Killer Force (1976) User Reviews

"You got yourself a new member"

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 11 March 2011]

The plot outline sounded much better than the execution of it, but this largely forgotten on-the-cheap drive-in 70s adventure heist joint is worthwhile just for the cast alone and that it was directed by Val Guest. The setting is unique, a South African diamond mine located deep in the desert is targeted for a daring hit (Hugh O'Brian, Christopher Lee and a smirking O.J Simpson) and Telly Savalas in menacingly oozing form plays the company's security chief trying to prevent it. A cynically scruffy Peter Fonda is a field security officer who gets caught up in it all, when he agrees to go undercover; stealing a diamond and escaping capture to get the attention of an insider who they believe is smuggling diamonds/and who is also helping prepare a heist. However no-one else knows about this job, including his girlfriend (the radiant Maud Adams) and the security chief.

The knotty, if absurd plot offers a neat array of dangerous twists and unrelenting turns, which keeps the rhythmic story moving and constantly interesting. It really does pick up things in the back-end, as the plans are set in motion and the rough nature breaks out. The character interactions remain dynamic, especially the scenes when Fonda's character meets the heist group. Mechanically directed, but it consists of fun biting dialogues, all-out no-bull violence, well-shot locations and many big egos trying to mug every shot they're in. Backing this up is a titillatingly groovy soundtrack which simply makes you want to boogie. It does.

Amazing star cast with an amazing director n Savalas going all stylish with his dresses n sun glares.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 7 January 2022]

I bought the dvd almost a decade ago only cos of the dvd cover of Savalas, the exciting star cast n the plot.

Never got the time to play the dvd.

In fact, I saw this few days back via online medium due to the sheer laziness of playing the dvd.

Coming to the movie, it has an amazing star cast n an even amazing director.

Telly Savalas is very stylish with his dressing style n sun glares.

And the moment I was about to feel sorry for Christopher Lee's inclusion, Lee's character removes a knife n shows his presence.

Diamonds are a merc's best friend

[JohnSeal · 5/10 · 14 December 2008]

Peter Fonda plays Bradley, a guard working to protect one of South Africa's major diamond depositories, which seems to be located in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. When an outside agent (Telly Savalas) arrives to shake things up and tighten security, boss Nelson (Victor Melleney) asks Bradley to infiltrate a gang of former mercenaries and professional thieves plotting to rip off the depository. Bradley does as he's asked, but when Nelson ends up dead he loses his alibi and is forced to make some tough decisions. Killer Force is a solid action flick, well directed by Val Guest and bolstered by an excellent supporting cast, including Christopher Lee as sadistic Major Chilton, Hugh O'Brian as plot mastermind Lewis, and Maud Adams as Bradley's love interest. Even O.J. Simpson acquits himself reasonably well, sans glove this time. Much worse films than this have been released to DVD; it's a mystery why this one still languishes on VHS.

Good action thriller typical of those released in the 70's

[gcrespo · 18 February 2002]

Hasn't turned up too often on television but was good. Nice casting, with Peter Fonda the lead but not actually leading the robbery. That was left to Hugh O'Brien, Christopher Lee and O.J.Simpson. Maud Adams always good to look at on the screen and Telly Savalas as a security officer who had a dark side to him. Nice soundtrak, might still be available if you look hard enough.

The situation is reassessed

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 25 November 2015]

Watching Killer Force makes me think that the folks who security at South African diamond mines ought to be the ones running our Homeland Security. As typified by Telly Savalas they are a ruthless but shrewd lot. It wouldn't say much for our civil liberties though, but would we ever be secure from terrorists.

Peter Fonda plays one of the security men at a diamond mine in the Kalahari desert who's given an assignment to go undercover and find some folks who are rumored to be planning a big heist. To do so he has to be caught stealing himself which he is. But when the guy giving the assignment is killed and his ever so lovely handler Marina Christelis is killed Fonda is out on a limb. Time to reassess the situation.

Once the situation is reassessed the heist is on and the last 40 minutes or so is non-stop action. Other members of the heist team are Hugh O'Brian, Christopher Lee, and O.J. Simpson. Most don't make it, but they go oh so spectacularly.

Killer Force is not bad entertainment, but everyone in the cast has done better.

It's old-fashioned 70s action with lots of intrigue.

[emm · 7/10 · 11 November 1998]

KILLER FORCE is one of the many action movies of the 70s on a "bad guy" perspective and a low budget, with a sand dune setting and lots of funky disco which made these great. It stands out best for its intrigue. Don't expect much from top-billed Telly Savalas (who rips the dress off of Maud Adams!), but do follow Peter Fonda's point of view as he joins an army of force attempting to rob the valuables from a diamond mine. This is a chance to see O.J. Simpson in his glory days as one of the heist members going out to seize an electric fuse, a plot that leads the men into the facility. The action sequences look mild but they remain exciting to this day as with other Italian-made productions. Try not to think but understand that KILLER FORCE was made on European soil with an American cast (other than Christopher Lee) driving auto vehicles on the passenger side. Definitely worth a find if you crave for late-night intrigue. Nice color.

Err

[phototec · 4/10 · 2 July 2021]

Telly Savalas wears shades until the end and "acts" like the tough guy but it does not come over in the film The plot line is good and a surprise in the middle but overall its a late night because i can not sleep film Note wooden guns on land rovers and bald wig on one driver overall its a dated action film when you have time to waste.

How many macho-egos does it take to rob a diamond mine?

[Coventry · 7/10 · 3 June 2019]

Many titles that are on my must-see list are there because I blindly added them for names in the cast, without necessarily knowing what the plot is about. "The Diamond Mercenaries", aka "Killer Force" is a prime example of this habit, since it unites cult icons Telly Savalas, Christopher Lee and Peter Fonda! What more do you need to know in order to see a film? And it's gets better, since it's also co-starring Bond-beauty Maud Adams and it was co-written and directed by one of Hammer's greatest talents; - Val Guest ("The Quatermass Experiment", "The Abominable Snowman").

In fact, "Killer Force" is a gift that keeps on giving, because it's a fantastic mid 70s action/thriller with a terrific heist-plot, an original setting, a fascinating cast of characters and plenty of bloody awesome execution sequences! The mighty Telly Savalas (and his uniquely flamboyant wardrobe) plays one of the coolest roles of his career as the obsessive head of security at a diamond mine in the godforsaken middle of the African desert. A supportive character asks him: "Where were you when they handed out feelings?". Savalas' answer: "Probably out somewhere chasing a diamond thief". He feels that someone is planning a major diamond heist, and he's right. Five former Vietnam mercenaries, with the help from someone on the inside, have a master plan ready, but it's not without risks. The first half of "Killer Force" is unnecessarily convoluted, as Fonda's role is quite ambiguous, but it's always compelling and especially the second half is non-stop exhilarating. All male characters are arrogant machos with ginormous egos, but notably Christopher Lee and Telly Savalas seem to be battling for the "who's the most sadist" character of the film. "Killer Force" simply embodies why I worship vile and nasty exploitation cinema of the 70s; - it's great sardonic fun and comes highly recommended!

Director Val Guest tries his best

[TheFearmakers · 7/10 · 4 July 2022]

The only thing more pathetic than Peter Fonda's fake beard is that director Val Guest had almost no career after making some of Hammer Films' best work, from horror to science-fiction to (like this) crime thrillers...

And while KILLER FORCE is no Hammer there's Dracula himself, Christopher Lee, within a group of DIAMOND MERCENARIES in a South African desert where the beautiful-vastness of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA meets the jeep-leaping potential of THE RAT PATROL, and, either indoors or out, Lee's the most cold-blooded villain (killing perfectly good hooker Marina Christelis for no apparent reason) in a movie all about villains...

Meanwhile, buried lead Peter Fonda works for Telly Savalas, an uncompromising, office-set security chief (whose scenes were probably shot in a few days between KOJAK episodes) for an impenetrable diamond-mine outpost...

And soon the morally ambiguous Fonda's hired to go undercover into Christopher Lee's gang actually led by square-jawed Hugh O'Brian alongside Lee's 007 moll Maud Adams (as Fonda's girl) and O. J. Simpson, turning in his most natural non-performance since some genuine athletic abilities are used during the busy second and third acts...

That's when the rudimentary semi-complicated heist premise becomes more popcorn mainstream and thus, outright entertaining, and even suspenseful... the latter most likely thanks to director Val Guest...

The underrated British auteur (from QUATERMASS to HELL IS A CITY) does a nifty job with a standard script and meager budget that could have been forgettable without the professional veteran behind everyone, and everything.

Great action- "Killer" movie!

[jb007-5 · 10/10 · 23 June 2001]

This is one of the 70s better and most under rated thrillers of that era! It has a fantastic sound track by the maestro, Georges Garvarentz, an intriguing cast (Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda, Hugh O'Brian, O. J. Simpson, Maud Adams and Christopher Lee- the latter two are both excellent in this film!). It's a very thrilling experience, and one I did not forget in a hurry! 10/ 10!!!! AA+++

I'm Team No One in this film!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 12 April 2024]

"Killer Force" is a film made in South Africa during the Apartheid era. It's set in the desert at a diamond mine...something the country was known for at that time, as well as gold...and racism.

Mike Bradley (Peter Fonda) is a security man working for the miners. His boss comes to him with an interesting plan...for Mike to pretend to have gone bad and have him then join a group of cut throats planning on robbing the place in order to catch them. But when Mike's boss is murdered, you wonder what will become of Mike considering how vicious these criminals are.

It's really tough to root for anyone in the film. The crooks are murderous thugs...as are the diamond mine owners and their security forces. I just rooted for explosions. And, explosions there sure are, as EVERYTHING blows up with the least provocation. A helicopter is brought down by a guy on the ground with a rifle (!!), a car blows up, several trucks blow up, and even an electrical substation blows up...all after just a bullet or two hit them! Bullets and cars/trucks do NOT work that way and shooting down the helicopter was a million to one shot...at best. But if you can ignore all this stupidity, what you're left with is actually a pretty decent action film.

By the way, casting O. J. Simpson was a dumb idea, as in the 1970s black people were virtually slaves in South Africa and having him 'blend in' would have been impossible. This isn't because I hate O. J. but due to Apartheid...it just wasn't realistic making a member of the team ALSO a member of this hated race in South Africa.

Sole coherence in this film is that the end is as ridiculous as the rest of it .

[arbesudecon · 2 August 2010]

I would have expected something much better from Val Guest , to put it other way I would have never expected such a senseless film from someone who during the 50's managed to direct "Hell is a city" ( with the great Stanley Baker ) or excellent sci Fri flick "the day the Earth caught fire " .

To be honest this films fails on almost every aspect imaginable. Plot is somewhere between ridiculous and absurd. Seems that the 70's didn't make him any good to his career.

A band of mercenaries (which included O.J Simpson and Christopher Lee ) plans to heist a diamond depot placed somewhere in the African desert . There are many aspects that are horrible in this film , which go from the acting (meaning Peter Fonda, Teddy Savallas and C.Lee are all capable of delivering good acting but here they are so bonded by a ridiculous script that everything they say sounds laughable ) , plot dialogues and action scenes are simply lame , as they would have been taken from the A team outtakes .

Acting didn't escape from the burn , sad to see Christopher Lee playing the role of a ruthless mercenary , I would have never expected to see him in such a lame role he's the Prince of Darkness for god sake Don't drag him into o this embarrassing situations .

Only positive comment would be that the end is as ridiculous as the rest of the film, so at least you can find a trace of coherence here ..sadly it the sole you'll find