In Case You Missed It: ‘Blood Car’

In Alex Orr’s news film, ‘Blood Car,’ it’s the future.  About two weeks from now. Gas prices have risen exponentially, to the point, in fact, that even owning a car has become luxury set aside only for the financially elite. As the opening narrator, a suited man eating a bag of chips, tells us, kids still have sex in cars, they just do it in graveyards. Car graveyards.

This is where Archie Andrews comes in.  A kindergarten school teacher and vegan by day, he spends his nights coming up with plans for an engine that runs solely on wheat grass.   With gas prices rising to more than $30 a gallon, Archie feels he can revolutionize the travel industry if he can just get his wheat grass engine running. Well, you know how these scientist’s plans go. One thing leads to another. Archie cuts his finger. Blood falls on the engine. Voila. The engine begins to run.

Archie’s new invention runs on blood.  Human blood.  Before you can say “Audrey II on wheels,” Archie has turned his car into a deathmobile with a trunk that serves as a blender that sucks people in and feeds the car the juice it needs.  With this new car, Archie attracts attention, not only the attentions of the sex-starved Meat Stand worker, Denise, and the wheat grass girl, Lorraine, but also the United States government. Hilarity ensues. Lots of it, in fact.

‘Blood Car’ is not a film for everyone.   It’s graphic.   It’s offenstive.   It’s hilarious.   If you don’t mind a little gore and bloodshed with your comedy and social commentary, then this is the movie for you.   If that’s the kind of thing that fuels your engine, so to speak, ‘Blood Car’ is right up your alley.   This movie has all of that in droves.   Orr doesn’t hold back in any way, and the film has just as many comedy elements as it does horror elements.   The comedy elements here probably outweigh the horror.   ‘Blood Car’ works much better as an out-and-out comedy, but there’s plenty of blood flying (mostly out of a bullet hole in the car’s trunk) to keep any fans of horror interested.

The schlock factor is off the charts with this movie.   Fans of Troma are sure to get a kick out of it, but the film never goes so far overboard that it loses its way.   The only time the film even threatens to do this is in the final moments, and, by that time, it simply serves as a capper for the rest of the story.

Director Orr also includes several, little Easter eggs that provide some hilarity throughout the film, too.   From Archie’s ever-changing, increasingly political t-shirts to the strange drawings and keywords he has on his classrooms chalk board, there are several items in ‘Blood Car’s background that offer up the desire for a second viewing.

Much of the comedy works in large part to the lead actor, Mike Brune.   His earlier moments are kind of annoying, as he tries to play the straight man without much success.   It’s only when Archie becomes the blood-craving lunatic who sets out to feed his car that Brune’s performance really takes off.   An early scene where Archie hunts animals is hysterical.   Being an animal-loving vegan, Archie cries deliriously as he takes out small squirrels and even a puppy with his BB gun.   The only thing more hilarious than seeing Brune scream and act frantically is watching him trying to get his character under control.

The females in the film are commendable, though they don’t offer a whole lot to the film’s acting department.   Katie Rowlett plays the psycho Meat Stand girl who holds the power of womanhood over Archie with frenzied glee.   Familiar face Anna Chlumsky pops up as the innocent Veggie Stand girl, but, much like Archie, we don’t pay a whole lot of attention to her.

The half dozen or so guys Orr has playing the Men in Black who want to steal Archie’s Blood Car for the government are also hilarious.   The two guys watching Archie adventures on security monitors have one-liners that hit every time.   The agents who try to steal Archie’s car kick out the physical humor with the best of them.   Really, any time you see someone show up on screen wearing sunglasses, you know the comedy is about to be stepped up a notch.

‘Blood Car’ is a hilarious film, offensive, dead-pan, twisted and one of the funniest, independent films to come along in years.   It brings to mind the early days of Peter Jackson in its ability to mix the perfect amount of blood and guts with a wry sense of humor.   ‘Blood Car’ is an excellent effort by a first-time feature film director who I’m sure we will be hearing more and more about as his career progresses.   This is definitely a film you will want to get in the back seat with, pronto!