A young teenage boy is blamed for a Florida neighborhood being terrorized. But the real culprits are a gang of four punks leading a group of local delinquents on a nihilistic lifestyle of destruction and mayhem.What strikes me about the film is the parallel with "Clockwork Orange". This is obviously not intentional, but the gang accosting an old (apparently blind) man seems very much like the droogs attacking homeless men. Lewis approaches it in a far more gruesome manner, however, with some of the violence very much Ripper-esque. Alex (in "Clockwork") is somehow sympathetic, despite being a murderous rapist. But Dexter (played by Ray Sager) is just a pure sociopath.Worthy of note is the appearance of musician Larry Williams. Williams is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to 1959 for Specialty Records, including "Bony Moronie", "Short Fat Fannie", "High School Dance" (1957), "Slow Down", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (1958), "Bad Boy" and "She Said Yeah" (1959). John Lennon was a fan, and the Beatles and several other British Invasion groups covered several of his songs.

Not being a fan of exploitation films, but for years after violent, extreme, provocative films in general, I stumbled upon this little flick from the 1968. I hadn't yet seen any other film from Herschell Gordon Lewis {shame!), so I thought I should give it try.It's quite strange this is not more popular, because, if this is what Herschell Gordon Lewis films feel like, then I would like to see more. It is probably one of the earliest samples of mindless politically incorrect cinema done pretty sloppy but effectively, a classic exploitation, if you ask me, and even if you regularly don't take it too seriously, it's quite daring for 1968. Some scenes might raise a smile to some, intentionally or not.So, this quite unknown film is recommended for those after a nice old party film for a night with friends, pizza and beers {the music just feels great with this one), exploitation fans {this is a must) and in general, those who are looking for mindless fun, not shocked by somewhat explicit material.

H.G. Lewis was on quite a roll in the late 60's... In fact, he directed 11 films (!) in '67 and '68. I realize that Lewis has his share of detractors. Many consider him a no talent hack who relentlessly regurgitated disposable entertainment at a disturbingly prodigious rate during the mid-to-late 60's. They often bemoan the nailed-down camera work, wooden acting, and ridiculous situations depicted on screen. Interestingly, these are the exact elements that make Mr. Lewis's films so endearing to me...When I watch movies, I do so for two main reasons. Either I want to be entertained and amused; or I want be pulled out of my comfort zone, and placed in a mental area in which I am forced to think about and ponder various facets of life. This film entertains in a big way. In fact, most H.G. Lewis films never fail to entertain me and bring a big smile to my face...Mr. Lewis is best know as being the Godfather of Gore. Not many film-goers realize that Mr. Lewis was an incredibly versatile movie making machine; dipping into children's films, morality tales, hillbilly musical comedies, juvenile delinquent tales, nudies, roughies, and other assorted ephemera...'Just For The Hell Of It' is H.G. Lewis's juvenile delinquent masterpiece. These are some bad kids...The film starts out with a bang, and within 45 seconds a reckless groups of youths can be found laying waste to and completely trashing a house. These bad boys (and girl) are led by Ray Sager(as Dexter). The entire film is dedicated to the exploits of Dexter and company, as they terrorize a town and it's inhabitants. The pranks and mischief start out relatively harmlessly (setting newspapers on fire, dousing citizens with water, destroying laundry, trashing a restaurant), become more bizarre and off-color (putting a baby in a trash can, beating a blind man with his own cane), and of course become very malicious (gang rape and murder)...I really enjoyed this film quite a bit. With subsequent viewings, it has never ceased to put a smile on my face. I also liked that Mr. Lewis didn't try to justify or explain the actions of the rowdy youth- they did it all 'Just For The Hell Of It'.... they did it for the kicks... In fact, You should watch this highly entertaining piece of nostalgia for the same reason...

Shot back-to-back with SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT is almost as good. Filled with amazing scenes of mass destruction and devilish deeds, HELL may be the ultimate j.d. film. Too bad it came a few (10) years too late!Destruction Inc. is a leather-jacket, bike-riding teenage gang who, for the duration of the film, cause trouble for law-abiding citizens and the law. That's it. There really is no plot here, just scene after scene of crimes committed by boys AND girls.HELL is obviously the sister of SHE-DEVILS. The cast, almost all having appeared in SHE-DEVILS, includes Rodney Bedell, Nancy Lee Noble, Ruby Tuesday, Pat Poston, a number of the men from the stud line, two of the biker chicks, and the heroine's mother! Ray Sager, who plays one of the gang leaders, later played Montag in WIZARD OF GORE! Nancy Lee Noble really deserved more roles in these types of movies. She's great in SHE-DEVILS and is good here, too. I have yet to see her in THE GIRL, THE BODY & THE PILL, but she has already become one of my psychotronic favorites. On another note: the music is all from THE GRUESOME TWOSOME, with the exception of the two songs performed by the Florida garage band. I wish a CD would come out of music that Larry Wellington supervised for H.G. Lewis' films. He really aided the 60s feel of movies like this one, GRUESOME TWOSOME and SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS.JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT is, like I said, scene after scene after scene of mass destruction. This gets a little repetitive, but never gets dull. The main gang leader (I'm hazy on the name of the actor) seems more apt to play the good-looking hero and I would love to have seen him try that role. Not H.G. Lewis' best, but JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT is full of scenes that only Lewis would film and that 60s Florida feel that makes it indescribably fun to endure.