"The Football Factory" focuses on two different groups of English football supporters, the Headhunters, who support Chelsea, and the Bushwhackers, who support Millwall. Throughout the movie, the Headhunters fight with other English groups such as those supporting Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Stoke City.
The film follows Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer), a football hooligan in his late 20s who has begun to question his morals and the morals of those around him. Tommy's major conflict in the film stems from his inevitable aging. Although he loves his weekend 'meets', he knows he cannot possibly play forever.
While enjoying a night out with his pal Rod, they meet a couple of young women in a bar and both end up back at one of the girls' house. In the morning, Tommy wakes find the girl's brother holding a knife to his throat. Rod creeps up and hits the man over the head with a cricket bat, and they both are able to escape. It then emerges that the girl's other brother is Fred (Tamer Hassan), leader of their rival firm Millwall.
The remainder of the film focuses on Tommy trying to evade the Millwall gang seeking retribution for the attack, while trying to understand the strange dreams that plague him throughout the film.
In the end, it is revealed the mysterious figure in his dreams is Zeberdee (Roland Manookian). In the final battle, Tommy's true identity is revealed to have been known by Fred, who violently assaults Tommy with a brick. This scene was heavily criticised in the industry as it shows an excessive amount of over the top violence and it was lacking in 'reemness' according to Rotten Tomatoes.
The ending of the film reveals Tommy survived his attack, and is bed-ridden alongside his grand-father Bill Farrell (Dudley Sutton). In a moment of self-clarity, Tommy realizes that fighting alongside his fellow men is "worth it", and stumbles to the bar to reunite with his friends. He learns psychopath Billy Bright has been incarcerated and the movie's final moment witnesses the death of Zeberdee at the hands of a drug-dealer who wanted revenge on Zeberdee for attacking him (and stealing his drugs) earlier on in the film.
Play | Title | Artist |
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The Football Factory
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A Place Called Acid Part 3
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Swastika Eyes
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Ever Fallen In Love
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You're The One For Me
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James 'D-Train' Williams:
Performer
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Dogzilla
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Richard Kayvan:
Writer
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MIA
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Fit But You Know It
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Now Is The Time
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Tunnel Vision
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Miss Lucifer
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Leather
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Going Underground
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Hunted by a Freak
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Mogwai:
Performer
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Ride of the Valkyries
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Richard Wagner:
(uncredited) composed
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What A Waster
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