BLOOD CAR: FUEL FOR THE DRIVE IN

There are numerous movies made each and every year on miniscule budgets by film makers that have yet to establish themselves as marketable. It’s a catch-22 situation where most studios won’t hire an unknown to make a movie but at the same time won’t give them a movie to make until they’ve got one in the can. What those film makers do is find financing from where ever they can and make a movie that gives them something to take with them. Some of them are good, some bad, some show there is no hope and other that there is potential. The most common genre made are horror movies; easy to make, easy to market and you don’t need a group of major thespians to get the job done.

That being said I wasn’t sure what to expect with BLOOD CAR. The artwork certainly screams drive-in with a woman riding in a topless car, shirt open but nothing quite revealed, holding a Molotov cocktail, the car driven by a man screaming and wielding an axe. For those unaware this is definitely not a movie for the Disney crowd. No, this is a movie made for the millions of exploitation/drive-in/horror crowd. The film goers that love to hit the midnight movie with no hope of catching the highest of cinema. This is a movie made for those who worship at the altar of Joe Bob Briggs and his three B’s of how to value a movie: blood, beasts and breasts. While short on beast there is plenty of the other two B’s to keep that crowd happy.

The story opens in the future where gas prices have truly skyrocketed, averaging in the $30 range per gallon. In response people no longer drive cars with few exceptions. Instead vehicles are parked in junk yards and drive-ins where couples gather to, well, couple, thus satisfying the first B for Joe Bob, breasts. Archie Andrews is teacher and inventor trying to find an alternative to gasoline in bio fuels. He stops by a vegan booth to purchase wheat grass from Lorraine (Anna Chlumsky), a young woman who has a crush on Archie that goes unnoticed.

One night while working on his experiment he accidentally cuts his finger, dropping blood into the mixture. Before you can saw LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, the fuel works and the motor runs. Realizing the potential here, Archie converts his car’s engine to this motor and is soon driving around the city. But he can’t continue to fuel the car with his own blood since doing so leaves him tired and worn out. The solution presents itself in an accident and a victim who is tossed into a converter Archie has installed in his trunk. With enough fuel to drive where he wants, he soon catches the eye of Denise, the hot but low standards girl who operates the meat shack across from Lorraine’s vegan stand.

Archie and Denise begin to see each other regularly with Archie making sure he has plenty of fuel for the car and Denise willingly handling all of Archie’s carnal needs. But she really has no interest in him and is there for the car only. Will Archie finally realize this isn’t the woman for him? Will he ever fulfill the needs of the lovely Lorraine? Will he ever be able to sell the idea of a car driven by human blood to the masses? And just who are these men in black suits that follow his every move, watching on hidden cameras everywhere he goes?

As I said early on this movie it not Oscar material. Not even Oscar Madison material. But it does deliver a certain amount of charm that some will enjoy, especially those late night crowds I mentioned. The gore level is to the extreme with plenty of blood splatter to make those fans happy. Those looking for skin should probably seek out soft core porn if that’s all that matters but there is enough nudity to offend those inclined and satisfy those who aren’t.

The production level of the movie isn’t noteworthy but at the same time the cinematography isn’t a complete waste as are a number of movies made at this budgetary level. The acting ranges from good to poor and one has to wonder how Chlumsky ended up here. My best guess is friendship or knowing someone who worked on the film.

Having seen so many of these types of films, being a fan of the drive-in experience, I didn’t find it offensive and actually had a laugh or two while watching. As I said at the beginning, film makers need to make their bones by actually making a movie to get started. With each new experience they learn, they develop their craft and hopefully they get the chance to keep moving forward with better films each step of the way. Here’s hoping director Alex Orr gets that chance. If you watch this one expecting Oscar material you’ll be enraged. If you know walking in what to expect from this movie then it’s not too bad. So rent/buy this movie, pop open a Miller Lite, gather a group of friends around who know how to have a good laugh and enjoy this one.

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