History YMMV / SelfDefense

** [[spoiler:The reveal at the end that one of the neo-fascists is a police officer, who just goes back to work (albeit after sustaining heavy injuries) once the strike is over. The film does not outright confirm whether he is the only cop in the neo-fascists' ranks, but the extensive knowledge of police procedure they demonstrate to calculate their odds and their access to heavy weaponry heavily implies he is not.]]

** The reveal at the end that one of the neo-fascists is a police officer, who just goes back to work (albeit after sustaining heavy injuries) once the strike is over. The film does not outright confirm whether he is the only cop in the neo-fascists' ranks, but the extensive knowledge of police procedure they demonstrate to calculate their odds and their access to heavy weaponry heavily implies he is not.

** The final revelation that one of the neo-fascists is a police officer, who just goes back to work (although secretly nursing heavy injuries) once the strike is over. The plot does not outright reveals if he is the only cop in their ranks, but the extensive knowledge of police procedure the fascists demonstrate to calculate their odds and their access to heavy weaponry implies things heavily.

** ''The very premise'' is the stuff of nightmares - basically, the local police are on strike, meaning [[PoliceAreUseless they cannot intervene]] as a vicious gang of armed thugs terrorizes our protagonists.

* CompleteMonster: [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Cabe]] is the leader of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-fascist New Order]] in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who is taking advantage of a police strike to try to take over the streets. Cabe's goons [[HomophobicHateCrime harass people at a gay bar]] and accidentally kill the bartender. Cabe decides to kill all the bar patrons so [[LeaveNoWitnesses no one can testify against his gang]]. One of the bar patrons, Daniel, escapes, and Cabe orders his goons to kill him. Daniel escapes into an apartment building where the residents are protecting him, so Cabe orders his goons to kill everyone in the apartment building.

* ValuesResonance: The film's anti-violence[=/=]anti-bigotry message is just as pertinent now as it was in 1983. Additionally, the gay character Daniel is portrayed positively and sympathetically and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is depicted as unambiguously cruel.

* ValuesResonance: The film's anti-violence[=/=]anti-bigotry message is just as pertinent now as it was in 1983. Additionally, the gay character Daniel is portrayed positively and sympathetically and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is depicted as unambiguously cruel.

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://youtu.be/6hAsy21c4dI?t=174 The ending theme]] is a rather effective little slice of 1980s electronica. It's a shame it's never gotten an official release.

** ''The very premise'' - the local police are on strike, meaning [[PoliceAreUseless they cannot intervene]] as a vicious gang of armed thugs terrorizes our protagonists.

* ValuesResonance: The film's anti-violence[=/=]anti-bigotry message is just as pertinent now as it was in 1983. Doubles as a case of SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped. Additionally, the gay character Daniel is portrayed positively and sympathetically and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is depicted as unambiguously cruel.

* NightmareFuel: ''The very premise'' - the local police are on strike, meaning [[PoliceAreUseless they cannot intervene]] as a vicious gang of armed thugs terrorizes our protagonists.

* ValuesResonance: The film's anti-violence[=/=]anti-bigotry message is just as pertinent now as it was in 1983. Doubles as a case of SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.
** Additionally, the gay character Daniel is portrayed positively and sympathetically and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is depicted as unambiguously cruel. Quite impressive for 1983.

** The neo-fascists' cold-blooded execution of the gay bar patrons also qualifies.

** Additionally, the gay character Daniel is presented in a fairly sympathetic light and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is unambiguously depicted as being a bad thing. Quite impressive for 1983.

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://youtu.be/6hAsy21c4dI?t=142 The ending theme]] is a rather effective little slice of 1980s electronica. It's a shame it's never gotten an official release.

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfaFK3bN70 The ending theme]] is a rather effective little slice of 1980s electronica. It's a shame it's never gotten an official release.

* ValuesResonance: The film's anti-violence[=/=]anti-bigotry message is just as pertinent now as it was in 1983.

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfaFK3bN70 The ending theme]] is a nice little bit of 1980s electronica. It's a shame it's never gotten an official release.

* NightmareFuel: ''The very premise'' - the local police are on strike, meaning [[PoliceAreUseless they cannot intervene]] as their city descends into chaos with vicious gangs of armed thugs roaming around terrorizing the city's populace.

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfaFK3bN70 The ending theme]] is a nice little bit of 1980s electronica.

* NightmareFuel: ''The very premise'' - the local police are on strike, meaning they cannot intervene as their city descends into chaos with vicious gangs of armed thugs roaming around terrorizing the city's populace.

%% NightmareFuel: The whole premise.

** Additionally, the gay character Daniel is presented in a fairly sympathetic light and the neo-fascists' open homophobia is unambiguously presented as a bad thing. Quite impressive for 1983.