · 6 November 2005]

Billed as the goriest or most violent western ever made, Cut Throats Nine is certainly over hyped. I doubt that it is either the goriest or the most violent. I do think its one of the bleakest westerns I've ever seen and leaves you feeling rather depressed and uncertain at the end (which I think is the reason many people dislike it)

The plot is simple. A band of really bad military prisoners are being transported to a new location. The wagon they are riding in is ambushed by people looking for gold, when they don't find any they destroy the wagon and leave the prisoners and their one surviving keeper (and his daughter) alone in wilderness with no way to get anywhere but walk.

No one and nothing is as it seems. In a weird way there are no good guys, only bad people trying to survive and get out of a really bad situation. Your expectations of who is who and what is what shifts around during its running time, so rarely are you on solid ground about what is happening and who you can root for. Its a kick in the pants for anyone looking for a typical "heroic" western, spaghetti or otherwise.

I don't think the film is perfect. It meanders a bit too much and on some level I think it thinks its more important than it is, but there is no denying that the film packs a wallop in the unremittingly ugly department.

If you want to see a dog eat dog western with no good guys see this film. If you want a film with heroes or anti heroes stay away.

Most extreme, and sad, Spanish western

[rmahaney4 · 7/10 · 29 September 2006]

Conedandos a vivir (1972) was and is marketed purely as a violent exploitation film. Viewers approach it that way and either find it terribly vacant and crude or enjoy those aspects of the movie that are hyped up by hucksters. As the euro-western was widely marketed as violent and cynical, this advertising tactic that often blinds viewers to what is actually occurring on-screen. This is unfortunate as this movie is actually a well thought out and decently executed western that provides the nihilistic capstone to an interesting series of Spanish westerns made in the mid-to-late 1960s and early 1970s. Viewed in that tradition, as the terminal point in a genre narrative that began much earlier in films like Joaquin Marchent's own El Sabor de la venganza (1963), it is a moving and fascinating movie.

Contrary to the reputation of the "Mediterranean westerns" made in Italy and Spain in the 1960s and 70s, these movies are not simply absurd and extreme distortions of the original American genre somewhat like Red River (1948) or Rio Bravo (1959) projected into a hall of mirrors. Instead of warped conventions without significance, these movies contained their own views of society and morality. Many of the westerns written or directed by Spaniards have a very interesting perspective of the nature of violence that is central to plot and character. Violence is a contagion that consumes everything and everyone in it's vicinity. In movies like El Hombre que mató a Billy el Niño (1967), El Sabor de la venganza (1963), or Garringo (1969) victims are transformed into victimizers through the alchemy of good intentions in a corrupt society. There is always a character who has a close personal relationship with the victim-turned-victimizer who both opposes the political corruption and also it's products, including their friend or brother/son. Outlaws are portrayed in bestial terms, a pack dominated by the most brutal one. These movies always end with an ambiguous sacrifice to necessity.

With Condenados a vivir, this formula reaches it's fullest development. Isolated in the wilderness, there is nothing to stall the corrosive assault of brutality. Every member of the group is degraded and virtually every on-screen character is dead by the final credits. Sarah Brown (Emma Cohen) is the only character who opposes this effect in any way, though her response is ambiguous as it involves a hopeless and absolute nihilism. In this series of movies, the typical genre ending of a shoot-out in the street or synonymous act becomes endlessly complicated. The exorcism of violence by violence must, according to the logic of these narratives, only perpetuate the contagion – an inescapable circularity.

This movie has a sort of resurrection of the dead hero in the manner of the Italian brand of western, but here it occurs in the delusions of an insane fugitive. However, whereas in the Italian movies this return-from-the-grave is followed by a sort of liberation of a community, in this movie this is only a guilt-ridden and confused hallucination.

As in most of these Spanish movies, the technical execution lags far behind the narrative sophistication. The "gore-effects" will strike you as laughable if you are in the right mood. However, all-in-all, this movie is a successful and sincere b-movie, and as such I recommend it. With El Sabor de la venganza, this is Joaquin Marchent's best western.

Top spaghetti western list http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849907

Average SWs http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849889

For fanatics only (bottom of the barrel) http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=21849890

Strong (and awful) Western exploitation

[Bogey Man · 2/10 · 31 March 2003]

Spanish director Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent is responsible for this violent 1972 Euro western, which, according to some sources, is also an Italian co-production. That is believable when the first scenes of gratuitous bloodletting take place on screen as this is also mentioned to be "the most violent Euro Western ever made!" Was it? Well, definitely not the most violent in the word's most serious sense (as real, disturbing and effective violence is NOT just blood and gore thrown on screen as in this film) but at least the goriest, most exploitative and among the very worst, too.

A bunch of sadistic criminals, killers and rapists are transported through difficult circumstances to another prison/gold mine through snowy and cold mountains somewhere where nature is much more beautiful than men. Something goes wrong and their horses and carriage falls and breaks forcing the men to continue their journey by foot in the freezing and white forest that surrounds them. There's a guard who is supposed to take them to the destination as well as his beautiful daughter (Emma Cohen) who naturally attracts the convicts. So the guard and the daughter are at the mercy of the convicts and they all are at the mercy of nature.. Sounds like a pretty effective and potential premise (and that also made me interest in this film, alongside its "extreme" reputation), but unfortunately the film has many flaws and concentrates only on one thing: violence and gore.

Some good things in the piece are the nasty hallucinations at the end during which neither the viewer nor the characters know anymore what is true and what is not. The "backwards explosion" comes very unexpected and is also even surreal, which is a very positive merit. Also the beautiful white setting would give plenty to the visual look of the film as well as contrast to the evil characters if used as effectively as in Sergio Corbucci's masterful Il Grande Silenzio (1968, Italy), but now it all leaves just to the starting point in Condenados a Vivir. The film's US title, Cutthroats Nine, definitely tells what was the main interest among the producers with this film.

There is no real camerawork, the music is very annoying and useless, the actors are often irritating and just too boring to look at as none of them develops to anything, and the film is also awfully too long and boring as there are prolonged scenes of walking and talking with hyper slow speed. The film runs approximately 90 minutes in NTSC but that feels like watching someone's hand held, unfocused, amateurish holiday video for two hours.

The graphic violence and nastiness is indeed quite strong and the film looks pretty much like Lucio Fulci and Giannetto De Rossi, whose Italian work is filled with similar blood flowing close ups and other hellish gore carnage. When someone gets hit or otherwise hurt in Condenados a Vivir, they always show the result without hiding anything so violence could not be any more gratuitous and also flat than it is in this film. It doesn't have any kind of impact on those who have seen more films (of course this is shocking for the "squeamish" and unexperienced, with several scenes of bloodletting, limb hacking etc.) but cinema is just for so much more than this. The ending is also quite pessimistic and nihilistic but since everything before it was nothing, even the ending seems just gratuitous without are real intentions to say something about human nature or how men can change in certain situations, for example.

Condenados a Vivir is perhaps the worst Euro Western I've seen so far but since it's quite rare and has this questionable reputation among the enthusiasts of obscure cinema, I'm glad I saw it as a fan of B cinema and exploitation cinema, but still I would have expected much more. But fortunately we have names like Sergio Leone, Corbucci, Sollima and Alejandro Jodorowsky among others. These are the names that have made real movies out of the skeleton of Condenados a Vivir. 2/10

Grim Grimness of the Grimality of Life

[Bezenby · 8/10 · 7 September 2017]

Seven convicts chained together are travelling by carriage under the charge of Sgt Brown, a widower who not only has to guard these murderers, but also has to keep them away from his daughter. Worse still, one of them is responsible for the murder of his wife, and to add to the trauma, a bunch of bandits stop the carriage, kill the guards, and send the horses into a panic, wrecking the carriage and stranding everyone in the wilderness.

The day has gone badly enough, and now Sgt. Brown has to get these guys to the nearest town, while they sing a song about how they are going to kill him the moment he turns his back! For a change this Western doesn't take place in a sandy desert, but up on a snowy mountain, which adds to the already grim situation. To make things even worse, the bandits discover that Sgt Brown might be travelling with more than prisoners!

It's basically one of those 'people trapped in the wilderness' films (like Four Rode Out – Leslie Neilson as a bad guy!). I'm guessing it probably had some sort of influence on Tarantino's Hateful Eight, although it'll be about 2034 by the time I get round to watching that.

This film is probably more famous for its exploitation elements rather than being a Western. Often described as the most violent, gory Western ever made, it does deliver on the goods – as long as you understand it's very gory by Western standards, not horror standards. People have their throats slit, get graphically shot in the face, burned alive, disembowelled and such like, but it's not a constant gore fest either. Luckily it's also got a story to tell as well, all filmed in an almost cinema verite fashion (I think that's French for 'delibarately half- arsed').

It's also a film where you shouldn't get too attached to any particular character, and even throws in some kind of hallucinogenic zombie attack! Grim stuff, all the way through.

Cut-Throats Nine- A very peculiar film

[zachymcsmacky · 7/10 · 12 August 2014]

I am going to start of by saying that yes- this film was indeed very gory- most especially the up-close disembowelment being the goriest scene in the film, in my opinion. And for 1972, I was highly impressed with the realism of the gore, and all of the other special effects for that matter. The gore is what this film advertised as it's main selling point, however when I saw this film I was quite pleasantly surprised by many of the other great features the film also contained.

I very much enjoyed the directing- from a shot perspective, the composition of scenes such as the flashback hanging scene looked really cool and sinister. And the unsettling reversed collapsing house in the hallucination sequence was, in my opinion, genius.

And not forgetting the story. It is quite a depressing and bleak story in which ultimately no one has what they want to happen. To me, most of the film seemed like nothing much was happening. So for the first part of the film, I was kind of looking for a story line as it got past the intro. That was until I realised that I was beginning to feel rather uneasy as the film progressed. It was slowly but surely building a dark tension that kept me watching with suspense. And I won't reveal it in detail, but I was impressed to an surprising amount with the twist in the end, which I did not expect at all. It did not only shock me, but also brought everything together that didn't make sense before in a nice and tidy way. From that perspective I loved it, but as I'm not a fan of bleak and depressing stories, it didn't enjoy me as much as it could have.

The acting is something I cannot fault either. Although it was an English dubbed version I watched, it did not distract me from the performances given.

But the main point I must say about this film is that it is very peculiar. It's a Spanish-made Western. But it's not just a Western- it's a Crime- Thriller- gore-fest that had a very Horror feel to it, thanks to the fabulously eerie directing of Marchent. Indeed a very strange selection of genres to put together, but it worked! Overall, I was quite surprised how it exceeded my expectations! Personally I am rating it 7.5/10- it's not a masterpiece, but it is definitely a very enjoyable film that that didn't bore me. The reason my star rating is 10/10 is because I feel it needs to be higher on the overall IMDb rating (yes I know that's not how I'm supposed to do it and that rating probably won't make any difference)!

Just terrible

[Maciste_Brother · 1/10 · 10 June 2004]

This "spaghetti western" is awful on every aspect: crappy acting, awful cinematography, stupid script, horrendous editing, amateurish direction, cheap sets, terrible music, ugly characters, boring, predictable, silly, etc.

I watched this because CUTTHROAT 9 is actually respected in some circles but as a Spaghetti Western or even as a horror film (it tries so hard to be gory), CUTTHROATS 9 sucks. The ending is so stupid that I just shook my head in total disbelief. Like the ending, this film is a total BOMB!!! And in a way, it's a shame because the idea could have made one heck of a great western but as it is, it's just painful to watch.

Avoid at all cost. Even Spaghetti Western completists should avoid this piece of crap.

Corbucci-meets-Fulci in this bleak, violent western.

[chaos-rampant · 13 July 2008]

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.

Is this the goriest Western ever?

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 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 is 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.

Great nihlistic western

[Chance_Boudreaux19 · 8/10 · 22 January 2022]

It's interesting how sometimes a director will make many movies throughout their career but only one will get noticed. Having looked at Joaquin Marchent's filmography it seems like most of his movies haven't been watched by many people on IMDb. I haven't seen any of his other movies either and probably never will but I enjoyed Cut Throats Nine a lot. The reputation that it has garnered is most likely due to it being probably the most violent and gruesome euro-western made at a time when a lot of them were getting made. But I would argue that the gore wasn't what makes the movie great and that it was a bit excessive. I'm not bothered by such things and it looks rather fake anyway but the insistence of adding gore by the producers cheapens the movie a bit. Then again maybe without it the movie wouldn't have developed a cult following and I would've never seen it.

What makes this movie special is just how dark it is. It's a snowy western just like The Great Silence but it's even more nihilistic than that movie was. Every character in Cut-Throats Nine apart from the lieutenant and his daughter is deplorable. You don't want any of them to survive yet they are the characters we as viewers follow for the whole movie. I find such movies fascinating but I can understand why some can't connect with them. On top of that, the soundtrack is very ominous and the atmosphere is top-notch. Everything adds up into making the film feel absolutely bleak and with no hope in sight. It's a great example of a euro-western that takes the genre and adds a few things on top to make it more interesting. In this case it's making it a survival movie with despicable characters. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes euro-westerns or hopeless cinema watches it even if they don't like gore as it's a very interesting and incredibly atmospheric western.

Easily the Goriest Eurowestern

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 23 November 2007]

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!

one of the more unique Eurowesterns

[spider89119 · 8/10 · 28 November 2006]

This is a really riveting film. I found it to be somewhat hit and miss, but it's good points definitely outweigh the bad points.

The best part of the movie is the story itself. The plot is quite original. Although it involves both gold and revenge, it is not your typical quest for gold or revenge tale, and things don't happen the way you think they are going to. The movie really draws you in as the motivations, interactions and relationships between nine very violent individuals unfold as they make their perilous trek across the wintery landscape.

I think the splatter aspect of this movie has been over-emphasized in descriptions of the film. It is quite violent, and it has some gore, but it's not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by any means. Don't watch it expecting a horror movie, because it's really just a western with a gory violent streak. There is a really cool scene where one of the criminals thinks he sees a ghost. It would have been even better if they had made the ghost real instead of just a figment of his imagination.

There is some really good camera work and interesting use of flashback scenes that add a touch of surrealism to the movie, although a couple of the flashback scenes involve the gambler murdering a woman from his past and have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Those particular scenes should have been left out because they only serve to confuse.

The biggest disappointment here is the music score. I know this is a Spanish western, but I would have liked it to have a more spaghetti sounding score. Instead it sounds like a very good Hollywood style score, which puts it several notches below the average spaghetti western score in my book.

This is still a great movie overall. It doesn't have as many stylistic touches as a lot of other Eurowesterns, but this incredible story will keep you glued to the edge of your seat.

gory western

[trashgang · 6/10 · 12 October 2011]

Spain is a country that isn't known for his flicks but now and then they have made flicks that people still are talking about. Cut Throat Nine is one of them. It even became a cult exploitation flick that they have decided to remake in 2011, and not with some B-actors but with Harvey Keitel and Mads Mikkelsen (Walhalla Rising). It was made in 1972, an era were the western genre was extreme popular and had some blockbusters like Once Upon A Time In The West and The Good The Bad And The Ugly. But all those classic were made in Italy (spaghetti western). Naturally other countries would like to earn some Yankee dollars too with making a good western.

Cut Throats Nine wasn't that good old western but it became famous due the gore used in it, a thing that wasn't done. Back then westerns only had some shootings and hangings or scalping of-camera. And even the actors weren't well known faces for the viewers. But it was released in the exploitation genre and in drive-ins and grindhouses and people started talking about it. If you watch it nowadays than it isn't that gory at all but for people not used to horror and only want to see a western I can understand that some will be offended. Some shots are indeed not for the squeamish. I can't wait to see the remake how they will do the chopping of feet, machete's going into bellies until the intestines fell out, stabbing, throat slicing, burning people, rape with nudity...Back then people were shocked when they saw it just like they did with Cannibal Holocaust. And with the gore in it it doesn't was comic or anything else, just straight in your face. Strangely it still hasn't seen a digital restoration and it's available on DVD but with the bad sound and scratches on the reel just like you should see it at a grindhouse.

BOMB!

[jools B · 1/10 · 27 April 2002]

No real plot to speak of, bar a drawn-out trek through snowy mountain scenery (one of the film's few assets).

An endlessly repeated musical refrain accompanies the gruelling (for the viewer) plodding movements of the cast which are punctuated by the odd cheesy episodes of ultraviolence - a close up of a fire scorched 'victim' reminded me of that great English November tradition of small boys who use a homemade dummy to scrounge money off passers by -"a penny for the Guy, mister?"

SPOILERS

The film's conclusion is brought about by the mysterious appearance of some powerful explosives (!).

As Leonard Maltin would say - BOMB!

Dark and harrowing dish of Spaghetti!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 29 September 2006]

The fact that this Spaghetti western is often seen as one of the more violent genre entries is the main reason why I wanted to see it; and while I'm not too well versed in this type of film overall; I've got to say that it is indeed pretty violent. Just to make things a little more uncomfortable for the audience, there's also a distinct streak of sadism running throughout the film, and stapes of the western genre such as gunfights and horse riding are replaced by things such as torture, rape and murder. The plot is not as expansive as the films from the likes of Sergio Leone, and focuses on a tight plot thread, which runs throughout. We begin with a sequence in which a sergeant introduces his wagon-load of convicts, all of which have been sentenced for heinous crimes. However, the wagon is soon attacked by bandits, and the sergeant, along with his beautiful daughter, must transport the troupe of convicts to their destination through the snow. However, even chained up these unscrupulous men aren't happy to do what they're told and it's not long before the man in charge is no longer the sergeant...

This film seems keen to break the western 'code' as often as possible, and that's even shown through the locations, which are often covered in snow. The film does adhere to some of the western staples, however, and that includes the soundtrack - which while perhaps not up there with the likes of the work of Ennio Morricone, still bodes well with the on-screen action and presents a fabulous Spaghetti Western atmosphere. The acting is overall rather poor and the lack of any cult stars is a negative aspect, but it doesn't harm the film too much. The major gimmick of this movie is the fact that it features all of its "bad" characters chained to one another. It's an original idea, and it has to be said that it is well used throughout the film. The violence doesn't come thick and fast, but when it is on screen; you'll certainly know about it. A scene that sees a man have a hook put through his skull before being winched up is a particular highlight! The ending is good and provides the perfect finish to a film like this, and overall; while I won't say this is one of the greatest westerns ever made, it certainly is a very good one.

Great stylized western worth watching

[Jalow547 · 7/10 · 22 November 2016]

It was marketed is the goriest western ever made. It has been categorized as a horror film. It is not, and it's all the better for it. Cut-Throats Nine is indeed gory, but that is not the primary focus of the film. It has a great story to go along with it, full of intriguing characters and great visuals.

But before we get off the subject of gore, let's talk about it. The gore in this film is great and it's very well-done. It's fun and exciting and gross when it should be but not overly revolting as may be suggested by the "terror mask" required for all viewers, per early advertisements. It's hard for me to say just how realistic the violence in this movie is, as I'm not an expert in that sort of thing and don't know how much a person's real life guts might look like a tin of spaghetti, but the effects are very masterfully done, look great on the screen, and get the desired reaction and then some. But the film isn't constantly violent. The bloodshed comes and goes from scene to scene. Some scenes have it and some don't, and sometimes we follow the story for a long time without any violence. It is never forced into the story for its own sake and that's what is good about it. I almost get the impression that the idea to market this film based on its gore was an afterthought, not planned for before shooting the film, and possibly only decided on when the filmmakers realized how truly well the effects had been accomplished.

Moving on to the story, it's nothing that's never been done before. We've got some convicts in the old west, some bandits and a man out to avenge his murdered wife. But at the same time, the way it's all put together, it still feels fresh enough to keep the viewer engaged. And the best part about the story is how it's told. It's very well stylized, but not overly so. I love how we get a glimpse into each character's past, seeing flashes of their memories at pivotal moments. We only linger there for a few seconds and never get the whole story, but we get just enough. Sometimes we don't even see anything that directly advanced the story, but it always tells us something about the character. But the way that it's done—along with the opening narration and a few other aspects of the film—at first make it seem a bit corny, until you realize that the director knew exactly what he was doing and everything works together for the overall effect of the film.

The one primary drawback for me was the film's setting. A group of convicts navigates its way through the harsh, wintry mountains, and they spend a good deal of the film in those mountains. It looks like much of it was shot on the same acre of land, using different angles to make it seem like they were going places. This sort of thing normally wouldn't bother me, but in an adventure movie with characters moving from place to place, I would like a little bit more variety.

I saw the VHS cut of this film, which clocks in at 83 minutes. Much more might have felt too long, given the stale environment, but at that length it maintains a great pace and would be easy to watch again and again and to share with friends.

I wouldn't suggest everyone rush out to find this movie as soon as possible, and a good-quality copy seems impossible to find, but it's worth viewing if you get the chance. I recommend Cut-Throats Nine to anyone who is in the mood for a good, fun midnight western and doesn't want to think too much. Just don't forget your terror mask!

Well, Maybe Not THE Most Violent Western Ever... But This Ain't No Disney Flick

[hokeybutt · 4/10 · 1 July 2005]

CUT-THROATS NINE (2+ outta 5 stars) A very interesting premise for a movie... seven hard-boiled prisoners are chained together and transported across mountainous terrain. A carriage accident leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere with a revenge-minded soldier and his innocent young daughter. Complication #1: one of the men (we don't know which) savagely killed the soldier's wife. Complication #2: the chains linking the convicts together are made of camouflaged gold to sneak it past mountain bandits. Yes, it all sounds very promising... unfortunately the acting is mostly unimpressive. There are some gratuitous nudity and gore scenes but they look like they belong in a different movie. The identity of the killer isn't really a big surprise if you think about it but the way it was revealed packed a certain climatic punch. All in all, it's a passably entertaining semi-spaghetti western... but it doesn't really live up to its promise. I can definitely imagine Quentin Tarantino remaking this movie and turning it into something great.