This is a curious entry in the Blaxploitation genre, as things are pretty slow and grim for the first three quarters of the movie. At one point, the film drifts into a lengthy montage detailing a community-organized voting drive (prompting my friend to comment that the movie would have been more accurately titled "The Brotherhood of Civics Lessons"). When it finally kicks in, though, there are some great set pieces - notably the idea of putting "black" masks on the klansmen and sending them into the line of fire (Also, I don't think this is the first movie like this where a black guy dresses in a Klan robe to sneak up on the real Klansmen, but it's particularly effective here). It's not "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" or anything, but the political content in the movie is pretty progressive (and aggressive)... so while there's not as many jaw-droppingly insane moments as in many Blaxploitation classics, this is still worth looking at.
Final notes: (1) I felt guilty about the fact that the thick funk song used to signify the Klan's approach was so incredibly catchy that I had trouble keeping myself from dancing in my seat. (2) The actors playing the Klansmen look awfully convincing, lending some real tension to some scenes - particularly the rape sequence (that looks like it was filmed in the same "jungle" that stood in for Vietnam). (3) Why do the signs advertising the Klan in the film call it the "KKKK"? Why the bonus K?
Final notes: (1) I felt guilty about the fact that the thick funk song used to signify the Klan's approach was so incredibly catchy that I had trouble keeping myself from dancing in my seat. (2) The actors playing the Klansmen look awfully convincing, lending some real tension to some scenes - particularly the rape sequence (that looks like it was filmed in the same "jungle" that stood in for Vietnam). (3) Why do the signs advertising the Klan in the film call it the "KKKK"? Why the bonus K?