A throwback designed to satisfy those with an insatiable craving for a grindhouse cover version of John Carpenter's greatest hits.

VFW is a cracking thriller, its pulse-pounding theatrics making this an agreeably bruising good time I loved every single gosh darn blood-soaked second of.

VFW ultimately lacks the cinematic flair to be truly memorable. But the film succeeds on its own terms of being a nostalgic throwback to the days when such B-movies routinely opened on double and triple bills in urban grindhouses.

Old-timer war veterans vs. drug-crazed street punks. And it does get messy.