Starring - Rod Perry (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Project U.F.O.), Charles Robinson (Night Court, Sugar Hill), and Phil Hoover (Race with the Devil, Garden of the Dead)
Release Date - 1975
Genre - Crime/Action
Tagline - "The people's army has declared war!"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Blaxploitation is a sub-genre that I am very fond of. I've loved these films for almost as long as I've been a horror fan. I've seen a great number of these films but there is still plenty more for me to discover. Several years back I picked up the blaxploitation flick The Black Gestapo and checked it out. I remember liking it for the most part but it had been sometime since my last viewing. It is the second film in the Soul Team Six set so now was a perfect time to revisit it.
The film follows a group of black men that band together to form the people's army. They aim to stop the drug pushing, prostitution, and numbers running in their neighborhood by the local crime boss. Once they accomplish their goal of ridding the streets of these things they start doing them as well to finance their own exploits. One of their own refuses to join in and becomes a one man army to stop them from ruining their community again. 
I've watched so many blaxploitation over the years but very few of them leave a lasting impression on me. The Black Gestapo is one of the few films that I can really remember the story almost scene for scene years later. I really enjoy the film even after a second viewing but there is still several issues that could be fixed. The acting in this one is one of the better acted exploitation flicks to come out of the 70s. We do get some goofy and over the top characters but many of the others are more grounded which really evens out the film. I really enjoy the cast and the characters they portray. The story for this one is a little more different than your typical blaxploitation film in which it pits the cast against each other and not the black community vs "the man." With that being said, the movie does face several slow pacing scenes that almost grinds the film to a halt. Aside from those slow scenes the story is fun especially for a blaxploitation flick. Finally, the film has plenty of action with several fighting and gun fights but we don't get any blood or guts. Overall, The Black Gestapo is one of the more popular blaxploitation flicks and for good reason. It has a solid cast and a fun story. Fans of exploitation and blaxploitation should really dig into this one if you haven't already. 
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