Judging by the title, I thought this would be pure exploitation junk, but I couldn't have been more wrong. It's an excellent movie about a ghetto teen who is obsessed with avenging his older brother's death in a shoot-out between members of a Latino crime boss' gang. He doesn't have what it takes to kill a man -- in fact, his first attempt almost gets him killed when he finds himself unable to pull the trigger -- so he starts tagging along with a veteran hit-man who shows him the ropes, and in the process gets a lot more than he bargained when he begins to see death close-up.
It's almost like something a young Martin Scorcese might direct today -- there's a MEAN STREETS/TAXI DRIVER/GOODFELLAS vibe to much of this urban gangster story -- but his influence only shows itself overtly in one or two scenes. The violence is shocking, but presented matter-of-factly in a realistic, non-stylized way (no slow-motion, no fancy editing). The entire cast does a great job bringing their characters to life, aided by Christine Conradt's excellent script, and the Crook Brothers (Jeffrey and Joshua), who appear briefly in the film as porn-movie makers, demonstrate much style and skill as directors.
If you like this genre, or even if you don't, GHETTO DAWG 2:OUT OF THE PITS is about as good as it gets.
It's almost like something a young Martin Scorcese might direct today -- there's a MEAN STREETS/TAXI DRIVER/GOODFELLAS vibe to much of this urban gangster story -- but his influence only shows itself overtly in one or two scenes. The violence is shocking, but presented matter-of-factly in a realistic, non-stylized way (no slow-motion, no fancy editing). The entire cast does a great job bringing their characters to life, aided by Christine Conradt's excellent script, and the Crook Brothers (Jeffrey and Joshua), who appear briefly in the film as porn-movie makers, demonstrate much style and skill as directors.
If you like this genre, or even if you don't, GHETTO DAWG 2:OUT OF THE PITS is about as good as it gets.