Drive-In Massacre

Despite John Doggett saying there's not enough room to swing a blade in the interior of a car, Drive-In Massacre fills an hour or so with bladed mayhem in small spaces. A sword-wielding maniac is slicing people up as they watch movies in a drive-in theater.

The story primarily follows two cops investigating the crimes as they question ex-carnies, bulling bosses, and peeping toms. Is it anger, lunacy, or perversion that is leading the killer to do his (or her) bloody deeds? Is any movie patron safe? There's no character development to speak of, and no one particularly memorable. It's all about the horror of watching people get hacked up while the killer remains elusive – pretty much typical slasher movie fare.

This is typical teenscream cinema from a time when drive-ins were popular. It has plot holes, illogical events, bad acting, and an awful soundtrack sounding more like a problem with the film strip than music at times. While not always following the rules of physics or any kind of natural progression in a character's course of thinking it does manage to be mildly amusing if only for the tricks it attempts in order to create fear in the viewing audience.

They love throwing out the pregnancy card. Most of the women that die announce pregnancy shortly beforehand. Maybe the writer has some stigma about fathering children? Maybe it's just those conceived in the back seats of cars during movies.

I don't want to give away the ending, but I have to comment that it's not much of a wrap-up from a narrative perspective. It's more like a prank on the viewing audience. It's a kind of ending that could only work in a film, and one that will inevitably evoke a variety of responses from viewers. Is it stupid, interesting, amusing, distasteful, effective for its method of drawing in the viewer, or a cheap shot? It could be any of these depending on the viewer.

MORALITY:

This is a violent and bloody movie. Some of the gore effects look goofy, but they can still be disturbing especially for anyone sensitive about blood. The most extreme shot is a decapitation that lingers on a view of the headless body as blood drips from the neck.

There is a very little bit of some obscure nudity and some sexuality.

The language is strong throughout including religious slurs and crude references to the female anatomy.

SPIRITUALITY:

Behave when you take a date to the drive-in! And wear chainmail.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is worth checking out if you're wanting something so bad it's amusing or want an example of classic gimmicky cinema. As a well-written story or deeply engaging film it doesn't give the impression of ever aspiring to be either.

#DriveInMassacre