Deadbeat at Dawn (1988)

Director:

Jim Van Bebber

Writer:

Jim Van Bebber (writer)

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Tagline:

He quit the gangs. They killed his girl. He became...

Plot:

After one too many encounters with The Spiders (a rival gang), The Ravens' leader's girlfriend tells him to quit the gang or it's Splitsville...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Revenge | Murder | Heist | Shotgun

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Paul Harper	...	Danny
Jim Van Bebber	...	Goose
Megan Murphy	...	Christy
Ric Walker	...	Keith
Marc Pitman	...	Bone Crusher
Maureen Gentner
Tom Burns
Steve King
Dave Parker	...	Drive-thru attendant
Bill Stover
Carol Lee
Mark Gillespie
Tom Harris
John Bradley
Lili Hendler

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:R | USA:Unrated | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Dayton, Ohio, USA

Company:

Smodeus Productions Inc.

Quotes:

Danny: [after being slapped] If you ever do that again, I'm gonna pull your eyeballs outta your head and eat 'em.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The VanBebber Family (2005) (V)

Glorious violence fest!

It's not hard to see why Jim Van Bebber's grimy expose of gang related turmoil has become such a cherished cult favourite; The film delivers equal dosages of OTT violence, blood letting, action and some highly commendable amateur stunt work and this all wrapped up in a grim and nihilistic tale of retribution. Of course, many independent films comprise and follow similar themes; However, this one further raises the bar with its incredibly bleak depiction of sheer hopelessness as experienced by our protagonist and those around him. The scenes featuring our hero returning home to his father and his obvious shock and disgust at the mental deterioration experienced by said parent are surprisingly powerful - far more so than one would expect from a film of this ilk.

Having said that, ultimately what really will stick with the viewer is the incredible ultra-violence on display; The finale especially is a suitably nasty affair and lets just say, the outcome pretty much negates the possibility of a direct sequel........

Given what Bebber gave us here with this diamond in the rough, it's even more of a shame that he never fulfilled his obvious potential by moving on to bigger things......oh well, even if he were to only be remembered for this effort, it's a heck of a reputation.