The Car: Road to Revenge – Netflix Review (2/5)

THE CAR: ROAD TO REVENGE is a new horror-action-thriller on Netflix. It’s what you could call a “spiritual” or “stylized” sequel to The Car from 1977. This has become quite a cult horror classic. Read our full The Car: Road to Revenge review here!

The Car: Road to Revenge is a new movie on Netflix. It’s in the horror, thriller and action hybrid genre and should reach plenty of fans. And also, quite a few people who simply will not like it. I’m probably somewhere in the middle on this one. I enjoy some elements while, at the same time, thinking I won’t be watching this again.

In many ways, it reminded me of both the Mad Max universe (the decade-old one with Mel Gibson) and Escape from New York with Kurt Russell. We’re in a dystopian world where the men are all deeply chauvinistic and nobody’s really a “good guy”. However, they still get the girl since they’re somehow irresistible.

I appreciate that this is a throwback to how these movies and stories were, but I would also love an update to these stereotypes. The Car: Road to Revenge is all about the old school style and I’m torn because I like it for nostalgic reasons, but dislike all the stuff that we’re otherwise over.

Continue reading our The Car: Road to Revenge review below. Maybe you’ll get an idea of whether you need to check it out on Netflix or simply sit this one out.

A different kind of sequel

The Car: Road to Revenge is what you could call a “spiritual” or “stylized” sequel to the 1977 cult classic horror movie The Car. However, you can easily watch this 2019 movie on its own. If you haven’t watched the 1977 movie (or can’t remember much from it), then you’ll still be able to follow everything in this new plot.

However, The Car: Road to Revenge does feature an homage to the original with the return of actor Ronny Cox as the Mechanic. Obviously, you don’t need to have watched the other movie, to enjoy his performance but it will add a layer to it all.

Back in 1977, The Car was definitely an unconventional kind of horror movie. After all, John Carpenter’s Christine (based on the novel by Stephen King) didn’t come out till 1983. However, since then, we have seen all kinds of stories told in horror movies, so not much will shock an audience.

Actors having fun

The casting is always important and when you’re making a sequel (of sorts) it can almost be more important since there are built-in expectations. For The Car: Road to Revenge, we have a pretty solid cast featuring both familiar faces and some new ones. Also, all the actors seem very aware that they’re in a kitsch movie, which is so important.

First, I have to mention Jamie Bamber because I loved the Battlestar Galactica series from 2004-2009. Also, he was in the British crime thriller series Marcella which you should check out.

Also, Kathleen Munroe has a key role and we loved two of her previous movies. She was in the awesome horror sci-fi movie The Void and the horror-drama Knuckleball (read our Knuckleball review here).

You should like this: Our review of the crazy wonderful The Void here >

Grant Bowler plays another key character in The Car: Road to Revenge as does Nina Bergman. Basically, every character is some sort of over-the-top version of a stereotype, you know from horror splatter movies.

Watch The Car: Road to Revenge on Netflix now

The Car: Road to Revenge was directed by G.J. Echternkamp. You might not know much of his work, but G.J. Echternkamp has actually directed both feature films, short films, and documentaries since 2002. Hopefully, he’s just getting started.

Michael Tabb has come up with the story and written the screenplay for The Car: Road to Revenge. This is only the third screenplay from Michael Tabb. His previous movie was Werewolf: The Beast Among Us from 2012 so he’s definitely a dedicated horror writer, which we always appreciate here at Heaven of Horror.

For me, The Car: Road to Revenge is equal parts kitsch and annoying. For this reason, I know some will really enjoy the blood-filled craziness while others will get bored with the tropes. However, I do appreciate that this is a solid production with an old-school horror vibe… which includes the bad as much as the good.

The Car: Road to Revenge is out on Netflix in the US from February 1, 2020.

Details

Director: G.J. Echternkamp
Writers: Michael Tabb
Stars: Micah Balfour, Jamie Bamber, Nina Bergman, Grant Bowler, Nathan Cooper, Ronny Cox, Burt Grinstead, Martin Hancock, Kathleen Munroe