Rooster: Spurs of Death!

Cockfighting...a most inhumane sport, has played a significant part in some of the most important chapters in history, and continues to do so, silently, within the modern political arena...or so this oddly conceived little film would like you to believe. We are given a rare glimpse into the daily lives of "cockers"...breeders of roosters prized for their courage and aggressiveness.

70s/80s teen heartthrob Vince Van Patten is the son of one such "cocker"(his hair more feathered than any of the fowls of this picture), and this is sort of his "coming of age" story. Too, it is the story of his affection-starved mother's plight, a midget's desire to "fit in", a good girl's descent into prostitution, and the odyssey of a mute black man. Seriously...this movie has more points of departure than Heathrow International Airport. Set all this important social commentary in agrestic "middle-of-nowhere" environs, along with the exciting, barbaric, and often cut-throat world of careerist cockfighting, and you've got yourself one divergent little movie. It even tries for arthouse ennoblement with some unexpected moments of clodhopping surrealism. Hot damn, this flick is a trip.

As much a slapped-together oddity as this is, Miss Ruta Lee glides through the proceedings with far more professionalism than the material deserves, pushing the film slightly above the "schlock" mark on the quality meter. Still and all, it'll be a test of patience for any but the most sworn enthusiasts of gonzo 70s cinema.

3.5/10. Inferior to COCKFIGHTER(1974), but at least a bit better than SUPERCOCK(1975).