Dead End Drive-In, 1986.
Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wild and Dave Gibson.
SYNOPSIS:
In an apocalyptic future where crimes rates have spiralled out of control and the economy has permanently collapsed, those in charge have found a perfect solution to the rise of lawlessness… Lock away the undesirables, criminals and low down dirty scumbags in the old Drive-in movie theatres, now converted into violent concentration camps.
Now when I think of Grindhouse films I think of poor acting, poor direction and editing, pointless stunts and boobs (18 minutes in, boob fans). If you feel like that and that’s your ideal movie then Dead End Drive-In is your film. However, inside this mouldy rotten tomato is a story that makes you watch it and think, ‘I liked that!’
Jimmy (Ned Manning) has a good family and he has a job, all be it a dangerous one, at Big Bob’s Pies, but they live in a very bleak world. The streets are full of down and outs, burnt out cars and buildings, odd bods with angle grinders and carboys whose goal in life seems to be stealing car parts. Jimmy’s brother is part of an aggressive tow truck culture, who put their lives on the line daily to claim salvage rights to smashed cars and other vehicles. They are either bribing police officers or fending off weapon-brandishing carboys. The RAC they are not. News crews turn up to record footage of car crash victims dying, placing questions – which are more statements – towards people. Unemployment, food shortages and crime are running wild across the world.
When Jimmy takes his girlfriend Carmen (Natalie McCurry) to the Star Drive-In the film starts for me. We see a artificial environment created for aggressive teenagers / punks / unemployed / goths and similar ilk. A cage created by those people who rule and that believe this is the place that these undesirables should live in. Overseen by a corrupt Governor called Thompson (Peter Whitford) and the police, Jimmy sees this world as wrong, however Carmen cannot help to believe that what she sees is the right place for her – not seeing the prison but the system she’s been told she belongs too. The Drive-In is designed to reflect the worst that society has to offer on screen for all to see – racism and fear, mixed together with a media obsessed, fast food fuelled, and lethargic society.
It’s an interesting watch and different from other Grindhouse films where subtlety really isn’t high on the list of things to do. But it’s not great by a long shot. Jimmy has two expressions, his main being clenching his teeth whilst behind a wheel. The direction and editing feels like a student film, as does the acting, which really stands out. The delivery of lines and expressions are enough to make you demand their Equity Cards are removed from their wooden behinds, but then this is a Grindhouse film and I don’t expect Christopher Nolan, or Sir Anthony Hopkins. It was done on the cheap and I knew that when I got the DVD. So attacking it for this would be, well, wrong. I enjoyed Dead End Drive-In more than I thought I would, and I think you possibly will too.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Villordsutch is married with kids and pets. He looks like a tubby Viking and enjoys science fiction. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published April 8, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
