20) Death Race 2000 (1975)

(1.5 's out of 5)

"Some people might think you're cute. But me, I think you're one very large baked potato."

Director

Paul Bartell

Cast
David Carradine - "Frankenstein"
Simone Griffeth - Annie Smith
Sylvester Stallone - "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo
Mary Woronov - "Calamity" Jane Kelly
Roberta Collins - Matilda "the Hun"
Martin Kove - Ray "Nero the Hero" Lonagan
Louisa Moritz - Myra
Don Steele - Junior Bruce (race announcer)
Joyce Jameson - Grace Pander (race announcer)
Carle Bensen - Harold (race announcer)
Sandy McCallum - Mr. President

The three, maybe four readers of my horror movie blog, 1000daysofhorror.blogspot.com, have probably noticed I've been working my way through director Roger Corman's eight Edgar Allan Poe films. 

Well, I've been hauling around a box set of four other Corman movies collectively called the "Roger Corman's Classics Collection." The set includes the titles "Hollywood Boulevard" (1976), "Piranha" (1978), "Rock n' Roll High School" (1979) and "Death Race 2000" (1975). I found it at a library book sale and purchased it for a mere buck-fifty back in 2021 or 2022. Since purchasing it, I've kept telling myself "Self, I'm going to watch these next." So, I'm finally starting it, beginning with "Death Race 2000." 

According to writer Ed Naha in his book "The Films of Roger Corman," the premise of "Death Race 2000" is based on a weird idea Corman once had (Naha, 80).

That idea surrounds the premise of future racecar drivers running over pedestrians to gain points while racing across America.

Evidently, according to the same book, people around Corman told him the idea was terrible and certainly not a money-making idea. Still, the movie got made and... here we are. 

"Death Race 2000" is a futuristic dystopian flick in which, after a world economic crash that occurred in 1979, the world markets have suffered economic ruin. The entire globe went through total civil unrest. 

As far as the United States goes, the government went through a restructuring and came out of that as a totalitarian government which uses martial law as a means to control the American people. 

In order to squash the inner-civil unrest among American citizens, the government has established a racing event that goes across the country, which distracts the people from their daily strife.

It's the year 2000, as the title indicates. The 20th annual death race is underway. 

Five unique drivers are participating with personalized cars. The drivers include the dangerous and mysteriously masked "Frankenstein" (David Carradine), gangster "Machine Gun" Joe (Sylvester Stallone), cowgirl "Calamity" Jane Kelly (Mary Woronov), Neo-Nazi "Matilda the Hun" (Roberta Collins) and the Roman gladiator "Nero the Hero" (Martin Kove). 

All racers, as expected, are determined to win this race. And all of America are tuned in. As they all race to the finish line, they can collect points by hitting innocent people along the way. For instance, people in wheelchairs are worth 100 points. Elderly people are worth 70. Children are worth 50. It's really grim stuff. 

Meanwhile, an American resistance group, led by Thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin), a distant relative of Thomas Paine, are attempting to overthrow the current regime led by a leader simply referred to as "Mr. President" (Sandy McCallum). 

Their plans are pretty much centered on sabotaging the race. To do this, they aim to kill all the drivers, kidnap Frankenstein, and use him as a bargaining chip against Mr. President. Little does Frankenstein know that they're being helped by his navigator, and Thomas Paine's great-granddaughter, Annie Smith (Simone Griffeth). 

The points matter in this race. Spectators are really pulled into the event. Some even place others or themselves in the roadways so that their favorite driver might hit them and gain more points. 

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this flick. It's shlocky yet intriguing enough to pull me in and try to determine what this movie is trying to depict. The storylines are glued together with commentators announcing the race as it progresses. 

This movie strikes me as parody as well as a socio-political commentary. Maybe it's a commentary on the rise of inhumanity in America, the methods of government distraction and the role sports plays in that, or it's just a dark, dark comedy. Whatever I'm supposed to take away from this movie, it's uncomfortable to sit through. 

David Carradine as "Frankenstein" in "Death Race 2000."

It ends on what is supposed to be a comedic chord, but it's just as dark as the rest of the movie. Everything else is cheesy one-liners, violence for its own sake, some sleazy stuff, and racing. It's the same kind of entertainment as watching something like WrestleMania or a demolition derby but with carnage, bloodshed, and callousness of the worst kind. Basically, I got exactly what I expected; it's an action movie about a race that devalues human life which fits in with the dehumanized mentality of the dehumanized society the race takes place in. It's an oddball, goofball, and exploitative film that I really don't think is meant to be anything bigger or more than what meets the eye. I didn't get much out of this movie, nor do I think I am really meant to. It's shock for shock's sake. 

The movie was produced by Roger Corman and directed by Paul Bartel who appears in all the films I mention above. 

Bartel is, perhaps, most known for directing and appearing in the 1982 black comedy "Eating Raoul." He also has a cameo in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" as a theater manager, which was directed by Joe Dante. Dante also directed "Piranha" which stars none other than... Paul Bartel. 

"Death Race 2000" got a remake called "Death Race" in 2008. That spawned two prequels - "Death Race 2" (2010) and "Death Race 3: Inferno" (2013) as well as a sequel called "Death Race: Beyond Anarchy" (2018)

Corman also produced a sequel to the original film in 2017 called "Death Race 2050."

The movie has the same general dystopian or anarchical vibe as movies such as "Mad Max" "Rollerball" "The Road Warrior" and even "The Purge." 

While I really don't care to, I think I'll have to watch this movie again and see if there's something I failed to notice the first time. Somehow, I doubt it.