Review of Death Race 2000 (1975) by Lee B — 26 Jan 2011

"Death Race 2000" is one of those rare B-Movie gems that really stands out as a true cult classic, even now more than 30 years past its release. David Carradine steals the show as the elusive Frankenstein, a masked figure allegedly made up of artificial parts, who also happens to be the defending champion of the Death Race competition - a cross-country road race where scores are tallied based on how many innocent bystanders the driver runs over or kills during their run.

This campy dark comedy makes surprisingly good use of its obviously limited budget, offering car chases and stunts which feel quite real (even when the cars themselves look cheap or silly on their own), as well as surprisingly brutal gore effects and a fair bit of unnecessary T&A.

The social/political messages that are thrown around end up falling flat by the end, but they also serve to set up the hilarious twist about Frankenstein, and what his character plans to do (with the help of his right hand).

A young Sylvester Stallone also offers a memorable supporting performance as the film's antagonist, Machine Gun Joe. Essentially, "Death Race 2000" is a cheap but effective dark comedy that glorifies vehicular violence, and taken as such, it's a surprisingly fun ride.