Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone / The Hellbenders 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 24, 2025

Sergio Corbucci's "The Hellbenders" (1967) and Enzo G. Castellari's "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone" (1968) arrive on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include two archival audio commentaries by filmmaker Alex Cox and vintage trailers. In English and Italian, with optional English SDH and English subtitles. Region-Free.

The crew

KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE

You can instantly tell that this film was made by an Italian because only an Italian would have thought that Kill Them All and Come Back Alone is a perfect title for a film. It is true. The Italians were great sellers first and then everything else they needed to be in order to have their films made and bought by international distributors. Some of them made a fortune producing silly copycats of American blockbusters and selling them as if they were as good as the originals, but this isn’t as simple as it sounds now. When you are selling copycats -- and no, I am not implying that Kill Them All and Come Back Alone was one -- you must have the right pitch to get the potential buyer excited, which is precisely why the Italians did a lot of hard work to optimize the market appeal of their films. During the late ‘60s, ‘70s, and even the early ‘80s they were ahead of everyone else, making all sorts of different genre films that looked and sounded so cool that it was almost a crime to miss them. Again, this isn’t easy. It takes some serious talent to do it right, and then do it over and over again so that buyers keep coming back for more.

So, what makes Kill Them All and Come Back Alone a perfect title? Well, the title sounds exotic and promises violence, which is exactly what all great Italian spaghetti westerns needed to convince people to go see them in the theater. Now, take a look at the original Italian poster for the film as well -- what do you see? An Italian director, Enzo G. Castellari, surrounded by American ‘stars’ and a rising local star in what appears to be a serious production. In the late ‘60s, this is a wrap, because almost everyone that loved films and could afford to go to the theater would have been intrigued. At this point it no longer matters if the film is as special as its title because it just sounds too good to be missed.

Fortunately, this film delivers everything its title and poster promise. It is exotic, violent, and oozing the type of atmosphere the classic Italian spaghetti westerns are famous for. It has a really good story as well. It is set during the Civil War and follows Clyde McKay (a great Chuck Connors), a famous mercenary, who leads a small crew of colorful characters in a territory controlled by Union forces to steal a large load of gold. His mission is part of an arrangement he has with Captain Lynch (Frank Wolff), who has discovered the location of the gold and desperately needs it to support the Confederate forces in the area. The mercenary is promised a large chunk of the gold for his work, but only if at the end of his mission he gets rid of his crew.

The action is colorful and often quite wild, but rather surprisingly it is not what makes the film special. It is the ‘badness’ that emerges in it that keeps it refreshingly unpredictable. Indeed, the screenplay, which was apparently finalized by Castellari, compromises all major characters and then sends them on a collision course to figure out who deserves to emerge from the mission alive. The end product is a very, very twisty spaghetti western that constantly defies the viewer’s expectations without actually rehashing any of its tricks. In other words, in it the style and substance are very nicely balanced.

The large international cast moves through the film with admirable confidence as well, which is something that has a very positive effect on its energy and pacing. This isn’t always the case with Castellari’s films. Most actually struggle to control both and in the process begin to compromise the integrity of their narratives, though admittedly the most outrageous amongst them are precisely the ones that are now considered genre classics. (See The Inglorious Bastards and The Big Racket).

Virtually the entire film was shot on location in Spain’s desert regions, with the most picturesque footage coming from Almería. Veteran local cinematographer Alejandro Ulloa, who lensed Lucio Fulci's very stylish thriller Perversion Story, was part of Castellari’s team.

THE HELLBENDERS

Approach The Hellbenders with caution. With the great Sergio Corbucci behind the camera, Joseph Cotten in front of it, and a predictably excellent soundtrack by Ennio Morricone you would be right to expect from this film at least an hour of decent exotic entertainment, but once the end credits roll you will walk away from it seriously disappointed.

The events in the film take place shortly after the Civil War has ended. There are still scattered pockets with minor conflicts, but the forces of the North are now firmly in control of the country. However, Colonel Jonas (Cotton), who has fought on the side of the Confederate forces, does not think that the war is over and plans to form a new army that can once again challenge the North. Together with his three sons -- Ben (Julian Mateos), Nat (Angel Aranda), and Jeff (Gino Pernice) -- he has stolen a very large sum of money and while pretending to be transporting the cold body of a famous general is heading to the Southwest to fund the uprising. Also traveling with the group is the ‘widow’ (Maria Martin) of the late general, who has been relieved from her daily duties in a popular brothel.

When somewhere in the desert the ‘widow’ becomes inebriated and one of the brothers kills her, Ben is promptly dispatched to find a replacement. In a lawless town, he picks another cheating prostitute, Claire (Norma Bengell), who initially incorrectly assumes that she would be traveling with a group of miners. When later she discovers the truth, Colonel Jonas’ immediately warns her that it is too late for her to walk away.

The further South the travelers go, the more dangerous their journey becomes. But it is Dan’s desire to protect Claire that eventually threatens to collapse their mission.

Here are a few of the main reasons why The Hellbenders fails to excite: First, the screenplay is one of the most unoriginal used for a spaghetti western. It chronicles a hugely disappointing journey without providing any legit opportunities for the main characters to impress. Quite predictably, there is a lot of posturing of the kind that would have been fine in screen tests but not in a complete film. Second, the absurd behavior around the casket where the stolen money is hidden is simply unbearable, and yet it is needed because without it the film cannot continue after the initial twenty or so minutes. Third, the absurd behavior is completely out of sync with the macho attitudes the script demands from its male stars as well, so as a result the entire film quickly acquires an equally unalterable cartoonish quality. A potentially exciting relationship between Ben and Claire is also foolishly wasted to justify a dramatic finale that solidifies the impression that too many people wanted the film to be something entirely different. It does not look good at all.

A successful case can be made that the casting choices are poor as well. Cotten repeatedly tries to lead, but struggles and leaves the impression that he is surrounded by strangers that quite simply do not like interacting with him. The majority of the time Bengell is also kept away from the action, but the few decent sequences from the film are the ones where she actually has something meaningful to say and do.

Enzo Barboni’s camera provides a few spectacular vistas, highlighting the beauty of the Spanish countryside, but the film does not have the epic look and ambience the great spaghetti westerns are known for.

Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone / The Hellbenders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone/The Hellbenders is a two-disc set. It has two 4K Blu-ray discs. It does not have Blu-ray copies of the two films.

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the two 4K Blu-ray discs and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on these discs.

The release offers native 4K presentations of the recent 4K restorations of Kill Them All and Come Back Alone and The Hellbenders. These 4K restorations were introduced on Blu-ray in 2020. You can see our listings and reviews of these Blu-ray releases here and here. In native 4K, the 4K restorations are not presented with Dolby Vision or HDR grades.

How do these 4K restorations look in native 4K? And, if you already have the Blu-ray releases, should you consider an upgrade?

First, I should mention once more that both restorations are very, very good. The Hellbenders has a few rough spots that reveal small age-related anomalies, impacting delineation and clarity, but all of its visuals still have a wonderful and very attractive organic appearance. Kill Them All and Come Back Alone looks healthier, but not by a lot. Its visuals have better, more consistent density levels, so on a larger screen it looks slightly more pleasing. So, how do these films look in native 4K? Are there any areas of their native 4K presentations that are more convincing now? I think that delineation, clarity, and depth are only marginally better. For example, wider panoramic shots from Kill Them All and Come Back Alone can look superior, and in some areas, background information is better. However, I think that the improved encoding is primarily responsible for most of the improvements. They are small improvements, not big. More importantly, the dynamic range of the visuals that both native 4K presentations produce is not hugely impressive. However, this is not because there are issues that should have been addressed, rather it is because the dynamic range of the visuals is already very, very good in 1080p on the Blu-ray. Obvopisly, I do not know if this would have also been true if the two native 4K presentations were graded with Dolby Vision or HDR. In other words, yes, there are areas that look marginally sharper, and yes, there are areas where some subtle nuances are better defined, but you should not expect to see big and consistent improvements in all major areas we scrutinize in our reviews. In fact, I must mention that the native 4K presentation of The Hellbenders makes it even easier to notice the rough spots, as well as several smaller inherited limitations. My previous comments on how the two 4K restorations are color graded are valid here as well.

If you have a very big screen, or like to project, and one or both of the films in this 4K Blu-ray set are among your all-time favorites, consider an upgrade. It won't be a big upgrade, it would be a very modest upgrade, but you will get the best possible presentations of these films. If you do not have a very big screen, or like to project, I think that you can stay with the previous Blu-ray releases of the two films and get very similar, almost identical presentations of them if you upscale them. It all comes down to size. The bigger your system is, the easier it will be for you to justify an upgrade.

Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone / The Hellbenders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone can be viewed with English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks. Optional English SDH and English subtitles are provided. The Hellbenders can be viewed only with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Both English tracks are very good. Only the one from The Hellbenders reveals a bit of unevenness, but I suspect that this is an inherited limitation. Also, it is worth mentioning that action material sounds very good. Kill Them All and Come Back Alone has more such material, so its lossless track can impress a lot easier. There are no distracting age-related anomalies.

Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone / The Hellbenders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE

• Commentary - an archival audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox.

THE HELLBENDERS

• Trailer One - vintage trailer for Kill Them All and Come Back Alone sourced from a VHS. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer Two - a vintage trailer for The Hellbenders. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - an archival audio commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox.

Two Spaghetti Western Classics: Kill Them All and Come Back Alone / The Hellbenders 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kill Them All and Come Back Alone is a genuine firecracker. It delivers everything its title promises, and then supersizes it to make sure that it won't be easy to forget it. It's got great characters, a ton of action, fantastic twists, and some absolutely breathtaking visuals from Spain's desert regions. The Hellbenders is a disappointment. It has a predictably wonderful soundtrack by the great maestro Ennio Morricone, but its story is dull and its stars unimpressive. Several years ago, Kino Lorber introduced wonderful 4K restorations of these films on Blu-ray. This two-disc set offers native 4K presentations of these restorations on 4K Blu-ray. (It does not have Blu-ray copies). The native 4K presentations are very good, but you should consider picking up the two-disc set only if you have a very large screen or like to project. The native 4K presentations bring modest upgrades, and most of the time only in certain areas. RECOMMENDED.