Jim Van Bebber

"Fuck your noise!"

This line, spat out by Van Bebber as the character Goose early on in his debut feature Deadbeat at Dawn, colorfully and succinctly sums up his attitude toward film making convention and notions of societal propriety. Jim Van Bebber is a throwback to the uncontrollable, visionary and fiercely independent film artists of the past. Imagine Peckinpah, Michael Reeves and early Raimi thrown in a blender, seasoned with copious amounts of alcohol and drugs, then hit puree and watch the concoction react violently, spilling over the top and generally making a mess of things. Van Bebber is an actor, writer, make up effects artist, Director, stuntman, editor, fundraiser and everything else you would conceivably need to get a film made. The fact that he is often involved in all these aspects is surely one of the main reasons he has so few features to his credit. But as Reeves famously said to Vincent Price on the set of Witchfinder General when the elder statesman questioned his methods by pointing out he'd been in hundreds of films and sneeringly questioned how many Reeves had done, "I've made three GOOD ones.

There are literally thousands of film makers out there putting out one indiscernible lump of predictable pap after another, but there is only one Jim Van Bebber. He is a class unto himself, his own genre, and as far as individuality goes, virtually untouchable. Deadbeat at Dawn, his first full length after a series of shorts made starting in middle school, is a kaleidoscopic, primal howl of a revenge picture. It's startlingly simplistic in structure, but undeniably effective and charmingly linear. It's the textbook example of rough around the edges, with sound dropping out left and right, out of focus shots and amateurish performances (outweighing the few admittedly strong ones). It's also ceaselessly entertaining and chock full of exciting camera moves and stunt work and fight choreography (primarily from Van Bebber) both enthusiastic and eye poppingly reckless. As Van Bebber has noted in interviews, it probably wasn't the best idea to be chased by a car driven by a drunk 20 year old or jump off a 40 foot embankment into a river or rappel down a 4 story parking garage without a net, but it had to get done somehow! Deadbeat at Dawn is the true "Grindhouse aesthetic" film that so many have tried and failed to produce in the last decade. It's the real deal, full of heart, danger and nascent talent. His short films are definitely worth watching as well, with My Sweet Satan being a clear standout.

His next film, The Manson Family, is legendary for the trials and tribulations it took Van Bebber to drag it kicking and screaming through sheer force of will for fifteen years to completion. It's a herculean effort and has been documented extensively elsewhere, certainly nowhere better than in the documentary on the indispensable Dark Sky "Visions of Hell" box set that compiles all his short films along with Deadbeat and The Manson Family, not to mention a multitude of great features. It truly belongs in every serious cinephiles collection. That having been said, I do not wish to elaborate on his struggle or on my thoughts concerning the Charles Manson issue. I wish only to speak about the film, which is surely one of the most passionate, intense, authentic and disturbing I've seen. Van Bebber went from promising neophyte to consummate master in the time spent assembling this monster of a film. The consistency of it's tone and intent would be amazing even if it were completed in the originally intended 2 week shooting schedule let alone 15 years! The editing, shot composition, musical selection, staggeringly graphic and realistic sequences of violence and tremendous performances make this a one of a kind cinematic experience, unlikely to be rivalled or duplicated anytime soon, if ever.

Make no mistake, this is exceedingly rough stuff. Remember that scene in Saving Private Ryan that people often refer to as an unflinchingly unsettling example of filmed violence when the German soldier slowly stabs Adam Goldberg? Picture that multiplied by 50 for 25 straight minutes and you have the last third of this film. This is not a glamorous portrayal of famous killers. This is the ugliest, most matter of fact re-enactment of a crime I've ever bore witness to. It makes you think about the consequences of violence and the terror and pain the victims felt. It's gripping, exploratory cinema made by a true artist who clearly wasn't concerned with marketability or using this as a stepping stone to get a posh studio contract.

Perhaps I so greatly appreciate Van Bebber's work because his thematic concerns would seem to be on an identical wavelength with my interests and hang-ups. Maybe it's because I love to root for an underdog, especially one whose genius is inextricably tied to his own self destructiveness. In all likelihood though, his work resonates deeply with me because he takes film as seriously as an art form as I do. To him, film is life and he's unwilling to phone it in, EVER. I would love to see more from him, but I accept that if it takes him 10 years to get a film made, it's because that's exactly how long it will take him to make it precisely how he wants to. I would rather worship the great shorts and 2 brilliant features he made than watch him sacrifice his ideals to get a shot at directing the Hellraiser remake.