Intro:
Drive-ins. When you hear that phrase you think of a place where you could go to and have no worries, no fears, no responsibilities of the outside world. You could get lost on a Saturday night in the madness that is, was, and always will be the Drive-In Movie. You’d never think that a place where you could lose you imagination, could be a place where you have to fear for your life! Like in the 1977 release of Stu Segall’s “Drive-In Massacre.”
Dialogue:
Written by John Goff and B-movie genre actor George “Buck” Flower, the film’s dialogue seemed very bland, and boring. There were a few funny and memorable lines throughout but they couldn’t hold up the sinking ship on this one.
Acting:
The acting in this was very poor. Bruce Kimball and Steve Vincent played two very scrappy cops. You really didn’t feel like they felt right in their roles, and sadly that shows in their performances. There was one shining light among the horrible cast in my eyes, and that was Douglas Gudbye. He played the role of the drive-in helper, who is a few cans short of a six-pack, down to a T. Sadly that was the only real performance that stood out for me in this one.
Plot:
The plot of this was generic, yet original at the same time. Having a mysterious killer attacking teenagers at a given location isn’t really that creative. It’s really the basic plot to almost every slasher film that came out during the mid to late 70s and early 80s. Now the part that I found to be creative was the fact that there is no killer found, we assume it’s someone and it turns out not to be them. The case, the horror, the madness is never solved. Considering this was probably shown in drive-in theaters, it was clever to have an announcer come on at the end after it reads the killer could be at any drive-in and says there is a murder in the drive-in, classic!
Music:
The music in this was just really, I don’t know, some of the worst stuff I’ve ever heard. They used the same annoying, VERY annoying score again and again, which when we got towards the end of the feature I was about ready to shoot my eardrums out!
Overall:
Overall “Drive-In Massacre” is a BAD film; However, it’s so bad its good. It deserves a sitting for sure. Does it have as many good points as bad, no. It’s it a prime example of that great 70’s cheesy exploitation films that were selling like hot cakes in the era. Kudos to George Flower, and Douglas Gudbye.
1/5 Reels
Dying Squid Rating
Rent at your own risk!
Trailer:
Purchase: