The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

Directed by Peter Weir [Other horror films: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), The Plumber (1979)]

Sometimes known under the title The Cars That Ate People, this Australian film is just bizarre. When I first saw it rather young, I didn’t get it at all. While I understand the plot perfectly nowadays, I still don’t get it. It’s sort of a comedy-horror mix, but the comedy isn’t quite clear, and the horror is scarce.

Because of that, this is a hard movie to parse. The basic plot, which deals with a town that intentionally causes car crashes so they can salvage the wrecks (and help with their economy), is just so bizarre. There’s a doctor who does experiments on those caught in the wrecks – these experiments aren’t focused on near as much as you might expect, but that’s going on too. I don’t know. The movie makes sense, and the plot is coherent, but it’s such an odd film.

Truth be told, finding a normal horror film from Australia is always a tricky task. It seems that a lot of the horror movies I watch from that country are just off (Body Melt, Undead, Long Weekend, Razorback, Frenchman’s Farm), which is fine, because it gives them a unique feeling, but it’s always a bit of a challenge getting into them.

I liked John Meillon (Crocodile Dundee, Frenchman’s Farm) here, mostly because it was nice seeing a recognizable face. Terry Camilleri (who apparently played Napoleon in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, a fact that, now that I know it, I can actually see in the face) was fine, but his character honestly didn’t do much aside from experience the strangeness of the small Australian town of Paris along with the audience.

Plenty of interesting things happen throughout the film, but personally, I think by far the best portion is the finale, in which a bunch of the youth of Paris go on a rampage, and destroy a good portion of the town in their cars. Their cars are monstrosities – sure, some are just painted with shark mouths, but some have been modified (the most striking, a Volkswagen Beetle covered with impractical spikes), and they just rampage throughout the town. It’s not a long sequence, but it’s easily the most action-packed in the film.

When it comes down to it, though, The Cars That Ate Paris is just a bizarre movie. It’s an okay viewing experience, I guess, but it’s not one that I particularly enjoy, nor do I suspect it’s a film I’ll be seeing again anytime soon, if ever.

5/10