Blood Car
Directed by Alex Orr
Fake Wood Wallpaper/TLA Releasing


Blood Car is a film that isn't easily pigeonholed. Sure it has gore and some morbid elements to the story, but at the end of the day it isn't a horror film. It also isn't quite satire as there are serious emotions and topics explored. So basically what you are left with is an offbeat comedy with gore, social commentary and enough nudity to think that this movie was made in the 80's.

What really makes the movie work is the chemistry between the three main characters. Archie, played by Mike Brune, is a vegan school teacher trying to build an engine that runs on wheatgrass as gasoline prices have risen to $40 a gallon. Lorraine, played by Anna Chlumsky, supplies him with the wheatgrass from her vegetable stand. Right across from the vegetable stand is of course the meat stand run by Denise, played by Kate Rowlett. While Lorraine is frumpy and clueless, Denise is for lack of a better word, quite the slut. These are the three characters the push the story forward and things really hit the fan when Archie discovers that blood will run the engine he has been working on. Hilarity ensues as Archie faces the morality question poised to him as meat is the only way to fuel his car which in turn fuels Denis tank, if you get my drift.

There are indeed some shocking moments towards the end of the film. The gore scenes aren't frequent but there is a scene involving a government agent being chopped up by the blades in Archies trunk that is quite gory. If Im not mistaken the scene seems like an homage to the final lawnmower scene in Dead Alive. Throw in an axe to the stomach and a ridiculous amount of blood spray and you have just about enough carnage to satisfy your inner gorehound.

While Blood Car might be a low budget film; it certainly could have fooled me. The editing is tight keeping the movie moving quickly while the acting is handled superbly. There is even some clever use of a crane in a few scenes giving the film a very professional feel when compared to most low budget films. Alex Orr has a lot of potential as a director. If his first feature length film is this good, I'll definitely be looking forward to his sophomore directorial effort.

Instead of a bare bones DVD release, Blood Car is packed with a number of really cool bonus features. The main bonus feature is an hour long behind the scenes segment. It shows the cast and crew having a blast on the set, throws in some rehearsal footage, planning out sex scenes and even a few deleted scenes thrown in for good measure. Also included is the original trailer, two commentary tracks, Mike Brunes presidential speech at the world premiere, and an essay written by Steve Palopoli. It's nice to see this much care given to a low budget film as some of the multi-million dollar films don't even include a trailer on the DVD release.

Blood Car is a film that succeeds on many levels. It is hilarious, the acting is top notch and never do you feel like you are watching a low budget film. If you enjoy dark comedy and like it with a side of splatter, Blood Car is a ride you don't want to miss.

Official Blood Car Webpage