Good concept, poorly executed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A few people seem to think that the film was shot in the mid 70's but it was definitely shot in the early 1970's - It started in either 71 or 72 as Freedom RIP and then continued sporadically from then on. How do I know? I was in the Northville cemetery in Michigan a couple of times while the filming was taking place as I was then dating one of the filmmakers. I moved to Australia in July 72, so it was definitely before then!If the acting isn't the best, then that's because those guys were not actors; they were actual bikies.

I saw this film on VHS back in the early-mid 80's. Being about 12-13 I loved the Ultra-Violence and the entire concept. I must have watched it through twice in as many days and the finale a few times more. Not often a film with 'Massacre' in the title actually delivers but this one did. In Spades.The only setback was that I seemed to be the only person who ever saw it. Ever. Seriously. Back in those days of the 'Video Nasty' we used to compare splatter films at break during school but I was the only person who ever knew of this one. Same for years. Even up till now, come to think of it. Its a tribute to its raw power that I can still recall so much of it. The bikers, the corrupt law, the 'Paton' skit,the shootings and the massacre itself. And the fact that not one of the bikers could actually fire in a straight line and had no idea of the concept of cover. Hey-Ho!And the ending is one of the best, most powerful and most disturbing ever filmed. Its stuck with me over 20 years.Now THATS what you call a Finale'.

The DVD came out this Halloween, and I was able to get a copy signed at the 30th Anniversary re-release party in Northville. I hadn't heard about it before, but growing up in the area I was excited for it. It was made almost a decade before I was born so I felt no nostalgia for the time period and the way of life. I did however enjoy seeing what is now a fully-developed town back when it was just farm land.The quality of the DVD menus and extras are phenomenal. I'm very glad the spent the time and money on creating a quality product. Since I hadn't seen it before, I can't say if the video or sound was remastered. It seemed like there could have been more work done to spruce up the actual film (there are a few jump cuts that seem almost accidental and the audio doesn't always line up with the mouths).I enjoyed the extreme violence (not something you want to watch while babysitting) and the demonization of the 'pigs'. It certainly speaks of a different time and is rewarding with an interesting combination of action, drama, and comedy. I think I enjoyed most the fact that this was an actual motorcycle club and not actors (for the most part).In conclusion, this film is never very believable, but is almost always enjoyable. If you are from the area (and not too sensitive to violence, sexuality, and language) definitely pick up a copy. I think this film crosses a few lines (in a good way) and takes you out of your comfort zone. It never really makes you think, but the motorcycle club is well developed as a single character (none of the members really stand out individually) and at times the cinematography is surprisingly good. It's not incredibly well put-together, but for its time and budget, I would consider classifying it as amazing.

This is one of those low-budget biker vs the cops pictures that permeated the early seventies movie scene. Unlike those other titles though this one features some of the most violent scenes I've ever watched.The story concerns a small town sheriff who savagely rapes the daughter of one of the town's more respected residents. He places the blame on a group of fun-loving bikers just passing through. The sherrif and the father of the girl go on a rampage, slaughtering every biker in sight.The final stand-off between the sherrif and the father and the remaining bikers inside the town's Northville Cemetery is violent to the extreme. The bloodletting in this scene is on par with the finale scene in The Wild Bunch. The special effects are also amazing, especially for a film with this low a budget.What I appreciated most about this film is that in the final shoot-out you'll notice that the two men trained in firearm usage, the sherrif and the father, a big game hunter, manage to hit everything they shoot at while the bikers, an untrained bunch, miss everything. It's that kind of realism that I like.A mexican stand-off between the film's two main characters is never concluded before the film fades to black. We are left to wonder what happens next. I loved that! Imagine if Leone chose not to show what happened next when Eastwood, Van Cleef and Wallach had each other all lined up in that threeway stand-off.Northville Cemetery Massacre is a fun, violent movie that is definitely not for the squeamish or for children.