An unlikely David Cronenberg movie dealing with spare car parts rather than body parts. We enter the world of North American strip drag racing and soft country rock music.
This is a straightforward B movie with some below standard acting. It also has a rare sympathetic role from William Smith then more famous as the hissable Falconetti from Rich Man Poor Man.
Smith plays veteran drag racer Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson the main draw for his racing team. The team managed by slimy Phil Adamson (John Saxon) does not want the team to win at any costs, just compete effectively and sell cans of FastCo oil.
Lonnie mentors up and coming racer Billy 'The Kid' Brocker (Nicholas Campbell.) Adamson sees an opportunity to dump Lonnie and sign a rival, at the same time use dirty tricks to make Lonnie look that his best days are behind him.
Cronenberg delivers a racing film with a grinding fuel injected noise and grime as Lonnie and the Kid do their own thing and stand up against corporate boot lickers. The film is a romp with the racers partying with bare naked ladies but also putting their lives on the line.
There is nothing here that spells out Cronenberg and all the better for it in some ways as it shows the evolution of a young promising auteur.
This is a straightforward B movie with some below standard acting. It also has a rare sympathetic role from William Smith then more famous as the hissable Falconetti from Rich Man Poor Man.
Smith plays veteran drag racer Lonnie 'Lucky Man' Johnson the main draw for his racing team. The team managed by slimy Phil Adamson (John Saxon) does not want the team to win at any costs, just compete effectively and sell cans of FastCo oil.
Lonnie mentors up and coming racer Billy 'The Kid' Brocker (Nicholas Campbell.) Adamson sees an opportunity to dump Lonnie and sign a rival, at the same time use dirty tricks to make Lonnie look that his best days are behind him.
Cronenberg delivers a racing film with a grinding fuel injected noise and grime as Lonnie and the Kid do their own thing and stand up against corporate boot lickers. The film is a romp with the racers partying with bare naked ladies but also putting their lives on the line.
There is nothing here that spells out Cronenberg and all the better for it in some ways as it shows the evolution of a young promising auteur.