A hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed. Gordone is arrested and sent to prison, where he joins the prison's boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole and to establish his dominance over the prison's toughest gang.
Direction
Fanaka's UCLA film school chops in a Blaxploitation shell.
Practical Effects
Brutal, unsanctioned fight choreography with real sweat.
Writing
Dialogue so raw it feels improvised by actual cons.
Director
Jamaa Fanaka
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of the L.A. Rebellion movement—Black filmmakers at UCLA rejecting Hollywood's gaze, even while working in exploitation.
Shot for under $100,000; lead Leon Isaac Kennedy was a DJ with no acting experience. Made $15 million.
US
