Review of Car Wash (1976) by Luciusmcgibbon — 09 Dec 2012

A brief retort to two common criticisms of this great, great movie.... 1) "Not a lot of big scares, lots of down time." These people have a very loose grasp, if any, on the concept of building tension.

.. To them, the scenes where the killer is peering in from the background are meaningless if they don't immediately culminate in a satisfying kill scene. This may seem funny to say, but this movie was made at a time when nobody knew who Michael Myers was or what he was capable of.

Watching this movie through the eyes of a newcomer might help these people appreciate suspense. 2) "They don't give us a reason for all the killing" That's the point! It's scarier that way, if you don't even know what motivates the killer, then he becomes even less human.

There's no emotion, no reasoning, just a body walking around, taking death wherever it goes. People who have a problem with this are simply too used to having each and every background detail spoon-fed to them to enjoy a movie that purposely leaves the darkest parts to the imagination.

3) I read one review calling this movie "cliched"... which hilariously overlooks the fact that Halloween *started all those cliches!* So essentially, this person blames this movie for being too much like the movies that copied it.

.. have fun with that one.... Yes, this movie does have its shortcomings (acting, editing, modest production values) but it still stands as an understated masterpiece, and the granddaddy of a sub-genre all its own.

The buildup and release of tension are timed as skilfully as any scare flick ever made, and the near-total lack of blood only serves to underline the fact that the world's first slasher flick got its teeth from real directing and storytelling as opposed to cheap visuals and gratuitous violence.

JUST REMEMBER: this movie must be seen in full widescreen, otherwise the framing will ruin some key scenes.