I always like to celebrate artists who came from my neck of the woods and grew up in similar circumstances. Jim Van Bebber hails from tiny Greenville, Ohio (less than a half hour from my own sleepy hometown) and moved to Dayton after high school. There, he would shoot a handful of shorts, including the silent film for metalheads Into the Black, the stoner documentary Doper, and the violent and disturbing (and based on true events) My Sweet Satan. He also made his masterpiece there, the feature-length Deadbeat at Dawn, which celebrates the 35th anniversary of its 1988 Dayton premiere on November 18th.
I was introduced to Van Bebber’s work when I attended an art show in a dilapidated house in a sketchy Dayton neighborhood somewhere around ’95. My high school’s own beloved art teacher may have been the one to organize the show, but time has fuzzed that memory. As an aside, that art teacher often claimed to be a time traveler, but that’s a story for another day. I’m pretty sure that Van Bebber was there. I can’t be certain, as I didn’t know who he was then, but I do recall an older metalhead giving an introduction to the film we were about to watch. In any case, My Sweet Satan was screened and I remember being blown away by this weird little movie that was made by a bunch of punk rockers, burnouts, and heshers.
It wasn’t until much later, around 2015 maybe, that I discovered Van Bebber was from Greenville and that he actually made more films. Deadbeat at Dawn has since become one of my favorite flicks and I consider it to be the absolute pinnacle of low-budget DIY films. What it lacks in polish, budget, and naturalistic performances, it more than makes up with energy, charisma, and determination. Purportedly shot over the course of four years in Dayton, Van Bebber wrote, directed, edited, choreographed fight sequences, and performed as both the lead actor and as an obviously brash stuntman. If you know anything at all about making your own movies, you have to come away impressed. It's a scuzzy blast of a late-period grindhouse actioner that takes its cues from the original Assault on Precinct 13 and The Warriors.
Van Bebber plays Goose, the leader of a Dayton street gang known as the Ravens. His crew is at odds with the rival Spiders. After one too many knife fights, Goose's girlfriend, Christy (Megan Murphy), convinces him to hang up his nunchucks for good. As an aside, Van Bebber is a legit martial artist and he never lets a chance pass by for him to show off his skill with said nunchucks. It's one of many impressive details that add up to make this film so great.
Anyways, Christy is soon murdered by members of the Spiders while Goose is out doing one last drug deal. His revenge will have to wait, though, as in his absence, the Ravens and Spiders have decided to join forces for an armored truck robbery. When he's finally given the opportunity to strike back, the film erupts in an awesome orgy of low-budget gore and violence.
With plentiful drug use, a thin veneer of mysticism, and grimy locations in seemingly plentiful supply, Van Bebber creates a sleazy underworld that seems just this side of believable. The alleys and abandoned industrial sectors of late '80s Dayton are a character unto themselves. The kaleidoscopic interludes that pepper the narrative enhance the burned-out trashy metalhead aesthetic. With dangerous stunts performed by amateurs and the commitment to splatter effects, Van Bebber shows a dedication to craft that can't be understated. Though the budget was most assuredly minuscule, Van Bebber spares no detail with regard to costumes or props, and DP Mike King assuredly captures all the mayhem with aplomb.
Besides Van Bebber’s charismatic turn, my favorite performances belong to Paul Harper as the Spiders’ monstrous leader and Marc Pittman as the unhinged Bone Crusher. Nobody here is polished or organic in the traditional sense, but nearly everyone exudes a highly watchable screen presence. These two villains are perfect foils to Van Bebber’s antihero, with Harper and Pittman admirably ratcheting up their pitiless nihilism into the stratosphere. Charlie Goetz’s turn as Goose’s junkie dad also delivers some grimy lunacy in a smaller role.
Deadbeat at Dawn is an inspiring example of what can be done outside Hollywood or even the traditional independent film mechanisms. It is nothing short of a trash film masterpiece. Jim Van Bebber kicks, shoots, and gouges his way to a despondent and gore-filled finale that'll leave you breathless. I highly recommend this for folks who don't mind a flick that's a little rough around the edges. A few years ago, Arrow Video released a special edition Blu-ray that also includes a handful of his shorts and delivers the best presentation of the film that’s currently available. Here’s to underground cinema’s most notorious madman and his crowning achievement on its 35th birthday!
Michael Cavender