“They train you for this sort of thing, do they?”

Drake’s rating: Double-feature or not, I’m leaving before they steal my wheels

Drake’s review: If there’s one name in Australian exploitation cinema that can compete with the likes of American counterparts like Fred Olen Ray, Jim Wynorski, and Charles Band, it’s Brian Trenchard-Smith. One of the foremost directors of the Ozploitation era, Trenchard-Smith’s work is generally stylish and visually striking while still systematically checking off every box on the Exploitation Flicks 101 checklist.

Dead End Drive-In is no exception, because even in a movie about a dystopian prison camp, he’s going to get in shower scenes, at least one knock-down drag-out fight and a fast-paced car chase with an explosion that probably rocked nearby Sydney.

Trenchard-Smith was second to none in knowing his audience.

In true Mad Max fashion, the world is falling apart. Mass riots and economic chaos lead to shocking death tolls and international instability, and crime is rampant. And since this is Australia, quite a bit of that crime revolves around roving gangs of punks stealing and/or stripping cars. Jimmy and his big brother run a towing service, which basically amounts to grabbing wrecks before the punks can get to them. It’s not much, but it keeps their heads above water. Still, Jimmy keeps his job on the down-low when he takes his girlfriend Carmen to the drive-in, claiming to be unemployed so he can get a discount.

That turns out to be a big, big mistake. Unbeknownst to Jimmy and Carmen, the drive-in is actually a prison for “undesirables,” a place to round up those on the outskirts of society and keep them contained. And since Jimmy claims to be jobless, then there’s no reason he needs to be outside of the drive-in as a burden on society, right?

This is definitely some dark stuff. The inmates are mostly young, and the drive-in keeps everyone fed a junk food diet with a constant stream of exploitation flicks playing and New Wave music blaring. Alcohol and drugs are available, and compared to life outside the walls, it doesn’t seem so bad.

Of course the catch is that no one’s ever going to get old here, and they’re never going to leave. It’s like Logan’s Run, but without the shiny gems or the last ride on Carousel. But that doesn’t bother most of the drive-in’s population. They drink, they fight, they get stoned, they have sex, and then they start to start to plot against each other because they’re young and bored and have no hope.

As I said, dark stuff indeed, and in hands other than Trenchard-Smith’s, Dead End Drive-In might be a dreary watch.  Instead, the Australian director keeps things lively and even light at times. Jimmy, undaunted by his car’s inability to move (the cops stole two of his wheels to keep him from leaving the drive-in on the first night), keeps looking for a way out. Even as Carmen settles in to life in the prison, Jimmy stays alert and active. He jogs to stay in shape, he keeps the engine of his car tuned and he never becomes complacent.

Still, the camp is barricaded and the cops patrol regularly, so Jimmy has to be both smart and stealthy. He weaves his way through a neon-lit graffiti covered landscape, always on the move and looking for any edge as he plans an escape. It’s not easy, since the prison warden and the cops seem to always be one step ahead, but Jimmy’s persistent and, unlike everyone else in the camp, he won’t give up.

Dead End Drive-In is very distinctly a 1980s Ozploitation film. Slick and stylish, Trenchard-Smith fills the screen with bright images and the soundtrack with very contemporary rock beats. It’s a surprisingly kinetic movie, considering the rather staid location, and if you squint just a bit it’s not too hard to see this as a companion piece to Mad Max. The gangs, the drudgery and the societal despair all feel pretty familiar to anyone who’s seen George Miller’s classic, even though the drive-in and everyone in it would be long gone by the time The Road Warrior rolled around.

There’s just no way the “Ayatollah of rock and rolla” would’ve put up with all the New Wave music blaring out of the drive-in.

Dead End Drive-In is a must-see for anyone looking to broaden their Ozploitation horizons, or anyone who just wants to take a quick trip back to the ‘80s. It’s a great look at the time period and a high point for the director who would later bring us Justin’s second-favorite cult movie,* Leprechaun 4: In Space.

*Because nothing will ever knock Megaforce off of that pedestal.

Intermission!

• The movie playing at the drive-in when Jimmy and Carmen arrive is Turkey Shoot, another Brian Trenchard-Smith Ozploitation flick featuring a prison setting.
• Fun time in the back seat and the cops steal his wheels. Real mood killer, guys.
• That is either the worst or the best mullet I’ve ever seen.
• Jimmy jogged on the outside, too. There’s no way he lets a little thing like a prison camp interrupt his routine.
• Jimmy’s poor car kind of deteriorates as the film goes on, losing its freshly-waxed luster and getting tagged with spray paint.
• Jimmy snagged some fuel! But there’s just one little problem…
• Guy Norris, famous for his work on George Miller’s films, puts together some really nice stunts here.
• A car chase in a drive-in shouldn’t be this exciting, and yet…
• Man, that is one big boom. It was probably exacerbated by all the ‘80s hair spray floating around. That stuff was toxic.