Please don't spend money on this.

It is a performances centric movie

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Like all the other reviews stated clear already, "Thou Shalt Not Kill … Except" offers more interesting trivia details than actual good cinema. The film is somewhat of a side-project of the "Evil Dead"-team; only the roles and duties were exchanged for this once. Bruce Campbell (co-)wrote and Sam Raimi (nowadays the acclaimed director of blockbusters such as "Spiderman") stars as a thoroughly depraved, sneering and serial killing gang leader. He's totally awesome in a tacky kind of way! That means Raimi is a downright lousy actor, but if you see him go over the top here and then subsequently picture him sitting in the director's seat of a $200,000,000 box office hit … it's just a priceless image! The plot is familiar revenge/exploitation camp but ever more violent, senseless and uncompromising than it is usually the case. Four buddies that fought side by side in Vietnam reunite in their Michigan hometown for some random hard-drinking, sex with minors and blasting the hell out of wooden outhouses with shotguns. Meanwhile, there's a murderous gang of bikers active in the area. They're self-acclaimed messiahs, already killed several entire families and always clad nightmarish messages on the wall in human blood. You know, lovely stuff like "The Bloodbath is Coming!" Real-life scum as practice-shooting targets were just what our 'Nam buddies needed and it even gets personal when it turns out that the gang killed Stryker's befriended bartender and kidnapped his high school sweetheart. The body count in this film is enormous and each separate killing is somewhat imaginative. Unlike most Vietnam-themed retribution/vigilante flicks, like for example "Rolling Thunder" and "The Exterminator", the avengers here weren't depressed, embittered or dehumanized after serving in the war. Quite the contrary, they love bringing up memories about their tour together and literally enjoy shooting up the enemy… ANY type of enemy! Much more than the other entries in this sub genre, "Thou Shalt Not Kill … Except" is a pure glorification of violence. The filming style is gritty and very cheap, the editing and sound effects are really clumsy and the forced "happy" ending is truly hilarious. In other words; pure & genuine exploitation that won't get appreciated by everyone, but if you like this kind of trash and/or you want to see the other - more secret - side of Sam Raimi, "Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except" comes with my highest recommendation.

Sgt. Jack Stryker survives being in Vietnam, but when he returns to try to rekindle friendships and maybe lost love. A Manson-type cult led by Evil Dead/Spider-man director Sam Raimi comes looking for trouble so it's up to Stryker and his soldier buddies to kick some dirty hippie ass. It resembles a Troma movie. And If this WERE a Troma picture, I guarantee you that a lot of the reviews for it wouldn't be so bad. This is the kind of movie that you have to watch with your drinking buddies and laugh at how bad it is. How can you not like such an over-the-top Sam Raimi, or a Mr. T look-a-like?? My Grade: B DVD Extras: Commentary by Josh Becker and Bruce Campbell (which is a hoot too); a deleted scene; and theatrical trailer Eye Candy: Terry-Lynn Brumfield gets topless, the only reason she was hired for the part

Not a good movie by any means. But, it is very cool to see the early no budget work of some of the guys that went on to bring you such favorites as Evil Dead, Darkman & Xena. If your a fan of Renaissance Pictures & Sam Raimi, this one's well worth checking out.

Although around the middle of this film you may have a bit of trouble making sense of it, not really knowing if this is a horror, despite one scene involving the cult of if some idiot at blockbuster placed the film in the wrong category, but once it gets going boy does it get going. The climax is quite gory but if you have a strong stomach for that kind of stuff you'll appreciate the eerie music and suspense of a horror movie and the gunfights, fistfights and well action of an action movie. Dont take my word for it, just watch it, it's good.