Gutterballs

Following on from Hobo with a Shotgun, we have another film which attempts to tread the grindhouse boards but sadly comes up short. Gutterballs follows rival bowling gangs over one night in bowling alley. Throw in a mask wearing psychopath hell-bent on killing each and every one of them and a pretty nasty scene involving a gang of thugs, a female bowler and a bowling pin and you have this messy 80's throwback. Unlike Hobo which includes numerous comic scenes this is one of those 'nasty for nasty's sake' films - now don't get me wrong, I usually have nothing against those types of films - but I at least demand to be entertained. I'll be generous and give this film a 5/10 as it does contain one or two decent attempts to shock and thrill, but sadly it doesn't make the strike it's hoping for and falls short of the mark.

NB: If you do decide to watch this film (not released in the UK so you will need to look overseas to get a copy) bear in mind that there are 2 versions. The 'best' edition currently available is the 'Balls Out' version which includes more gore etc.