DVD Review: Blood Car / Cert: 18 / Director: Alex Orr / Screenplay: Alex Orr / Starring: Mike Brune, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Rowlett, Matt Hutchinson / Release Date: Out Now
Archie Andrews (Mike Brune) is a sweet mannered, vegan teacher who in his spare time is working on a car motor that can run on wheatgrass. Fuel prices have skyrocketed, and no one can afford to drive so when Andrews discovers his invention runs on human blood he goes on a killing spree to keep his motor running in more ways than one. Extremely funny gore, silly sex scenes and a leading man who embraces his role with energy and a knack for comic timing make this an enjoyable feast of a film.
The ideas are relevant and writer/director, Alex Orr delivers smart and funny dialogue highlighting contempt for modern government with lines such as “Killing people for fuel is not racist, it’s patriotic. It’s all about making a sacrifice to fuel our cars.” Influences of Roger Corman’s Bucket of Blood and Little Shop of Horrors are clear but it also has a sleazy early John Waters feel to it. It aims to deliver its message about America’s love affair with the automobile in an absurdly funny way. Orr also references the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that aims to reduce global warming, but pokes fun at the capitalist society that will never be able to realistically reach set goals.
Archie Andrews and his beastly invention bear similarities to Robert Oppenheimer working on the idea that “when you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. “ The world is going to hell and though Archie at first attempts to find a vegetarian solution to the problems he ends up feeding his monster with the innocent. The Manhattan Project is referenced on Archie’s classroom blackboard, carrying on the idea that we should learn from our past mistakes.
The wonderful Anna Chlumsky (My Girl and Veep) has fun with the role of Lorraine, the good hearted geek representing the optimistic, naïve public; listening and digesting the lies fed to her. In the background there are the Government agents who sit causally by watching Archie’s every move, as he slaughters human beings, only pouncing on him when they decide they can use his invention for their own gain. Archie’s victims are not without political allegory as he stuffs an army veteran into the trunk of his car screaming the words “You’ll be a hero, follow orders!”
Orr uses music extremely well blending Vivaldi, Chopin and Mozart with modern music such as Cassavetes, Night of the Knife and 80s style montage music which really adds to the surreal, silly humour.
This is small budget, scurrilous satire that although originally released in 2007 still holds up to the current climate of rising fuel prices and greenhouse gases.
Special Features: None
