History YMMV / RedZoneCuba

* StillbornFranchise: That John Carradine is credited as a "guest star" invites us to imagine the unpleasant possibility that Colman Francis intended this movie to be the first of a ''series''.

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/JohnCarradine's appearance as an AdvertisedExtra might seem a little surprising, but those familiar with his resume will probably know that his taking such a role really wasn't anything out of the ordinary.[[note]]Carradine literally ''never'' said "no" to a paying film role, which is why his resume has both Hollywood classics and drive-in NoBudget movies interspersed with each other almost randomly chronologically.[[/note]] However, why on earth the film-makers decided that Carradine should perform the film's theme song is a different matter entirely; just listening to a few seconds of the song will tell you that whatever other talents Carradine may have had, singing ''definitely'' wasn't one of them. On the other hand, given what a bleak, gray and downbeat movie this is, Carradine's rough and unpolished performance fits very well.

** "He's Cherokee Jack!" He's a lovable idiot with a lot of personality for someone who only appears in one scene.

* NarmCharm: Again, the theme song "Night Train to Mundo Fine". Despite Creator/JohnCarradine's froggy, giggle-inducing singing voice, the old fella could actually carry a tune.

* HilariousInHindsight: The FatBastard DesignatedHero is named ''[[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Griffin]]''.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The whole idea of a VillainProtagonist who wants to make a HeelFaceTurn but can't due to his TragicFlaw is actually a pretty good one, on paper at least.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The film is a real-deal stinker, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSSi5R3Ja6o the film's main theme]] is nice... in a SoBadItsGood fashion, of course.

* CatharsisFactor: Griffin's death at the end was clearly meant to be tragic. Instead, many found his death fulfilling, due to him being a complete scumbag.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Griffin was meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and [[TheHeroDies what happens to him at the end of the movie]] was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. However, he does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story;anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda. Griffin was supposed to have [[MoralEventHorizon fallen beyond sympathy when he rapes a blind girl and murders her father]], but he failed to establish any sympathy to lose by that point.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The film owes its largely negative reception to this. Griffin is an UnintentionallyUnsympathetic DesignatedHero whom the film portrays as a flawed but decent guy, but any heroic actions he did were [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk for selfish reasons]]. The film ''intends'' him to cross the MoralEventHorizon when he rapes a blind girl and murders her father, but he was an unrepentant {{Jerkass}} from the start. Needless to say, few viewers felt sorry for him after he died.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Griffin was meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and [[TheHeroDies what happens to him at the end of the movie]] was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. However, [[DesignatedHero he does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story]]; anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda. Griffin was supposed to have [[MoralEventHorizon fallen beyond sympathy when he rapes a blind girl and murders her father]], but he failed to establish any sympathy to lose by that point.

* DesignatedHero: The main characters are entirely unsympathetic, particularly Griffin. He is supposed to be viewed as a put-upon everyman who just suffers from poor impulse control, but is instead portrayed as a selfish, violent, and hypocritical murderer and rapist. When the work page describes Griffin as "one of the most disturbingly realistic portrayals of a sociopath in film", something went wrong.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Griffin was meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and [[TheHeroDies what happens to him at the end of the movie]] was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. However, [[DesignatedHero he does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story]]; anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda. Griffin was supposed to have [[MoralEventHorizon fallen beyond sympathy when he rapes a blind girl and murders her father]], but he failed to established any sympathy to lose by that point.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: As has been mentioned, Griffin was supposedly meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and what happens to him at the end of the movie was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. Unfortunately, all sympathy for him is lost by the time he rapes a blind girl and murders her father, making the ending seem more like justice being done than anything else. He also does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story; anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: As has been mentioned, Griffin was supposedly meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and what happens to him at the end of the movie was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. Unfortunately, all sympathy for him is lost by the time he rapes a blind girl and murders her father, making the ending seem more like justice being done than anything else. He also does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story; anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda. Let's put it this way: when the character that's supposed to be sympathetic qualifies as a CompleteMonster at all, never mind meets ''every single criterium'', you've failed catastrophically as a writer.

* CompleteMonster: [[DesignatedHero Griffin]] is an escaped convict who only shows himself to be a sociopathic {{Jerkass}} and hypocrite throughout the movie. A greedy FatBastard whose only stated desire is to become rich, he casually abuses everyone around him, [[ChronicVillainy never passing up an opportunity to do bad]]. He claims that he wants to go legit, then five seconds later he whips his friend with a belt and steals said friend's most valued possession. He regularly beats up (and occasionally strangles) his friends, murders strangers, and rapes a blind woman after throwing her father down a well.
* DesignatedHero: The main characters are entirely unsympathetic, particularly Griffin. He is supposed to be viewed as a put-upon everyman who just suffers from poor impulse control, but is instead portrayed as a selfish, violent, and hypocritical murderer and rapist. When the work page describes Griffin as "one of the most disturbingly realistic portrayals of a sociopath in film", something went wrong. This is a case so extreme that the "Hero" somehow ''hit every single criterium for CompleteMonster''.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: As has been mentioned, Griffin was supposedly meant to be seen as a mostly decent person who was down on his luck and held back by a HairTriggerTemper, and what happens to him at the end of the movie was supposed to be [[TragicHero tragic and thought-provoking]]. Unfortunately, all sympathy for him is lost by the time he rapes a blind girl and murders her father, making the ending seem more like justice being done than anything else. He also does nothing even remotely heroic or altruistic at all throughout the entire story; anything he does that '''seems''' so (asking for water for a sick man in a POW camp, or treating the wife of said sick man nicely) is merely calculated to advance his own agenda.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: At one point late in the film the trio stop to put up the hood of their stolen convertible. However the hood gets stuck and they struggle with it for almost a minute before giving up. Given the quality of the film it is entirely possible they didn't know it would get stuck but didn't bother to reshoot and put the scene in anyway. The entire scene also seems to be there just to have an ironic statement by the Burma-Shave ad ("Where" "Will" "You" "Spend" "Eternity?")

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The film is a real-deal stinker, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSSi5R3Ja6o the film's main theme]] shows that Creator/JohnCarradine has some nice pipes.

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* EnsembleDarkhorse: "He's Cherokee Jack!" He's a lovable idiot with a lot of personality for someone who only appears in one scene.
** The cuban LadyOfWar at the prisoners camp also impressed quite a few viewers even though she never speaks.

* NarmCharm: Again, the theme song "Night Train to Mundo Fine". Despite John Carradine's froggy, giggle-inducing singing voice, the old fella could actually carry a tune.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: The actress who plays Bailey's widow gives a surprisingly emotive performance for the few minutes she's in the movie. At least compared to everyone else.