Black Oak Conspiracy

"Blac Oak Conspiracy" is quite a unique film, or at least in my perception. Judging by the title, the setting, the era of release and the type of characters in the cast list, I was expecting a typically enjoyable slice of Rednecksploitation. And, in fact, it is just that, only more ... sophisticated! Usually in this kind of film, the Southern hicks chase innocent city folks through the woods, they moonshine, or they smuggle booze. The bad rednecks in the film, however, have flawless dental hygiene and occupy themselves with fraudulent real-estate transactions and misleading poor elderly landowners. Even the supportive characters are not your average type of good old-boy yokels, but school teachers and strong independent women instead. The mandatory trademarks of Rednecksploitation are well-represented, though, like the utterly corrupt Sheriff (fantastic role for Albert Salmi), the town's rebel returning home, car chases & crashes, bar fights, bare-knuckle boxing, buxom farmer daughters getting topless, couples rolling around in haystacks, and a catchy country song playing during the opening credits. "Black Oak Conspiracy" is somewhat slow-paced, but never boring and the story builds up towards a terrific climax. During the last twenty minutes, when one of the bad guys goes totally berserk, there is even a bit of nasty gore to enjoy. The great cast includes Jesse Vint (who also co-wrote the script), Robert F. Lyons, Seymour Cassel, and the aforementioned Albert Salmi.