Jean Rollin's "Killing Car" is an oddity without being a gem. I picked up this fairly recent Redemption disc at the Mondo Kim's moving* sale, arching an eyebrow at the cover quotes. If one reads between the lines, said cover quotes can pretty much be distilled down to "It's a Rollin film and it's not... you know... unwatchable." It's entirely likely that I'm a Rollin Apologist (I dug "Bacchanales Sexuelles," for example), but I must confess that "Killing Car" just didn't do much of anything for me.To summarize the plot--a mysterious, nearly-mute woman is committing a series of murders of various seedy and dishonest characters all of whom are somehow linked to an Edsel. Dear readers--it does not bode well for a film when most of my thoughts were concerned with whether or not that was, in fact, an Edsel (prompting a film-pause and a Google search) and why a director as concerned with his visual vocabulary as Rollin selected the Edsel as the central image of the film. A giant American car, frequently the butt of jokes, that was made for 3 years over thirty years before the movie was made? The symbolism--it's somehow both rich and entirely uncompelling, when placed against the director's other familiar tropes.
This is a movie that is so slight in its plot (it's essentially ninety minutes of stalk-and-shoot scenes) that it would seem to be a frame on which to hang weird setpieces and strange imagery, particularly in the hands of a surrealist director. Early inklings of heavy weirdness (the young victim who stops to take notes to include in her memoir as she is pursued by the gun-toting madwoman, a hammer-weilding hooker, and a deserted carnival) are never capitalized upon, and the lack of supernatural elements can truly be felt throughout the film.
The film isn't all bad, and as a completist regarding this particular director**, I did find things to enjoy. Foremost among them was lead actress Tiki Tsang who, with her feline good looks and general air of silent, sinister craziness, is a strong candidate for Mrs. Tenebrous. There are several shots of Ms. Tsang sitting atop her houseboat in a flowing gown while looking thoughtful that make the actress look positively ethereal. Once again, Rollin proves himself a master of capturing the beauty of women on film.
I'm also a sucker for covertly-captured shots of New York City, and this movie's got them. There's a short interlude in Times Square that looks seedy and actually-kinda-marvelous. IT even includes some frames that were clearly captured through the window of a taxi while the camera sat on the cinematographer's lap! I love this kind of shamelessly rough-around-the-edges filmmaking--I think it really gives a low-budget film texture.
Classic Rollin themes are present, if in limited quantity. I smiled to see the killer emerging from a grandfather clock garbed in black velvet vampiric style only to go on to menace another character with a scythe. Sadly, Ms. Tseng is no Brigitte Lahaie, and this was very much not "Fascination." Still--it's nice for this fan to see the familiar tropes on-screen. The film's overarching theme is tragic romance, which Rollin handles expertly*** and--I'll confess--I think the ending does a lot to redeem the movie as a whole. OH! In case you were concerned with such matters--yes, dearlings, there are lesbians in this movie.
While the film certainly doesn't have the same sort of material to work with as Rollin's supernatural and erotic films, there are artistic shot compositions sprinkled less-than-liberally throughout. In a sequence where the murderess chases her victims through a series of piers on the Seine, there are several thoughtful moments that employ disarmingly simple visuals--a red raincoat, a series of marble slabs arranged in a row, a off-kilter view of a woman's retreating form.
It's hard for me to recommend this film--in fact, I won't recommend this film. The only elements the work contains that are at all remarkable can be seen to greater effect elsewhere in Rollin's body of work. Still--if I had to kill ninety minutes of my life on something only-semi-entertaining, I'm certainly glad said something contained as many lovely ladies as this film did.
*Tis true--the St. Mark's shop is closing and the store is moving down to First Ave. Sans-rentals. :*(
**OK, semi-completist. No one better mention "Zombie Lake" lest he risk a sound and unsexy thrashing.
***I stand by my conviction that one must be made entirely of stone to not be moved by the finale of "Living Dead Girl."
6 comments:
Is this the last gasp of the Kim's Empire?
They had a mega-shop over in Jersey (the joint was large enough to feature its own movie theater) but that's gone now. The Greenwich shop is gone.
Man, I certainly hope not.
CRWM, I'm in deep, *deep* denial of the demise of Kim's--trust me! I'm hoping this might be some sort of flagship store-slash-reimagining of the store. Then again, I'm kinda nervous about the demise of collectible media formats altogether. I... love... DVDs :*(
I'm shocked to hear about the closing of Kim's St. Marks store. That store was there so long, I remember going to it when I still had hear on my head! (and I mean long hair). Well, if you still want genre DVDs, there is always J&R on Park Row which usually stocks a good assortment at decent prices, even if it lacks the ambience of Kim's.
As for the movie, Killing Car is definitely not my favorite Rollin. I prefer his lesbian vampire films and anything with Brigite Lahaie (yes, I have a Fascination with her). But the car is in fact a Ford Edsel (which makes me wonder why the video cover features a Buick). Still, a true Killing Car would be the Chevy Corvair, subject of Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed (not a horror book, but scary in its own right and still a great read almost 50 years later). I agree that Rollin is one of the best at making beautiful women look beautiful on film. And I have to admit that Killing Car is better than Emmanuelle 6 and Zombie Lake (oops, sorry...Hey! Put down that whip! I said I was sorry! OUCH!).
I too mourn Kim's closing and moving sans rentals. The East Village is going to the dogs! Every weekend is "parent's weekend" for the NYU students, bridge and tunnel tourists, and every cool store has closed to move down past 1st avenue in smaller digs. The only establishments who will be able to afford the rent for Kim's old space will be either a) A Duane Reade b) a bank or c) NYU. And once again, the US loses a chunk of what made it great thanks to greedy Wall Street gambling addicts.
As Criswell once said, "God help us all... in the future"
At least it's a lovely day. As for bad Rollin, what about Grapes of Death? I only got 30 seconds in before I had to turn it off, screaming!
I had wondered about this flick from the time I heard Redemption/Salvation/Big-Boobed Vampire Video Vixens/whatever they're calling themselves these days was putting it out, since it definitely did *not* sound like anything else I knew and loved by Rollin. I admit, despite your stern warnings and non-recommendation, the early weirdnesses you mention sound great, and the film stills you captured are so gorgeous I still kinda want to see it.
But I, too, am a Rollin completist, and as you know, am NOT made of stone. ;)
BTW--if memory serves, the Edsel was named after Henry Ford's dead son, as kind of an automotive tribute/grief-handling mechanism. The fact that it flopped so famously, therefore, is something I find a little bit poignant. As poignant as a car with a vertical grille can get, anyway.
Now a Studebaker with a 4-ft spike sticking out the front--THAT would be a Killing Car!
Fred--what an awesome recommendation! Thank you. There's something nice about brick & mortar DVD browsing that the web just doesn't provide. I was wondering why the Buick was featured on the cover as well. Looks like Redemption is continuing in its fine tradition of NOT putting relevant photos on its DVD covers ;)
Erich--you're preaching to the choir regarding the East Village. At least there are plenty of places to get a designer frozen yogurt on St. Mark's now... As to "Grapes of Death," I fear I liked that one at least a little as well. C'mon--Brigitte in the gauzy gown with those mastiffs? Worth the price of admission!
Vicar--you're probably the only person I'd feel ok about NOT warning off this film. I think your appetite for Rollin actually matches mine!
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