Deadbeat at Dawn
Deadbeat at Dawn | |
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Directed by | Jim Van Bebber |
Written by | Jim Van Bebber[2] |
Produced by | Michael King[2] |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Michael King[2] |
Edited by | Jim Van Bebber[2] |
Music by |
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Production company | Smodeus Productions Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 81 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[1] |
Deadbeat at Dawn is a 1988 action film written and directed by Jim Van Bebber and starring Paul Harper, Megan Murphy, and Marc Pitman. The film depicts a street gang leader setting out for revenge against a rival street gang.
Plot
The main character is Goose (Van Bebber). Goose is leader of "The Ravens", a street gang located in Dayton, Ohio. The Ravens have an ongoing feud with "The Spiders", led by a sadistic goon called Danny (Paul Harper). Goose loves the criminal life, but when his girlfriend Christie (Megan Murphy) threatens to leave him, he quits the Ravens. First, he goes on one last drug deal to get money to fund a new life with Christie. While he is gone, two Spiders break into Goose's apartment, killing Christie in the process. When Goose finds her body, he feeds her corpse to a trash compactor and then moves in with his Vietnam Veteran junkie father. He then gets drunk at a bar. Later on there is a final showdown with the Spiders.
Cast
- Jim Van Bebber as Goose: Leader of the Ravens and Christie's boyfriend.
- Paul Harper as Danny: Leader of the Spiders. He is an abusive and misogynistic thug.
- Megan Murphy as Christie: Goose's girlfriend. She is into mysticism.
She threatens to leave Goose if he doesn't quit the Ravens. - Marc Pitman as Bonecrusher: A member of the Spiders. He is a psychotic man, full of uncontrollable rage.
- Ric Walker as Keith: The Raven second-in-command, he takes over as leader when Goose quits.
Release
Deadbeat at Dawn was shown at The Dayton Movies theatre in Dayton, Ohio on November 18, 1988.[3] After the film initial VHS release by Ketchum Video, Van Bebber spoke in 1991 that he was "trying to get out of that contract. They haven't spoken with us for over four months." and that he had "yet to see the first dollar from its "sale"."[4] Van Bebber later spoke on the home video releases of the film in 2018, stating that "We had to learn the hard way by working with people who didn't pan out or would rip us off. There was a distributor in New York where all our contracts turned to dust. Then there was the VHS deal which was a glimpse into how I would be treated with the next release on DVD, which was a total lack of any business decorum. It was frustrating."[5] Synapse Films released Deadbeat at Dawn in 1999.[6] The film was included in the release of "Visions of Hell: The Films of Jim VanBebber" compilation in 2008 by Dark Sky Films, which Van Bebber found that the film "didn't get its proper respect until the Dark Sky release. I know other people might disagree, but they weren't on the business end of things. The Dark Sky box set brought a newer audience of the film and to me."[6][5] Arrow Video released the film in 2019 on Blu-ray.[1] Van Bebber commented on Arrow's release stating that the way the film was handled by Arrow "totally buries all of the other companies that have dealt with it in the past. They're treating it like it's an important film that needs to be respected. After all these years, that's vindication."[5]
Reception
In a contemporary review, Terry Lawson gave the film a two stars out of five rating, referring to the film as "part action film, part horror pastiche, part home movie and all pure, raw energy" stating it was "garish, violent and purposely absurd little action thriller" which had "about twice the impact of most films of its kind - whatever that kind might be."[3] Lawson concluded that Van bebber and "specifically photographer Mike King" have "an inherent understanding of how movies work: Deadbeat at Dawn may be crude and silly and even incoherent at times, but it has an undeniable vitality and a snotty sense of style: It is never dull."[3]
From retrospective reviews, Nick Pinkerton of Sight & Sound described the film as a "incredible no-budget mend-and-make ingenuity" that was as "kinetic, visceral, and palpably danger as anything then coming out of Hong Kong."[1] Jason Buchanan of AllMovie referred to the film as a "prime example of creativity and enthusiasm picking up where budget and other resources fall short", calling the film a "pleasantly surprising mini-masterpiece of gritty urban nightmares. Viewers may initially chuckle at how many times van Bebber's name appears in the credits, attached to virtually every component of the film's production from editing to special effects, but they will come to appreciate the sometimes subtle (and other times less so) creative touches that he lends to the various aspects of the film". The review concluded that it was "unclear at times whether the film is aiming to be completely serious and dramatic, or tongue in cheek and over the top, though the answer likely falls somewhere in between."[7]
References
- ^ a b c d Pinkerton 2019, p. 82.
- ^ a b c d e "Cast and Crew". Deadbeat at Dawn (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 3. AV160 / FCD1784.
- ^ a b c Lawson 1988.
- ^ Balun 1991, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Gabbey 2019, p. 16.
- ^ a b "Deadbeat at Dawn (1988) - Jim Van Bebber". AllMovie. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ Buchanan.
Sources
- Balun, Chas. (Fall 1991). "Van Bebber's Family". Deep Red. No. 1. The Chunkblow Press, Inc.
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(help) - Buchanan, Jason. "Deadbeat at Dawn (1988) - Jim Van Bebber". AllMovie. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
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(help) - Gabbey, Scott (2019). "Fire in the Streets: Exploring Jim Vanbebber's 'Deadbeat at Dawn'". Deadbeat at Dawn (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 16. AV160 / FCD1784.
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(help) - Lawson, Terry (November 17, 1988). "'Deadbeat at Dawn' may be crude - but dead it's not". Dayton Daily News. p. 12-C.
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(help) - Pinkerton, Nick (March 2019). "New Releases". Sight & Sound. Vol. 29, no. 3.
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(help)