Review of Dead End Drive-In (1986) by Al M — 18 Dec 2010
Dead End Drive-In is essentially a rip-off of the Mad Max films with a bit of Repo Man thrown in to turn the film into a bizarre sort of cheesy satire. The film depicts a dystopian world somewhere between the slow decay of Mad Max and the full-blown apocalyptic landscape of Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Set against this dystopian backdrop, Dead End Drive-In follows one young man who takes his girlfriend on a date to the movies in a souped up '56 Chevy, but this drive-in movie theater proves a little bit different.
As the couple are getting a bit amorous in the back of the car, some thieves steal two wheels off the car. The couple end up stranded at the drive-in theater because they cannot get new wheels and are not allowed to leave on foot.
The drive-in has become a bizarre refugee zone in which various punks, lowlifes, perverts, criminals, and homeless people dwell. From this basic premise, the film progresses onwards. I would call the film absurdist or Kafkaesque, but it is simply to cheesy to warrant such terms despite its premise.
Still, it is an enjoyable, humorous piece of Australian 80s cult cinema that you will not likely forget despite how terrible it is at points.
This review of Dead End Drive-In (1986) was written by Al M on 18 Dec 2010.
Dead End Drive-In has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
