Review of The Black Gestapo (1975) by Bryan G — 12 Jul 2010

I've kind of got a soft spot for blaxploitation films, which sometimes are among the strangest films around. Last year I experienced some of the horror films that filled this genre of film, and that interested me in seeking other more unusual ventures in blaxploitation. So naturally when I stumbled on a film called The Black Gestapo I had to pick this one up. Because, when it comes to the Nazi's and what they stood for, seeing a bunch of black men joining the ranks just didn't make sense to me.

Well, it turns out that The Black Gestapo isn't as I thought it to be. Sure, this group of men do wear the signature threads that the Gestapo wore, emblems and all, and even mimic some of their salutes and such. But they aren't going around singling out Jewish people, but rather the oppressive white leaders in government, the police force and local mobsters. Such a weird identity for this group to assume, but within the context of the film it does actually work. And I genuinely liked what The Black Gestapo had to offer.

The movie starts off with General Ahmed (Rod Perry), who leads an inner-city group in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The group's original intention was to protect the black citizens of this area, but the oppression of the more powerful whites makes this difficult. So Ahmed's second in command, Colonel Kojah (Charles Robinson), asks if he can form a secret group that will use violence to cut down on the threats facing Watts. It works at first, as the Black Gestapo drive out their enemies. But the Black Gestapo's power hunger gets too severe, and they turn into what they swore to protect their people from.

That is what I came to like about The Black Gestapo so much. This group was using terrible, violent acts to protect themselves, which is usually condoned in these sorts of films. But about midway through the film our heroes turn out to be the real villains of the story, and Ahmed must become a one man army to bring them down. It isn't the deepest film you're going to see, but The Black Gestapo has a lot more substance to it than one would originally think it to after reading the title.

The Black Gestapo is one of the better blaxploitation films I've seen, with better acting and storytelling than I've come to expect. It's a nice little hidden gem that I think fans of this genre of film-making should seek out. You'll never look at the Gestapo the same again, that's for sure.