Tagged: jim van bebber
Video Tonfa Takes on The Deadbeat at Dawn!
Last Friday evening I had the pleasure of hosting a little event at my vintage clothing shop here in Portland, Oregon called Hollywood Babylon. We showed two movies and hung some awesome art by Tim Goodyear, who’s “Video Tonfa” work can be seen in Pork Magazine regularly. Goodyear does movie reviews, but not only that, he gives his own interpretation of the movies VHS /dvd box art and reviews the film where the movie’s synopsis normally appears. It’s a rad way to read a review and it’s also pretty damn fun to look at! So when we decided to have him grace the store walls with his art he also gave us an event poster featuring his interpretation of one of the movies we watched, Deadbeat at Dawn, which I have raved about here not too long ago. The movie got a great new look on the poster, and if this flick ever gets released again on dvd I hope they decide to use Goodyear’s work for the box art! Check it
Also here’s a great interview with Goodyear via GRIDLords and a close up of one of his reviews…
Deadbeat at Dawn: Bad Movie Bliss!
Sometimes I just leave my queue on Netflix run it’s course, I still have a Dvd account by the way, meaning that I have like two hundred movies in waiting. Often I forget to move stuff around and I get those weird wild card flicks gracing my dvd player. Sometimes when bored I’ll load up my queue with a bunch of weird shit I have never heard of. Often upon viewing these I end up much a much more elightened movie buff while other times the movies suck so bad I don’t last fifteen minutes. However this week I hit the jackpot! “Deadbeat at Dawn” is easily one the most memorable “bad” movies I’ve seen in quite some time.
Filmed in 86′ and released in ’88 Deadbeat at Dawn was written & directed by Jim Van Bebber who also stars as the films main Character, anti-hero “Goose”. Bebber also did all the special effects and performs all of his own stunts, one of which Van Beeber jumps off a city bridge! This guy pretty much did anything it took to make this film as action packed with such a small budget. Nunchucks, ninja stars, gang fights, drugs, booze this one has got it all. It will make you think twice before joining a street gang that’s for sure! Goose however decides it’s time to quit the gang so that him and his girlfriend can start a legit life together. However when his girl is brutally murdered by gang members with golf clubs, he hits rock bottom and wants nothing more than to avenge her death, and boy does he get the damn job done!!
It’s been quite a while since I have seen a movie with an ending that kicked so much ass. It’s jam packed with so much hyperactive action it’s hard to keep your breath. Seriously, the last 30 minutes, which Bebber apparently filmed first to try and generate interest in this film from the industry back in ’86, is some of the most ridiculously awesome cinema I’ve seen in years. That’s not to say the film isn’t a bit on the nasty side as there’s not really one likable character in it. Nope, pretty much everyone is a mean spirited prick even the lead character Goose. Even when Goose is trying to be “nice” he still comes across as a total fucktard. We really only see glimmers of a good guy toward the films finale, what can you expect from a self proclaimed “Deadbeat” huh? Well all that aside it’s pretty inspiring filmaking by a guy who wanted to make a film you wouldn’t forget, I know I won’t forget this one anytime soon…
Universal Dork 