Ghetto Blaster (1989)

OK, so I was being ill tempered and snarky about 'bad' movies last time, not all so-called 'bad' movies, but the ones which build up cultish followings and the ones which are self-conciously bad.  So what did I do after that?  Yeah, that's right, I went and watched a movie that many have condemned as being 'bad'.  Ghetto Blaster (1989) is a direct-to-video release which treads similar ground to the likes of the Death Wish series, or even The Exterminator films, with its tale of urban vigilantism, but on a tiny budget.  Is it really a 'bad' movie?  Well, yes, in the sense that it is an instantly forgettable piece of cheap exploitation telling the usual ludicrous story of a mild mannered guy turning into a one-man fighting force taking on an entire army of scumbag gang members.  There's nothing particularly original in Ghetto Blaster, but the fact is that it is surprisingly well made for what it is and is actually pretty entertaining while it is playing.  For one thing, it musters some pretty decent actors, with Richard Hatch taking the lead.  Hatch, as always, makes for a likeable leading man and his character's transformation from middle-aged store owner to full blown vigilante doesn't seem too ludicrous.  R G Armstrong turns up for a few scenes as his father and Richard Jaeckel has what amounts to an extended cameo as a local cop.  The rest of the cast are more typical direct-to-video performers but nonetheless are more adequate in their roles.  The film's strongest point is its action sequences, which include not just the usual fist fights and gun fights, but also car chases and crashes and several explosions, all very well staged in a manner that wouldn't disgrace a bigger budgeted film.

Overall, in fact, Ghetto Blaster actually looks pretty good, making  excellent use of its run down LA settings.  Director Alan Stewart, (primarily an editor with only one other directorial credit), puts the film together very slickly, progressing smoothly from scene to scene and with a professional sheen which helps make it seem a far better film than t actually is.  As noted, there really isn't anything especially original about Ghetto Blaster: it falls firmly into the sub-genre of vigilante movies where the mild mannered protagonist turns out to have been in Special Forces in 'Nam and suddenly erupts into action when pushed too far.  (In this sense, it is also a cousin to the likes of the first Rambo film, First Blood).  Of course, this is just a variation on an earlier generation of movies that saw World War Two or Korean War vets return home and find themselves disgusted that what they've apparently been fighting for is rampant crime, disrespect for the American flag and scumbag ethnic minorities terrorising good white people.  (Even by the time of Ghetto Blaster, the neighbourhood gang are all stereotypical Hispanics).  For the 'Nam vets, obviously, its the shock of returning home from from an unpopular war, not getting a heroes' welcome and still getting harassed by scumbags.  So cleaning up the neighbourhood with extreme violence provides them with a sort of redemptive story arc. 

Anyway, nothing unexpected happens in Ghetto Blaster, it is all well-telegraphed: the hero has a teenaged daughter so, guess what, that's right, she eventually gets kidnapped by the gang and he has to storm their hideout, (a deserted industrial complex, naturally), to rescue her.  There's also the usual 'Romeo and Juliet' sub-plot of romance across the opposing lines as Hatch becomes involved with the sister of a gang member and a final 'twist' involving her brother that is blindingly obvious.  That said, some of the methods Hatch's character uses when he starts his campaign of counter-harassment against the gang are quite amusing - razors on concealed rat traps to mangle fingers and an exploding version of the titular Ghetto Blaster, for instance.  Not to mention the clown suited robbery of the proceeds gang's latest drug deal.  But yeah, Ghetto Blaster is a 'bad' movie by most measures of such things, but it has plenty of redeeming features that keep it entertaining.  But by knowing its own limitations and keeping the scope of its action on a reasonably small scale, it never overreaches itself to the extent that it falls over into complete ridiculousness.  Best of all, it is neither as sanctimonious as the Death Wish movies, nor as humourless as The Exterminator films, both of which it is clearly ripping off.