Dead End Drive-In (1986)

Making an exit with style!

Not exactly a post-nuke movie, but set in the not-so-distant future after total economic collapse. The government sweeps go-nowhere youth off the streets and imprisons them in the local drive-in, sort of a concentration camp, but with all of the luxuries lazy, unmotivated teens could want: free movies, junk food, drugs, etc. Despite being patrolled by armed police and kept in by electric fences, everyone is complacent. Nobody has any desire to leave. Nobody but Crabs, that is. Crabs just wanted to take his girl to the movies in in brother's '56 Chevy, but was imprisoned in the process. He spend the entire film trying to get back out, butting heads with the owner/warden of the drive-in and with other punks who themselves have surrendered to their new lifestyles, but are irritated by Crab's refusal to accept the situation.

This takes place in the future, in 1990, but the costumes, music and everything else about this movies is 1000% of the 80s. It severely dates this film, but also provides it with most of it's charm. It's fairly cheesy, but fun because of it. There weren't any subtitles on the disc, so I struggled with some of the dialogue as the Australian accents were quite thick at times, but I understood most of it. Crabs was a likeable enough character, maybe the only likeable person in the film. While everyone else was stupid, vapid and lazy, he just wanted to get his tires back so he could go home. As with a lot of Aussie films I've seen, there's some great stunt work involving car smash-ups. There's a decent fight scene, more than one pair of exposed breasts, a sex scene, shower scene and some neat-o explosions. There's even a side story involving Aussie racism against Asians that sets somewhat of a moral tone, but it's quickly interrupted by gun fire and giant fireballs before it goes anywhere.

This was a fun way to spend an hour and a half. Nothing mind-blowing, mind you, but enjoyable. I'd have no problem with drinking a few beers and watching this one again.

3/5