American Mobster: Retribution, directed by Gregory Hatanaka, is a low-budget indie crime thriller that manages to be both captivating and so-bad-it’s-impossible-to-look-away entertaining. Picking up ten years after the first film, it follows Nick Romano as he fights to maintain his place at the top of Miami’s criminal underworld. Murder, betrayal, and violence abound, and the film leans into every exaggerated gangster stereotype imaginable—sometimes awkwardly, sometimes hilariously.
Read MoreAmerican Mobster: Miami Shakedown (2010)
American Mobster: Miami Shakedown is a gritty, low-budget crime drama that plunges viewers into the underbelly of Miami’s small-time mob scene. Directed by Marcus Dreeke and written by Nino Cimino, the film follows Nick Romano, a young Italian-American caught between loyalty, love, and survival. With his partner Carlo, Nick navigates hustling, street-level crime, and a tense relationship with his girlfriend Vanessa, all while trying to stay in the good graces of a powerful local crime boss.
Read MoreAmerican Western (2022)
American Western, directed by Gregory Hatanaka, is a lean, 66-minute romp through the Old West that is equal parts earnest attempt at classic Western storytelling and unintentionally hilarious spectacle. At its core, it’s a tale as old as time: a bandit betrayed by his friend is thrown into prison, only to escape five years later and return seeking revenge. But the charm here lies not in originality—it’s in the sheer audacity of its execution.
Read MoreSamurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (2015)
Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance, directed by Gregory Hatanaka, attempts to recapture the unintentional charm of its cult predecessor. While it brings back familiar faces like Mathew Karedas as Joe Marshall and Mark Frazer as Frank Washington, the film struggles to match the original's unique appeal. The plot centers on Joe Marshall, now in self-imposed exile, who is drawn back into action when his former partner Frank Washington seeks his help to dismantle a powerful criminal syndicate.
Read MoreHot Wax Zombies on Wheels (1999) #RetroReview
Hot Wax Zombies on Wheels is one of those films that exists purely to confound, amuse, and occasionally disgust in equal measure—and it succeeds spectacularly at all three. Directed by Michael Roush, this low-budget horror-comedy delivers a plot so bizarre that it almost feels like the filmmakers dared each other to see just how many insane ideas they could cram into 83 minutes. At its core, the movie follows a small fishing village thrown into chaos when two eccentric beauty salon operators roll into town, offering hot wax hair removal that has a truly unexpected side effect: anyone waxed becomes a hairless, horny zombie obsessed with spreading the curse of bare skin.
Read MoreThe DeMarco Crew (2024)
Gregory Hatanaka’s The DeMarco Crew is another entry in his long-running line of low-budget, crime-fueled thrillers—this time diving headfirst into heist territory with a touch of personal drama. At just over an hour, it’s brisk, loud, and packed with the kind of scrappy energy that defines much of Hatanaka’s work. The film follows Dean DeMarco, a master thief with a crew that’s as loyal as they are reckless.
Read MoreNight Cops (2023)
When it comes to low-budget action flicks, few directors embrace the chaos quite like Gregory Hatanaka. With Night Cops, he delivers a brisk, no-nonsense cop thriller that feels like a throwback to the VHS days of tough talk, gunfire, and grit — for better and for worse. At just over an hour, Night Cops doesn’t waste time.
Read MoreCrack (2023)
Gregory Hatanaka’s Crack is a wild ride through the gritty world of crime, and while it’s far from perfect, it has a strange charm that makes it entertaining in its own way. The story is simple but effective: a young drug dealer, Byron, stands at a crossroads, forced to decide whether to fully embrace a life of crime or try to escape before it’s too late. The plot doesn’t overcomplicate things, which works in its favor—sometimes a tight, focused story is exactly what a crime drama needs.
Read More