Death Race 2000

Saw Death Race 2000, a messy, campy, strange 70s picture. Set in the indefinite future, the film revolves around a nation-wide race where the racers are given points for how many pedestrians are hit. The racers are decorated and costumed in themes that are all vaguely unpleasant or decadent: Nazi, gangster, roman emperor, cowboy (this last makes more sense from a 60s counter-culture perspective. The cowboy has become a less threatening figure today.) and Frankenstein. Team Frankenstein is a personal friend of the president of the world (or something) we discover and there's a group of rebels (there's always rebels) trying to take him down. It turns out, though, that team Frank is Not All He Seems(!!)

The Death Race is clearly supposed to be grotesque and campy, with toothy announcers crowing about points and shouting "holy Chrysler!" At one point pensioners are set up like bowling pins outside of a hospital. But when a person is hit, there's this overblown, comic boi-oi-oing or zoop sound, rendering their whole grotesquery kind of half-baked. If we're meant to sympathize with the victims, why are their deaths made ridiculous? In addition to wacky sound-effects, there's geysers of paint-red blood and limbs flying everywhere. Are we meant to take nothing seriously and just enjoy the spectacle? Why then are we obviously condemning those who enjoy the spectacle? I think we're meant to be semi-revolted and that the dark comedy of the premise is supposed to carry on thematically, compromising the virtue of the protagonists and leaving us amused but sad when we think about it.

The overall effect of the plot is confusing, but the imagery is striking. There's a lot of female chest-al nudity (as well as a lot of male mostly-nudity, which is very progressive, I guess.) The governmental sets are designed to evoke opulence and decadence and are very weird and fun to look at. There's a lot of little throw-away ideas (like a death-cult of fans who sacrifice themselves to the racers) that don't go anywhere and an ending which drives the cynicism home. In my self-indulgence, I'd have preferred a more upbeat ending, but what can you do? It was the 70s. This film would be a good party-film to laugh at and be bewildered by.