Dead End Drive-In

Almost Kafkaesque in its delivery of the plot with far fewer answers than questions. The film snob in me was reminded of A Man Escaped with the ever present drive to break out of the compound. The film geek in me was reminded of District 9 as the story veered off into racial politics out of the blue. The film moron in me was reminded of the stellar work director Brian Trenchard-Smith was able to cull out of Warwick Davis with his middling Leprechaun sequels.

I remember they carried this at Video Bazaar in Metuchen when I was a kid, & I wanted to see it because of the Adam Ant-looking guy on the box, but my mom wouldn't rent it for me. Finally saw it recently on Netflix streaming, & it wasn't half bad, but just couldn't live up to almost three decades of anticipation. Also, contains no Adam Ant look-alike.

A poor man's Mad Max in which a gormless but likeable teen hero and his busty but airheaded girl are trapped in some kind of bizarre dystopian colony for freaks. There is a decent post-apocalyptic junkyard aesthetic (probably using unwanted props from Miller's cult trilogy) and a couple of memorable lines. Apart from that, the story and characters really don't go anywhere interesting, it's just your average procedural "little guy against his captors" actioner. Not Ozsploitation's finest.

Campy dystopian sci-fi that has the bravura to tackle racism against Asians, government corruption and the economic recession in Australia in the 80s while also embracing 80s cheese: neon, random punk-rock villains, synth pop, garish fashion, ad infinitum. The setting progresses from campy-cool adult playground to garish, ugly prison camp. Only Crabs, the hero, is able to look past tribal infighting and aim towards the real enemy: government and business, working in tandem. Rad. Fuck the system.

Big movie making on a small budget. This Australian post apocalyptic flick about undesirable youthes who get trapped in a drive in theater as a form of jailing delivers more than one would expect. Tho campy at times, with the acting as well horrendous at parts ( but hey, its the 80's , different standards) , its still very entertaining and a great production value. Reminded me a bit of Carpenters Escape from New York, but then in Australia, in a drive in theater , and with no Snake.

So HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY 80's that I can't not love it. It's not very good, but the concept is fun at least.

It takes Crabs at least 3 days to understand the difference between being trapped in a movie theater and not being trapped in a movie theater. His girlfriend, who is somehow dumber than he is, never makes the connection. Crabs, however, is our hero, and after finally realizing he's a prisoner, works to make himself free. Just barely smart enough to realize that Asians aren't the enemy, he takes aim at his captors instead. Will Crabs escape? Will he be trapped forever?? Riveting stuff, folks.

Visually very impressive, with a plot that's all over the place and some senseless action. I liked it.

Again BTS shows that he's a director with control of his craft, and has a great sense for action. This movie also shows such an incredible attention to detail in costuming and set design and really grabs hold of a vibe. Also common to other films I've seen from him, the dialogue is meat-headed at best.

It has an interesting premise, and the set-up is great. But after that it does very little with it, making the middle part of this drag before there is finally some action at the end.

Trash filmmaking, and like the best trash cinema, it's deeply satirical. Love it.

Stinks of the 80's, but has some pretty cool bits. Shame some parts are quite boring

While the film's initial promise never materializes, it does have some excellent scenes, and I found much to appreciate about the mood, sets and costumes. It straddles a nexus between a couple of different themes peculiar to 1980s American trends as well as "ozploitation": near-future dystopia, teen delinquents, punks and misfits. Think Mad Max, Walter Hill, Escape from New York, Precinct 13, Solarbabies, The Running Man, Class of 1984, etc.

I have a special place in my heart for 80's movies. This one is at the top of my list. To me, this is the 80's.

Far too campy for my taste

The idea is neat and the film looks very good and very 80's: neon lights and tuned vintage cars. Synth soundtrack provides solid support. It’s definitely a different kind of “post-apocalyptic” film. They did a good job building a believable world, but the script is not up to the same quality and they are not able to take full advantage of the drive-in setting, give required depth to the characters or make us worry about their outcome.