In the dying days of the Second World War, Heinrich, a Landser in the German army is sentenced to death by a sadistic SS leader. His crime? Desertion, wanting to escape an unwinnable war and find his way home to the daughter he barely knows. The rope is placed around his neck and his tormentors drive off laughing. But just before they leave the unfortunate soldier to his fate, the Sergeant cruelly twists the noose so that his death will be more drawn out and painful. Mistake.
From this starting point, Blood & Gold rapidly turns into a solidly entertaining war flick that emulates the exploitation movies of the seventies. Come And See this is not, it's one hundred minutes of Nazis getting brutally slaughtered with axes, machine guns and pitchforks.
It seems to have turned up at the right time too. The hype machine for the similarly-themed Sisu is in overdrive at the minute, so Blood & Gold is perfect for anyone that wants to see a Nazi bloodbath but can't make it to the cinema. It's not a complicated film, but if you like your Nazi leaders scarred, fanatically unhinged and destined to meet a gruesome end, this'll be right up your street. It's a grimy, unpleasant movie and the kind of thing Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious could have been inspired by. Some of it is remarkably cruel and it doesn't shy away from killing likeable supporting characters, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. How can you not grin when a Nazi rapist gets scolding hot coffee thrown into his crotch?
