After it was released uncut in German cinemas, the home cinema evaluation ended up on the index in 2008. In the meantime, “The Death Row Candidates” has been released for ages 18 and up – and has also been available in full on Netflix since April 1st.
When people try to kill each other and assassinate each other according to the kill-or-be-killed motto, the chances of getting the blessing of the FSK are usually not too good – a release from 18 years (as with “The Hunt” ) is usually the bare minimum. In the case of “The Death Row Candidates”, however, that was not the end of it. The mega-brutal action thriller was released uncut in 2007, but landed on the index a year later – and was not allowed to be openly advertised or sold in Germany for many years. Today, however, those morale issues are a thing of the past, and it’s easier than ever to experience the film in its full glory.
While indexed films are usually only submitted to the FSK for re-examination after 25 years, in the case of Scott Wiper’s rough allergy (“The Marine 3”) things went much faster. And more importantly, it was successful. The uncut version of “Die Totenkandaten” was removed from the index in 2019 and has been available for some time not only as an expensive limited edition but also as an inexpensive standard DVD and Blu-ray. With the right streaming subscription, you don’t even have to dig into your pocket to see the full-length film. Then “The Death Row Convicts” is now also available on Netflix – in the completely unabridged version, which is now approved for ages 18 and over.
You can expect a tough genre ripper, which not only has a very prominent cast – from wrestler Steve Austin to “Snatch” and “Bube, Dame, König, grAS” star Vinnie Jones too, among others, from “Mad Max: Fury Road ‘ well-known giants Nathan Jones – but also with a series of hard-hitting inserts that range from the ruthless to the hard to digest.
From countless broken bones to slit throats to rape, there is really everything here that could send a shiver down your spine. The trailer gets you in the mood for the atrocity spectacle – but in terms of action, it only reveals the comparatively restrained, bloodless tip of the iceberg…
That’s what “The Death Row” is about
In order to further increase his fortune, multi-millionaire Breckel (Robert Mammone) comes up with something very special: he buys a bunch of tough prison inmates free, transports them to a deserted island, lets them fight against each other in a fight for life and death and broadcasts the carnage of doomed ex-cons for customers who are willing to pay on the Internet.
Jack Conrad (Steve Austin) and a bunch of other criminals are now fighting for survival in front of the cameras – and the clock is ticking. Because all participants were provided with an explosive device that will blow up after 30 hours if the death arena has not produced a winner by then…
Despite obvious weaknesses, we can definitely recommend genre fans to take a look at “The Death Candidates”. After all, the trash grenade, which costs at least 20 million dollars, is definitely in a good mood – above all thanks to ex-soccer player Vinnie Jones, who with his dry sayings in the official DashFUN review is highlighted as the “showpiece” of the film. Therefore andOur tip: be sure to watch the original English version in which the Brit comes along a bit cooler than in the German dubbed version.
