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Goose (Jim Van Bebber) is the leader of the Ravens, one of the toughest
gangs out there, but after he has given a sound beating to Danny (Paul
Harper), leader of the rival gang the Spiders, he quits for his girlfriend
Chrissy's (Megan Murphy) sake. However, Danny is not one of the forgiving
kind, so he orders two of his men round to Danny's place to kill him. They
don't find him there, so they kill his girlfriend instead in the most
gruesome manner. Goose has a mental breakdown because of that, starts
drinking heavily, taking drugs and whatnot, and ultimately he tries to
shoot himself - but his life is saved by Keith (Ric Walker) the new leader
of the Ravens. However, Keith has not saved him out of friendship or
loyalty, but because he needs him for a job, a job Goose isn't likely to
like, because the Ravens have joined forces with none other than the
Spiders to rob a money transport. Goose of course doesn't like it one bit,
and he clashes with Danny almost immediately, but somehow Keith manages to
keep the two apart ... and of course he doesn't know it was Danny's men
who killed Chrissy. The heist goes very well, almost better than
planned, but when it comes to splitting the loot, the Spiders simply gun
down the Ravens, who have come unarmed. Only Goose has brought weapons and
has put up his guards, so he manages to not only get away but also get
away with the loot. But the Spiders are hot on his trail ... Goose knows
in his present situation, his life is not worth much, with or without the
loot, so he calls Chrissy's sister (whom he has never met but she held in
high regard) and arranges a meeting with her to hand her over the money. Ultimately,
Goose manages to shake off and/or kill all of the Spiders, but he and
Danny fight it out in and around Chrissy's sister's car and kill one
another in the process - but the girl manages to get away with the money
at least. A low budget indie flick that comes across as a mix
of 1970's exploitation fare (especially biker movies), character study and
an exercise in ultra violence, filmed on location in dirty streets and sub
standard apartments - and it's safe to say that Deadbeat at Dawn is
a film you won't easily forget. At the same time though, the film is also
far from perfect, its direction is rather on the bland side, spectacle is
almost always chosen over depth, and the cast is less than great
(actually, only Charlie Goetz as Goose's crazy heroin addict dad gives a
really memorable performance). And still, there's something to Deadbeat
at Dawn that does justify its cult status ...
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