Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Blood Car

Alex Orr | 2007 | 75 min | US

Director Alex Orr clearly grew up watching Troma films and the other micro-budget horror-comedy offerings that seemed to be everywhere in the eighties. Blood Car is very much a product of those films, and it is similarly loaded with plenty of short, crass visual gags. That style isn't going to appeal to everyone, of course, but reading the title and plot alone should give you a clear picture of how much or how little you will enjoy this one.

Mike Bruce plays Archie Andrews, an idealistic young vegan science teacher in a near future world where gas prices have risen so out of control that cars have vanished from the streets. While researching alternative energies Archie accidentally stumbles upon the perfect renewable fuel source: human blood! Archie drains much of his own blood to test his new creation around town. He finds himself to be the envy of all townspeople and the objet du desire of a local sexpot with a need for speed. But that gas tank doesn't fill itself. Things quickly get wildly out of control when Archie is forced to choose between the value of human life and the worth of plentiful blowjobs. A struggle as old as time.

The movie reveals its extreme lack of budget in a number of scenes, but, also like the Troma films, this is a big part of Blood Car's charm rather than a hindrance in enjoying it. The only problem I found with budget constraints was the use of so much canned music. The frequency with which copyright-clear classical tracks are used becomes a little grating, though that is a small complaint.

It is also worth mentioning that Blood Car features the strange and unexpected reappearance of Anna Clumsky. What? Yeah. And hey, Anna Clumsky, when did you turn into an amalgam of every girl I have a crush on? During that decade in which no one saw you, I guess.

Blood Car rubs shoulders with the lowest of the lowbrow and it made me laugh a lot. In fact, even the opening DVD menu made me laugh. Because I am a child.

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