Kid Vengeance (DVD)

A father is murdered, a mother is raped, and their teen-aged daughter is snatched by sadistic killer McClain and his band of thugs. The atrocity is witnessed by the pioneer family's young son, Tom, who goes on a rage-fueled ride of vengeance, killing the gang members one- by-one. The boy, desperate to rescue his sister, finds an ally in Isaac, a miner determined to recover a fortune in gold that McClain stole from him. Together, they follow the outlaws to a small desert town for a climactic bloody showdown.

Filmed in the surreal deserts of Israel, Kid Vengeance is a disturbing study of the gray area between "hunting" and "killing." A gritty, stylized Western in the grand tradition of Sergio Leone, the film features one of the great stars of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef. His fiercely dark performance is counter-balanced by the rock-solid earthiness of legendary football star turned film actor, Jim Brown (100 Rifles, The Dirty Dozen). 1970s teen heart-throb, Leif Garrett, turns in a fine performance.

• western