Dead End Drive-In
Encyclopedia
Dead End Drive-In is a 1986 Australian New Wave
film about a teenage couple trapped in a drive-in theater
which is really a concentration camp for societal rejects. The inmates, many of whom sport punk fashion
, are fed a steady diet of junk food
, New Wave music
, drugs
, and bad movies
.
The film was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
. It stars Ned Manning
and Natalie McCurry as the captive couple, and Peter Whitford as the manager of the drive-in. Mad Max 2 stuntman Guy Norris did some of the stunts.
The soundtrack includes contemporary popular music performed by such bands as Kids in the Kitchen
and Hunters and Collectors. The song during the rolling credits is "Playing With Fire" by Lisa Edwards.
The plot features a young health nut named Jimmy, but is nicknamed Crabs. He sneaks off with his boss's vintage '57 Chevy to take his girlfriend, Carmen, to the local Star Drive-In. He tells the owner they are unemployed to get a discounted rate. Crabs is intimate with Carmen and completely unaware of his surroundings. The back tires of his car are taken off, and Crabs soon discovers its the police who took them. Crabs complains to the owner, but he refuses to help until morning. The next morning, Crabs and Carmen are amazed at the number of cars still there, many of which seem to have been there for quite awhile and turned into hovels. The owner, Thompson, pretends to fill out a report and enters them both into the system. He lets them know they will be there for awhile, as there are no buses or cabs, and gives them a stack of meal tickets to use at the run-down cafe. Time drags on, and Crabs makes several attempts at escape that are thwarted. Foregoing an attempt to climb a fence he discovers is electrified, he is successful at finding the tires he needs to drive off. However, he learns his gas has been drained. He steals gas from a police vehicle, but then finds his engine destroyed. He soon discovers the owner, who originally treats Crabs as a friend, gets a stipend for each inmate he brings in, and that there are a total of nine drive-ins that the government is attempting to fill to capacity. Crabs figures out that the owner is consistently sabotaging his increasingly desperate attempts at escape. Crabs threatens Thompson to not thwart him again. Further complicating matters are the verbal and physical fights Crabs continues to have with one of the racist gangs at the drive-in.
During this time, Carmen makes no attempt to avoid the unhealthy eating and drug culture at the camp. She becomes friends with several of the female inmates who are successful at indoctrinating her to the encampment's bizarre racist mentality that Asians are to somehow blame for their problems: a situation exacerbated by the arrival of foreigners trucked into the camp. All attempts to talk sense into her are refuted and Crabs soon realizes that she has succumbed to the hopelessness that pervades the encampment.
Crabs attempts one more specacular effort at escape. While the majority of the encampment, including Carmen, attends a racist meeting after a midnight movie led by Crabs' rival gang, he succeeds at hijacking a tow truck. He attempts to sneak out peacefully, but is recognized by the owner. This leads to a car chase around the encampment with police firing automatic weapons at the tow truck. Bullets are sprayed randomly, hitting the cafe where everyone is (and now where everyone is hiding). Eventually, Crabs crashes but manages to elude the police on foot. He finds Carmen and attempts to get her to escape with him one last time, but fails. He kisses her and wishes her well. He eventually finds Thompson, grabs his rifle, and forces him to delete his profile from the system. He then attempts an escape but it ends with a policeman getting killed, who subsequently shoots Thompson by mistake, killing him. Crabs is then hunted by the final policeman, but manages to flee using the other tow truck that had arrived at the facility. One of the trucks that is used to unload/load vehicles is situated right at the entrance with its ramp down. Crabs uses that truck to launch his tow truck over the entrance of the drive-in and lands on the S-Road, allowing him to finally escape his nightmare.
Australian New Wave
The Australian New Wave was an era of resurgence in worldwide popularity of Australian cinema...
film about a teenage couple trapped in a drive-in theater
Drive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
which is really a concentration camp for societal rejects. The inmates, many of whom sport punk fashion
Punk fashion
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
, are fed a steady diet of junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
, New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
, and bad movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
The film was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Brian Trenchard-Smith
Brian Trenchard-Smith is an English film and television director, producer, writer, consultant and actor who is notable for his contributions to the horror and action genre during the 1970s and 1980s in Australia. Most of his work has been in television, and the majority of his films have been...
. It stars Ned Manning
Ned Manning
Ned Manning is an Australian playwright, actor and teacher, whose film credits include the lead role in Dead End Drive-In and an appearance in the teen film Looking for Alibrandi . Manning's television credits include Bodyline, The Shiralee and Brides of Christ...
and Natalie McCurry as the captive couple, and Peter Whitford as the manager of the drive-in. Mad Max 2 stuntman Guy Norris did some of the stunts.
The soundtrack includes contemporary popular music performed by such bands as Kids in the Kitchen
Kids in the Kitchen
Kids in the Kitchen was a band from Melbourne, Australia that enjoyed considerable local success during the 1980s. The band stood squarely within the New Romantic movement that dominated mid-1980s pop, showing influences of "New-Rom" groups such as Ultravox in its use of synthesisers, its...
and Hunters and Collectors. The song during the rolling credits is "Playing With Fire" by Lisa Edwards.
Synopsis
In the near future, the economy has collapsed and massive crime waves sweep the inner-cities. The manufacturing industry has decimated to the point where cars are a commodity and parts are fought over between salvage companies and roving bands of car gangs. In an attempt to control the crime-wave, a chain of drive-in theatres are turned into concentration camps for the undesirable and unemployed youth. The dirty, graffitti-laden drive-ins are surrounded by high fences (electrified at the top), and the roads leading to them are Security Roads ("S-Roads") that do not allow walking under any circumstances. Police collaborate with the owner to sabotage cars of unsuspecting visitors identified as undesirables to keep them in; however, some who know the true nature of the drive-ins come voluntarily for the shelter and food. Broken cars are continuosly collected at these facilities. The prisoners are allowed easy access to a wide variety of drugs and alchohol, and are fed a horrendous diet of fattening and greasy fast-food at the drive-in diner, which blasts New Wave music. This, coupled with the awful conditions on the outside, engineers an atmosphere of complacency and hopelessness so the inmates will accept their fate and not attempt escape.The plot features a young health nut named Jimmy, but is nicknamed Crabs. He sneaks off with his boss's vintage '57 Chevy to take his girlfriend, Carmen, to the local Star Drive-In. He tells the owner they are unemployed to get a discounted rate. Crabs is intimate with Carmen and completely unaware of his surroundings. The back tires of his car are taken off, and Crabs soon discovers its the police who took them. Crabs complains to the owner, but he refuses to help until morning. The next morning, Crabs and Carmen are amazed at the number of cars still there, many of which seem to have been there for quite awhile and turned into hovels. The owner, Thompson, pretends to fill out a report and enters them both into the system. He lets them know they will be there for awhile, as there are no buses or cabs, and gives them a stack of meal tickets to use at the run-down cafe. Time drags on, and Crabs makes several attempts at escape that are thwarted. Foregoing an attempt to climb a fence he discovers is electrified, he is successful at finding the tires he needs to drive off. However, he learns his gas has been drained. He steals gas from a police vehicle, but then finds his engine destroyed. He soon discovers the owner, who originally treats Crabs as a friend, gets a stipend for each inmate he brings in, and that there are a total of nine drive-ins that the government is attempting to fill to capacity. Crabs figures out that the owner is consistently sabotaging his increasingly desperate attempts at escape. Crabs threatens Thompson to not thwart him again. Further complicating matters are the verbal and physical fights Crabs continues to have with one of the racist gangs at the drive-in.
During this time, Carmen makes no attempt to avoid the unhealthy eating and drug culture at the camp. She becomes friends with several of the female inmates who are successful at indoctrinating her to the encampment's bizarre racist mentality that Asians are to somehow blame for their problems: a situation exacerbated by the arrival of foreigners trucked into the camp. All attempts to talk sense into her are refuted and Crabs soon realizes that she has succumbed to the hopelessness that pervades the encampment.
Crabs attempts one more specacular effort at escape. While the majority of the encampment, including Carmen, attends a racist meeting after a midnight movie led by Crabs' rival gang, he succeeds at hijacking a tow truck. He attempts to sneak out peacefully, but is recognized by the owner. This leads to a car chase around the encampment with police firing automatic weapons at the tow truck. Bullets are sprayed randomly, hitting the cafe where everyone is (and now where everyone is hiding). Eventually, Crabs crashes but manages to elude the police on foot. He finds Carmen and attempts to get her to escape with him one last time, but fails. He kisses her and wishes her well. He eventually finds Thompson, grabs his rifle, and forces him to delete his profile from the system. He then attempts an escape but it ends with a policeman getting killed, who subsequently shoots Thompson by mistake, killing him. Crabs is then hunted by the final policeman, but manages to flee using the other tow truck that had arrived at the facility. One of the trucks that is used to unload/load vehicles is situated right at the entrance with its ramp down. Crabs uses that truck to launch his tow truck over the entrance of the drive-in and lands on the S-Road, allowing him to finally escape his nightmare.