BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

courtjes This movie is a total waste of time. The acting isn't worthy of a high school play. Joseph Cotton should be ashamed and the ones who play his sons are wooden, incapable of emotion. The only decent acting is the second "widow." I am very surprised of the IMDb rating this was given. The photography is not first rate but acceptable. The score is sometimes actually appropriate for the scene. The plot has numerous holes, especially at the end. Its difficult to capture the spirit of the American West and the Civil War without filming in the United States. The "western" background is again, acceptable, at times. And the scene in the town near the end is completely predictable.

MartinHafer "Hellbenders" shocked me. While there are tons of bad Italian westerns, there are very few classics and near-classics. Too often, they were indifferently directed, poorly dubbed and were just meaningless violence. It's a shame, as I really do like the genre. When they are well done (such as the films of Sergio Leone), they are wonderful. As for Sergio Carbucci, I've found his films to be better than average. Yet, oddly, I have never heard of this film--and it seems to be his very best.The film is about an insane family who refuse to admit that the Civil War has been lost. Despite General Lee's recent surrender, Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten has a bloody and nutty plan--to steal a huge cache of Union money and finance a renewed Civil War! To do this, he and his three sons cold-bloodedly murder Union troops--and even of their own men! The problem is that now they have to get the money from out west all the way east where the fighting has been occurring. When their plan starts to unravel when the woman assisting them is killed, they need another female gang member because they are hiding the money in a coffin--a coffin supposedly holding a grieving widow's husband. How can this go wrong? See the film.There's a lot to like about this one. The dubbing is far better than normal and the film looks very professional. Plus, while some similar plots were used in the 1940s and 50s (several with Randolph Scott), they never were handled like this one. While I am not usually a fan of violence, it really helps make the family thoroughly despicable--and this evil, clannish quality gives the film a very gritty (almost noir) edge. Overall, a very successful film with only one tiny flaw (the way the family reacts to a 'bum' in the desert late in the film makes absolutely no sense--especially in light of how the family behaved early in the film). Still, there's a lot to like and admire about this one.

Leonard Smalls: The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse In the extras on my DVD, they have sort of a mini Corbucci biography where his is linked to Leone in several ways. The general message is that Corbucci and Leone were friends and sort of counterparts.While Leone always succeeds in making your arm hairs stand up, with his amazing cinematography, music that works perfectly in the picture, and performances to blow the roof off, Corbucci takes more of a shocking, violent stance. The problem is, he doesn't take it far enough.The first memorable scene in "The Hellbenders" shows a ruthless group of Confederate outlaws gunning down a squad of Union soldiers and stealing a coffin full of money. There is some blood and by the time it's over, you'll be a little taken aback. The problem is, that scene is never matched again in the movie. There should have been more. More blood, more guts more violence. It should be over the top and it never is.All in all a very enjoyable spaghetti western, but it doesn't touch the works of Leone.6 out of 10, kids.

cengelm After the Civil War a dedicated ex-Confederate officer leads a hearse with a coffin full of money to New Mexico where he wants to revive the Confederation. His company is formed by his three very different sons and an alcoholic women. After the woman gets killed she is replaced by a seasoned female gambler who is well played by Norma Bengell. The whole story unfolds in the way of a road movie where the characters are passing through the typical obstacles of a Western environment. Due to a massacre the bunch committed in the beginning they are hunted by unionists and government officials. Corbucci manages to make the characters who are basically all criminals very likable and I was more often than not at the edge of my seat when the bunch run into trouble. Probably THE WILD BUNCH from Peckinpah got some inspirations from here and Corbucci's COMPAÑEROS can be considered a later variant with a different mood.The mood of the film is excellently supported by Morricone's score which belongs to his best. Cinematography is above average. The Spaghetti Western Web Board rated this film at #24 of all SW in 2005.7 / 10