Band of the Hand ( 1986 )

In an attempt of resocialisation, five hopeless juvenile criminals, J.L., a silent boy with 80s fashion sense who murdered his abusive father, Ruben, a Latino gangbanger, Moss, a African American gangbanger and Ruben's mortal enemy, Dorcey, an illiterate runaway car thief, and Carlos, a Cuban refugee turned slick yuppie drug dealer, are sent away from prison into the Everglades for a survival training under Vietnam war veteran, "Indian Joe" Tegra. When this is successful, they move back to Miami slums. However this offends the former illegal inhabitants of the rundown two story house they settle in, all loyal customers of drug baron Cream. The conflict escalates into a bloody gunfight, but what the boys don't know is that Cream is just a henchman for the merciless Miami drug lord Nestor, who also has Carlos' girl Nikki with him.—Tom Zoerner