Deadbeat At Dawn (1988)

Banned in Blighty because of its naughty nunchuck scenes, one of the totalfilm.com staffers caught Deadbeat At Dawn on cable during a family holiday to the States. Best. Holiday. Ever.

The plot is every kind of amazing.

Basically, Goose (played by writer / director / film school student Jim Van Bebber) is the leader of a street gang called The Ravens.

When a rival gang called The Spiders encroaches on his patch, Goose decides to listen to his nagging girlfriend and quits the gang life.

But when his girlfriend is killed by The Spiders, Goose shoves her into a trash compactor (in one of the most powerful waste disposal scenes in cinema history) and embarks on a bloody nunchuck revenge spree.

We told you it was amazing.

The Stupidly Awesome Awesomely Stupid Fight:

If you’ve ever played the videogame Streets Of Rage, you’ll know exactly what to expect from this.

A bloke dressed in gang gear runs from one scuffle to another, fighting other blokes in gang gear.

They all seem to be able to pluck increasingly weirder weapons from the sky displaying the sort of wizardry we wish they’d introduce to the Harry Potter universe.

Nunchucks, baseball bats, flick-knives, blocks of wood, NINJA STARS, cars; all used by amateurs on a budget too small to afford stunt doubles. Or professional actors. Or safety officers.

The result is a ruck that manages to look realistic and ridiculous at the same time.

Brilliant and very bloody – squint at the screen during the accidental decapitation scene, it’s not pleasant. 

Next: Gymkata