Even being prepared for this movie by others who've seen it, I was not ready for the sheer onslaught that the last five minutes of this movie makes you endure. There's brutal and then there's this, a film that literally had me jumping around the room worried as to who would survive the final moments.

Adele is a female lawyer who believes that everyone deserves mercy. Unfortunately, several criminals steal her car, take her keys and rob her country home. Circumstances have led her and her husband there at the same time and he's shot and killed. Three of the four get away and despite the tragedy, Adele attempts to stay true to her values. Her mother-in-law continually reminds her that she's lost a son and that Adele's son and daughter now have no father.

The thugs who remain on the streets keep calling and taunting her, telling her to lie so that they can all escape justice. But when the one left on the inside is seen as a snitch and killed, they decide to get their revenge on her, leading to a scene so horrifying that I worry that my words won't do it justice. Seriously, this movie goes beyond Last House on the Left with old women brutalized, children punched in the fact and excessive use of fire. I was so sure that the daughter would be burned alive that I nearly watched this scene from the other room.

Directed by Jorge Grau (The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, Blood Ceremony),this is a movie packed with fear and menace from the very start of the movie. Something bad seems like it's going to happen, something bad does happen and something bad has to happen to those who deserve it. Grau really takes you on a journey in this one.

It's very rare ambition for a low-budgeted European exploitation movie to, apart from to shock and repulse its target audience, also make a point and even attempt to provoke a socially engaging moral debate. I don't immediately claim that director Jorge Grau (director of the almighty "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" fully succeeded in this courageous design with "Hunting Ground", but it's definitely a remarkable effort and it is most unfortunate to establish that the film is so obscure and nearly impossible to track down. The concept is basically a variation on the commonly known and numerously imitated "Last House on the Left", in which the relatives of a brutally killed individual take the law into their own hands and seek bloody vengeance against the culprits. The main difference in this film, however, is that the lead character is actually a devoted attorney and usually defends the rights of these low-classed rapists and relentless killers; supposedly because "society" forces them to revert to committing these vile crimes. Adela (splendid performance by Assumpta Serna) one days obtains the acquittal for a trio of thugs, but they promptly repay her by stealing the keys to her Christmas holiday resort and killing her husband in a fight. Adela remains behind with her two children but still she doesn't betray her moral principles, much to the disgust of her rancorous mother-in-law and even her own youthful son. But the criminals return and when one of them gets apprehended by the police and dies in prison due to medical circumstances, all hell truly breaks loose.

The pacing of "Hunting Ground" is very uneven. The fascinating plot and detailed character drawings unfold rather slow and atmospherically, but then the climax is suddenly extraordinary sick, repellent and most shocking. Especially when you carefully and attentively followed the elaboration of the story, the finale will hit you in the face like a ten ton hammer and leave you near speechless. I don't want to reveal everything, but it involves explicit rape scenes with penetration through torches and an almost equally grisly retaliation. Admittedly the moralist discussion evoked during the first 80 minutes of the movie suddenly don't mean much anymore after this, but – seriously - what a climax! "Hunting Ground" suffers from extremely poor productions values, like bad lighting and shoddy cinematography, but Jorge Grau's skilled direction keeps everything on track. The film has its flaws and shortcomings, but it's a hidden gem to treasure and certainly one you won't forget lightly.

Coto de Caza is an obscure Spanish gem and one that is well worth seeing. The film is a bit like exploitation flicks such as The Last House on the Left and The House on the Edge of the Park, although the point this time is not just to see innocent people put in danger. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie director Jorge Grau takes the helm and the film is clearly taking a swipe at the legal system that often lets criminals get away with their crimes. For this reason, it might not appeal too much to exploitation fans as there's not a great deal of sleaze or nastiness, but those who are looking for a little more than just exploitation will find plenty to like here! The plot focuses on Adela, a defence lawyer for criminals. She gets a couple off the hook and they repay her by stealing her car. After finding the keys to her country villa, they naturally decide to rob the place; but trouble starts the lawyer's family turn up, and in the struggle; the husband ends up getting killed. However, this is just the start of the unfortunate lawyer's ordeal...

The point of the film is actually very well expressed as, at its heart, Coto de Caza is a depiction of the idea that if you don't put criminals in jail, they will commit more crime. This film was made over twenty years ago in Spain, but its social commentary is certainly relevant to modern day Britain and probably elsewhere in the world too, making the film poignant even today. The plot moves rather slowly and not a great deal happens in the first half of the film. However, the film is never boring and the scenes at the beginning succeed in building the characters and setting the scene which does benefit the story later on. As mentioned, there not a lot of sleaze in the film; but that doesn't hinder it too much as there's enough going on elsewhere and the action we do get treated to is generally very good; a sequence involving fire towards the end is certainly worth the wait too. Overall, Coto de Caza is an excellent little film and really is well worth seeing. It's also a shame that it's so hard to get hold of as this film is ripe for re-discovery!