The Civil War is over, but Captain Steve Harris (John Bliss of other exploitation films like Chain Gang Women and The Thing with Two Heads) and his band of renegade Confederate soldiers refuse to give up the ghost. Dejected, aimless and looking to raise hell, they invade a small frontier town, bending the locals to their will via acts of violence, being especially cruel to Yankees and ex-slaves. But when they rape a young black woman, it proves to be a bridge too far with the ex-slaves and others finally rising up against them to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Director Lee Frost and producer Bob Cresse were just coming off the success of Hot Spur, another exploitation western roughie, when they released Love Camp 7, jump-starting the Nazisploitation craze. This combination of preceding films seems to inform The Scavengers quite a bit. Taking the gritty violence and sex of Hot Spur, and then doubling down on the cruelty and adding a large dose of racism to really stir up the grindhouse audiences, it’s easy to see why The Scavengers developed the reputation it has. In practice, while the racism is indeed deeply unpleasant to see and the big event that kicks off the violence of the third act is very brutal, the film is actually not as graphically disturbing as some others of the time like the recently reviewed Goodbye Uncle Tom for instance. Still, while Lee Frost is not the most accomplished exploitation director of this era (although he definitely tries to match the great Russ Meyer in terms of heaving bosoms and brisk pacing), Frost is more capable than many, shooting the film with a competence worth of a mid-tier spaghetti western perhaps. This relative technical proficiency does add to the disturbing nature of the acts committed, giving the film more gravitas that it might otherwise lack if the sets, costume, framing and acting had been significantly worse. What I’m saying is that this is definitely a step up from the likes of Andy Milligan and Doris Wishman (two filmmakers whose films I enjoy the hell out of but I openly admit are technically incompetent). Also like William Sanderson in Fight for Your Life, John Bliss really sinks his teeth into this role with relish, amplifying just how nasty and pitiless this guy is. Despite the controversial nature of some of the dialogue and scenes, The Scavengers at its heart still plays out like a conventional western in ways that I could see courting a more mainstream audience, particularly if it were shown edited for television. But don’t be fooled, it’s a rude, sleazy film that will be sure to appeal to sickos wanting to class up the joint with a period piece.

Severin has provided us nice new 4K transfer from the original camera negative, and I’m certain this movie has never looked better. While it does look a little soft at times, overall Severin has done a great job where it counts. The audio is a perfectly fine English mono track that captures all the disgusting racial slurs with the utmost clarity. The primary extra on the disc is a really good commentary with Vinegar Syndrome’s Joe Rubin, Severin’s Andrew Furtado and fanzine Temple of Shock editor Chris Poggiali (who also recently released the martial arts extravaganza book These Fists Break Bricks with Grady Hendrix). This track is consistently engaging, and you can really tell these guys know their stuff when it comes to Lee Frost and Bob Cresse as as well as ’60s exploitation in general. Definitely recommended if you want to know more about the film and the context in which it was released. The disc also comes with a couple of trailers and a neat physical booklet that acts as a replica of the original Promotional Program of the film.

The Scavengers isn’t what I would call a lost classic of the Wild West, but it is a dirty, brutal, sweaty, filth-riddled flick full of scum and debauchery, competently shot and acted with the frenzy of a pack of hyenas. Fans of ’60s exploitation should find everything they want in this particularly grimy slice of grindhouse glee.