Deadbeat at Dawn . Weekly Alibi . 11-16-98

Deadbeat at Dawn

DIRECTED BY: Jim Van Bebber

REVIEWED: 11-16-98

Ohioan writer/director/star Jim Van Bebber plays Goose, leader of the street gang "The Ravens." His crystal ball-fondlin' girlfriend wants him to quit the gang and go straight, but he just wants to make that one big score first. The Ravens are at war with "The Spiders," led by nut-case redneck Danny, and the mask-wearing gang leaders soon meet for a bloody knife-fight in a cemetery. Goose goes home and tends his wounds Rambo-style with a little help from his sweetie-pie, who reads some mystic mumbo-jumbo over his thrashing body. Returning to the cemetery, Goose practices his Kung Fu moves, then screams his fury at the city. He conks a guy with his nunchakus and steals his motorcycle, returning to his gal. She insists that Goose change his ways in the ol' "it's me or the gang" speech, and he decides to leave the Ravens behind. Happier times seem to be ahead for our young lovers, but the harsh realities of the B-movie world quickly trip them up when Goose heads out to sell some dope. While he's gone, Bonecrusher and Stubby, two of the Spiders, make their way to his gal-pal's apartment. Pausing to snort some crank, Bonecrusher gives the greatest Scumbag-Disaffected-Youth speech I've ever heard in my life, then the two viciously slaughter Goose's girlfriend. Goose makes the score and returns home, freaking out when he discovers his squeeze's eviscerated body. In an act of pure love, he dumps her in the building's garbage compactor, then swears vengeance on Danny and the Spiders. He goes to see his dad, a paranoid junkie who shoots up between his toes after threatening to kill his beloved son with a baseball bat. Returning to his old stomping grounds, Goose finds the Ravens are now working with the Spiders. They beat the crap out of him and force him to take part in an armored car robbery--after which the Spiders double-cross the Ravens. Goose suits up for revenge, the action and bloodshed mounting as the flick ass-kicks its way to the disturbingly violent finale. Cool fight scenes and some surprising production value make this one well worth the effort it'll take to find. Make it a double-feature with The Warriors and really stick it to the man!

--Scott Phillips

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