An ex-bouncer has just been released from prison. He’s recruited by a nightclub owner who is having problems with local gangsters.

G.B.H. is one of those movies that made me think, ‘What the hell have I just watched?!’ as the end credits rolled.

Imagine a film that is shot on video, is set in Manchester in 1982, has a budget of approximately £5 and a wardrobe from C&A and Top Man. With this being Britain in the early ‘80’s, there are more mullets, tashes and Modern Romance hairstyles than you can wave a Rubik’s Cube at.

The locales are just as gaudy- early 80’s nightclubs resplendent with neon, mirrors and professional dancers wearing headbands and bin-liners. Imagine the dancers in the Top of the Pops audience from around that time.

But, whilst all of this sounds like I’m criticising the film as terrible, I’m not. It’s perversely brilliant! Give me a low-budget labour of love which has character any day over a high-budget piece of nothing.

The fight scenes are hilarious, the one-liners inspired (‘Bleeding women! No wonder there’s there so many queers about!’) and Cliff Twemlow is just as his character states- ‘Charles Bronson without the tashe!’ He kicks serious ass in this role.

Twemlow’s back catalogue has just been released on Blu Ray by Severin which is high praise indeed. The only way I could watch the film was on the British Film Institute’s player, also a mark of high praise.

G.B.H. isn’t so bad, it’s good. It’s so good, it’s great.

4 out of 5 stars