Crash

Not to be confused with Cronenberg's sex drive epic, this is Charles Band mixing demonic possession with car crashes. Housewife Kim Denne (Sue Lyon, far away from LOLITA [1962]) is shacked up with bitter professor Marc Denne (José Ferrer). Wait, is this a LOLITA sequel? Anyway, he is angry because she caused an accident where he has to use a wheelchair a lot of the time. So when she buys him a African-looking trinket (from Reggie Nalder at a flea market; never buy from Nalder!), he rejects it and moves forward with his plan of having his Doberman pinscher kill her while she is driving in a convertible (!). She survives, but is hospitalized with no memory and refusing to release the tiny mystical idol. Somehow it possesses her and her car (!), which rumbles around town driver-less and causes tons of crashes. I'm willing to bet Band's second feature came together after someone showed him the crazy gimmick car that looks like it has no one driving it. Oh, and after he watched THE EXORCIST (1973). Surprisingly, this beat THE CAR to theaters by a few months. The film makes absolutely no sense, but is worth seeing for some crazy car stuff. So at least he delivered on the title.

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to my review of 1976s. Crash

Before I get into the film review, here are my ratings for the movie.

The story gets 1.5 out of 2: The Direction a 1.25: The Tempo and Flow receive a 0.75: While the Acting gets 1.25: And my Enjoyment level earns a 1.25 out of 2: Crash, therefore, receives a total of 6 out of 10.

Crash is a film crying out for a remake. I say this because the place where the film falls flat is its dated and standard directing techniques. With today's more engaging methods, the chase and crash-n-burn sequences would be infinitely more enjoyable.

Marc Marais presents the audience with a basic yet above-average imaginative story of revenge. Marc and Kim Denne have been in an automobile accident. Marc's left in a wheelchair while his youthful wife remains physically healthy. Kim's fitness allows Marc's jealousy to fester and mature. How can an attractive and younger woman be interested in a more elderly cripple like himself; undoubtedly, she's having an affair. Though their relationship is stressful, Kim is persecuted unjustly by her husband, who's fixated on wreaking his "rightful" revenge upon her. He engineers a way to have his pet Doberman attack her while driving. Though this causes her severe injury, she doesn't die. So Marc has to take matters into his own hands. But here lies the problem. Before the accident, Kim bought Marc a present, which he threw back in her face. It was a keychain of an ancient deity. A God, well-known for his vengefulness. The divinity uses Kim and her car to seek out Marc and deliver justice. Unfortunately, everyone else on the road that gets in his way is mere collateral damage.

What would have strengthened the story is more structure around Marc and Kim. We easily recognise their strained relationship, but we don't fully relate to either. Their failing marriage is the perfect place to draw in the audience, allowing them to connect better with the characters.

That said, this should have been an all-out car-wreck (in a good way) of a film. And, it's here the direction lets the movie down. The budget could have been a major issue. However, sharper cuts and exciting camera angles would have strengthened the filming considerably. It doesn't help that Band uses alternating present and past sequences to tell the story. Though this is frequent nowadays, it was a relatively modern concept when they filmed Crash. Mainly, it works well. You quickly realise the car scenes are the present, and the people sequences represent the past moving forward to the present, where both collide. Unfortunately, director Charles Band falls into the montage trap. He reintroduces all the car's crashes before the past and present catch up with one another. It wouldn't have been so bad, but he chose to show each one in its entirety. Cutting them to exciting bite-size reflections would have served better. The dusky faded effect on the montage is annoying also. These five minutes needed to hit the cutting room floor. It completely pulls the audience out of the film. I noted my attention started shifting at this point. Losing the audience at this point is a terrible thing to do, especially when the conclusion is near.

I do have to offer Band credit for using a driver-less car. In my favourite automobile movie, "The Car", which is superior to this film - only because the direction and camera shots added to the exciting and ominous atmosphere - they opt for a heavily tinted window approach so you can't see the driver. Band revels in keeping the car open-topped and constantly showing the empty driver seat. A few techniques, like a hidden driver, duel-drive, and remote control, could have been used to accomplish this. However, it makes some of the cars crashes unbelievable. In the first crash, for example, another vehicle draws alongside the car. At which point, the possessed car is meant to keep side-swiping the other vehicle. Sadly, it's evident this second car does the swiping and the crashing. While the evil-mobile gently and negligibly moves from side to side. Again, with our modern capabilities, these scenes would be so much better today.

The pacing and flow of these crash scenes demanded the most attention. These segments are where the majority of excitement and fear should hook into the viewer. But the standard tempo of the whole movie doesn't work. The crash scenes, though inventive, aren't overly exciting to watch. The best example of this is the sequence where a boat gets propelled through a truck's trailer. Enjoyable, yes, but they all needed more punch.

As for the cast. Though not superb, they are well above average. I've appreciated Jose Ferrer for a long time, and it was he who drew me to Crash! Had I known it was a Full Moon picture, I may have watched it sooner. Ferrer needed more meat on his character. He does well with the script, but his range is limited to the story. As stated above, the story and characters would have been stronger had they possessed more substance.

I can say the same for Sue Lyon, who I respect for donning those nasty looking red contact lenses. Damn, they looked bulky and uncomfortable. Bless her for that because they worked splendidly, as did her possessed scenes.

The remaining cast, including John Carradine, is on form. And because they are on par with the films main leads, it adds strength to the film and makes the movie more watchable.

Crash is enjoyable, and I fully embraced the concept. However, the single tempo causes the film to be a tad dull, especially around the crash sequences. If you like automobile horror, such as The Car, Killdozer, and Christine, then give the Crash some of your time. However, watch it for the concept and the story, not the action or the horror. If you're a newbie to this subgenre, go and check out the others on the list, all three are better than Crash... though, not in story concept.

Speed on over to my Absolute Horror list to see where the car crashed in my rankings

Take Care & Stay Well & Get Your Inoculation.

I got this movie from a good friend of mine. I have been on the look out for it for years, this is a pretty rare title, so I was very fortune that he fund it for me in Germany, on a Frensh Secam VHS tape. This French Languages version is unfortunately edit down. The entire dream sequence in the beginning of the movie is cut, but one cool thing is, this version is in widescreen. A few years later on I got the English UK VHS version, as far as I know, this this version is uncut. With both editions the picture is a little dusty, but the sound is OK. I have been a big fan of Charlie Band for more than 10 years now and Crash! was one of the very last of he's films to make my collection complete. I have been reading reviews about this movie before I finally got my hands on it and I must say, I was not disappointed. I think this is a great film, I just love the music in it, absolutely wonderful, mind you, this is a really strange film, even for Charlie. If you are a fan of Empire/Full Moon or just like 1970's horror, this is worth a look. I remember Crash! was on the release list some years ago, but never got out on DVD or laser disc. I emailed Charlie about this two years ago and he told me that he would love to re-release it to DVD, but unfortunately he did not own the rights anymore. This film is hard to come by, but as another IMDb user wrote, you can order it from Germany. This version should be in widescreen too, with German Languages. I have not jet seen this DVD, so I can not comment on the quality. Anyway hope you find this little gem, and enjoy it as much as I.

The spanish revival home owned by Marc Denne in the film is actually located at 1 Peppertree Drive in Palos Verdes, California. The home known as "Villa Francesca" identifies the estate of Harry E. Benedict (1890-1977). Mr. Benedict, an associate of Frank A. Vanderlip, the initial developer of 16,000 acres of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, completed the gatehouse and the farmstead in 1930. The name "Villa Francesca" honors Mrs. Francis Homberg Benedict, his wife. The architect was Gordon B. Kaufmann, one of Southern California's masters of the Mediterranean style. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A young woman (Lyon) innocently purchases a mysterious idol-trinket that remarkably helps her in dealing with her bitter crippled husband (Ferrer), specifically in the form of a possessed black Camaro. John Ericson plays the concerned doctor and Leslie Parrish her nurse. John Carradine has a negligible role.

"Crash!" (1976) is the second movie by 'B' filmmaker Charles Band (and arguably his first). It's basically a less competent (and more obscure) version of "The Car" and technically beat that one to release. Both would inspire the superior "Christine" and all were likely influenced by "Killdozer."

While I'm giving this mid-70's oddity a relatively low grade due to non-sensical storytelling, questionable filmmaking, lousy acting (particularly Ericson) and totally unconvincing vehicle explosions, it has its highlights for those interested. For instance, the red-eyed 'possession' scenes are well done and very creepy. So, yeah, it's a bad movie, but it has its points of interest and is strangely compelling despite its glaring flaws.

Lyon is best known as the alluring teen in "Lolita" and "The Night of the Iguana." Here, she was 30 years-old during shooting and too thin IMHO. As for Parrish, you might remember her from her notable part in the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns of Adonais" from a decade prior.

While my title blurb describes this as "The Dukes of Hazzard meets The Exorcist," the Dukes of Hazzard wouldn't even debut for another 2.5 years when this was initially released. So, motor-mayhem flicks from the mid-70's, like "Eat My Dust," would be more apt.

The movie runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Fillmore, California (substituting for San Cecilia), which is roughly 45 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

GRADE: C-/C.