Starring: Jim Brown, Gloria Hendry, Don Stroud and Ed McMahon
Rated: R Action, Crime, Drama
In this follow-up to Slaughter released the year prior, Slaughter (Jim Brown), the Vietnam veteran and former Green Beret captain, has settled in Los Angeles, California. He is seeking peace after having killed Dominic Hoffo, a boss of a mob faction who commanded the murder of Slaughter’s parents.
Building a new life, Slaughter enjoys his friends and lady, Marcia (Gloria Hendry). However, his new-found solace is short-lived when an assassination attempt on his life is made.
Although it is botched, Slaughter loses two of his friends. He soon deducts that this attack was actually meant for him. It was commanded by a new organized crime boss, Duncan (Ed McMahon), in retaliation for Slaughter killing Dominic.
Slaughter realizes that he will have to take matters into his own hands in order to protect himself and Marcia. To eliminate Slaughter, Duncan has dispatched his own goons, corrupt policemen on his payroll and has even hired a cruel “mechanic”, or hitman, Kirk (Don Stroud).
Time is quickly running out for Slaughter … will he be able to escape the mob for a second time? Or will he simply be “slaughtered” for his prior quest for vengeance? If viewers even liked Slaughter, they are going to love Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off!
Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off was also a box office hit, further cementing Jim Brown’s marketability as a Blaxploitation star. The success of this film’s predecessor allowed American International Pictures (AIP) to greater develop Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off. This included set location, composition of a soundtrack, more sophisticated production and better-trained actors.
There were, however, a few flaws in the sequel. One plotline snafu was that, according to the first film, Slaughter killed the kingpin in South America. However, in the second film, it’s referenced that Dominic was killed in Mexico, where, in reality, Slaughter,was filmed. As Mexico did not want any negative references to its country to be featured in Slaughter, its plotline included Dominic hiding out in an unidentified country in South America. To avoid any further potential conflict between AIP and the government of Mexico, Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off was filmed in Miami, Florida.
More significant than this is the issue of the soundtrack of Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off. The original score was composed and performed by none other than James Brown, “The Godfather of Soul”, and Fred Wesley, leader of the J.B.’s, Brown’s band.
However, the contemporary editions of Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off contain a soundtrack that is a mélange of music that was sourced from other AIP motion pictures. These songs were not even credited in the updated Jim Brown sequel. The revised soundtrack even includes “Coffy” by Roy Ayers. Its use on Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off is strange indeed, as it is the title track of the eponymous 1973 Blaxploitation hit film which starred Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui and Sid Haig.
