Death Brigade is a tough cop film in the style of Dirty Harry. The hero is Gerard, a Parisian vice cop. At the beginning three transsexual prostitutes are gunned down by killers on motorcycles. In addition, Gerard is also dealing with the murder of a policewoman by a pimp, and a gangster nicknamed The Greek. All of these cases will become intertwined by the end of the film, as Gerard has to go full vigilante and execute summary justice on the villains.
Death Brigade is a sleazy film with full frontal male and female nudity, bloody shotgun murders, and scenes of brutal torture. The film is not overly good, but it certainly does deliver. On the downside, the story seems to have been made up as the film was being made. Although there is a clue (a victim's compass) that connects the cases together, Gerard finds this clue only after, somehow, deducing that the cases are connected. Speaking of Gerard, he is played by a bland actor named Thierry de Carbonnieres (a far cry from Clint Eastwood).
The film shows its era. The ending shootout is staged in that 1980's low budget standby, an abandoned factory. In addition, the main villain is a sadistic homosexual who dresses like a club patron from William Friedkin's Cruising (a stereotype that might not have worn well for some viewers).
Death Brigade is a more explicit film than the usual low(er) budgeted vigilante cop movie that were popular in the VHS days. It's not any better made though.
The action scenes are only competent. The film is fine to veg out on (I was mildly entertained), but viewers should not expect much more than that.
