Dead-end Drive In/Cut and Run

Unfortunately, many times when two movies are clumped together on the same DVD, they are not very good. However, for people that enjoy strange rare films from the past (not ancient past, got to have color), the Dead-end Drive In/Cut and Run combo DVD is a must.

Dead-end Drive In, directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, came from the wild days of Australian grindhouse films. It is mentioned in the excellent film documentary Not Quite Hollywood. The film itself isn’t very violent, gory, or sexy. It is, however, very offbeat and strange, yet still manages to have interesting relevant themes. The plot basically follows a teenager, played surprisingly well by Ned Manning, as he takes his girlfriend to a local drive-in theater. While he’s having sex with her inside the car (isn’t that why everyone goes to a drive-in), police steal his car wheels and he is trapped in the drive-in. Like so many others.

So the whole movie takes place in this giant fenced of drive-in where hordes of youth are trapped. The look of the area and people is like a mix of Mad Max and Children of Men. Everything is colorful and lively, but also disorganized and chaotic. While the main character is obsessed with escape, all his peers including his girlfriend actually accept that the Drive-in is there new home. More themes and questions emerge as the relatively simple, but extremely original, plot emerges. The crazy plot and strange look/feel of the movie should be more than enough to keep you entertained. And the end car chase action scene was excellently crafted and looks very real (probably because it was). It’s the kind of original B movie that doesn’t get made any more, unless of course, there are buckets of blood and/or tons of sex.

When I flipped the DVD over, I was very surprised to see that Cut and Run was directed by Ruggero Deodato. Though I only knew him as the director of Cannibal Holocaust, which was more than enough to perk my interest. For those that don’t know of him or his infamous movie (featuring everything from real animal deaths to forced abortion), Cut and Run may not be as interesting. After all, it sort of began as Cannibal Holocaust 2. Cut and Run is nowhere near as gory and disturbing as Cannibal Holocaust. Though it has its moments. Mostly due to the fact it is essentially an action/adventure story with some horror elements.

The strange story deals with many random elements. From workers of the Coke trade being grisly murdered by a group of mercenaries, to a kid trying to escape a Jim Jones type camp, and finally to two reporters trying to find a missing kid that is involved with all of the above. Trust me, the plot never comes together that well, but that being said, the movie is never really confusing and its fairly easy to understand what’s going on. The acting ranges from good to terrible. The action is done well, but for people that don’t know the director, they will be surprised by incredibly gory scenes that don’t exactly fit the tone of the movie (not to mention some brutal rapes both shown and implied.) Music is surprisingly good too. It’s funny because I don’t quite know why I recommend the movie. It almost tries to cover too much without actually covering anything well. But the movie is never boring and when it’s over, you’ll be left with the feeling you’ve seen a one of a kind film. These days, I’d say that’s more than enough. And as an aside, fans of the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse should check this out to see what a real Grindhouse double feature used to look like.

Release Date?

Dead-end Drive In: B
Cut and Run: B-
Combo DVD: A