Boston Beatdown, Vol. 2
Boston Beatdown, Volume 2is either a shocking testament to the history of Boston's ultra-violent harcore community or raw material for an anthropological study of rock territoriality. Not exactly a documentary--a documentary has a point-of-view--Boston Beatdownis a rough compilation of amateur footage of young males (and some females) beating each other to a pulp, time after time, as hardcore enthusiasts wage war against anyone who isn't them at clubs and private gigs. Somewhere in the relentless bloodletting we hear the churning rage-rock of Blood for Blood, Death Before Dishonor, and Ten Yard Fight, and there are (academically speaking) fascinating interviews with past and present members of Boston's F.S.U. gang, which formed a decade or so ago to cleanse their turf of just about everybody. Among the horrors here is the film's palpable delight at footage of Moby being assaulted by several cretins on a Boston sidewalk.--Tom Keogh