The Warriors fought their way across a graffiti-tattooed New York, triumphing beneath the shadow of the totemic Wonder Wheel. They live in a world that ultimately rewards their righteousness. It’s a gritty, yet idealistic reality. The Ravens of DEADBEAT AT DAWN exist in that world after it’s drenched by a storm of paint thinner. The pretty colors bleed off and what’s left is slate gray, feral and poisoned. The brightest color is blood, as a face is dragged against concrete to the bone.
In Dayton, Ohio, an ongoing gang war wages between The Ravens and The Spiders. Goose (Jim Van Bebber), the leader of the Ravens, is given an ultimatum from his girlfriend Christie. He can either die by the sword or leave it all behind for a tranquil future with the woman he loves. Goose chooses to abandon the vicious lifestyle, but not before the Spiders claim Christie’s life. Reprisal consumes his life, becoming a religion. It’s zealotry with a merciless code, and Goose is devout with every act of bloody vengeance.
The brainchild of Ohio-born filmmaker Jim Van Bebber, DEADBEAT AT DAWN transcends from grindhouse film into something far more potent. It’s a hard-nosed take on street gang cinema, one where you can feel the gravel under your engineer boots. The final product tastes as if Van Bebber absorbed elements of everything from Switchblade Sisters to Combat Shock, then blended it together with a healthy pour of whiskey and a hyper-violent exploitation sensibility. Using money intended for student loans, the film was a product of years of work. That attention to detail, merged with a devil’s workshop of filmmaking recklessness is in keeping with the story material.
What really comes through is the grit of this beast. Bonecrusher’s speech from my introduction is the appropriately nihilistic update of Russ Tamblyn’s infamous speech from Satan’s Sadists, and Van Bebber’s Goose sprints down the road to revenge far from unscathed. This isn’t Charles Bronson mowing down a city block with a god-killer, this is tooth and nail heavy metal violence that ends bleeding out in an open alley. Available via an Arrow Video Blu-ray (which includes his ruthless short films-My Sweet Satan is a favorite of yours truly, obviously), there’s nothing like DEADBEAT out there, likely because no one’s brave enough to challenge it. My advice? Don’t try.
Catch up on previous installments of Analog Abattoir here.
