Last summer, rapper Ashley 'Bashy' Thomas headlined the United Underground art and music showcase on London's Southbank (set up by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, Riz MC Ahmed and British Underground). Since then, the man has continued to hustle, and the result will be blasted onto the UK's big screens on March 26, as Bashy kickstarts his acting career with 'Shank'. Last week I was invited to the swanky Hospital Club in Covent Garden to slouch onto a bean-bag chair and catch the private preview screening of the flick dubbed "an action movie for the next generation."

There was certainly no time to yawn. The film was littered with hectic chase and fight scenes, as we follow the story of 14 year old Junior (Kedar Williams-Stirling) and older brother Rager (Bashy) as they try and survive London's ganglands at a mad time in 2015; a period where the barrier between the rich and poor is immense, and food aka 'munchies' are replaced by drugs and guns as priceless commodities.

But Junior and Rager are not alone in their quest for munchies, joined by their own, relatively docile, violent-dodging gang The Paper Chaserz - consisting of Sweet Boy (Jan Uddin), Craze (Michael Socha) and Kickz (Adam Deacon of Adulthood and Kidulthood). However, there's a dark twist flung upon the story, as a conflict with a rival gang (the Tugz) leads to the 'shanking' and death of one of the Paper Chaserz... What follows is a crazy obstacle-ridden journey (including a cameo by Channel 4 'Skins' beaute Kaya Scodelario) for the group who trek across the city streets in search of justice, and revenge.

I can't say it was quite the vibe of 'Avatar' (no multi-million budget) - but this gritty Brit movie was on point in depicting the norms of gang life in this country, often riddled in crime, drugs, poverty, and death. No fantasy creatures in this one sorry, but a reminder by the 'Shank' cast why 'Stop Knife Crime' was the echoing media alert of 2008.

Props go out to Bashy for a compelling 'big bro' performance, alongside the ever entertaining Deacon, gorgeous Scodelario, and new kid on the block, Williams-Stirling - the crew are relentless through their fictional characters to portray a very, very real scenario breaking into the news only too often.

Words: Dwain Lucktung. Deputy editor, Ctrl.Alt.Shift.

For more information on Shank please visit www.shankthefilm.com