The title of this article is a play on the catch phrase of one of my favorite movie hosts, Mr. Joe Bob Briggs. Ole’ Joe Bob always reminds us that while drive-ins may close, the spirit of such places will never die.
I was lucky enough to have grown up in a time where drive-ins (and Blockbusters Video stores) were in abundance. I saw many movies for the first time at drive-ins. Films such as “Star Wars”, “Grease” and “Superman” all hold a special place in my heart because I first saw them at the drive-in. Along with the great, first run films you would also get to see some of the…lesser known, slightly lower quality type of films. They weren’t “blockbusters”, as Hollywood defines them, as many worked on a shoestring budget or had a lesser-known cast. A lot of them were just great fun to watch.
What’s to follow will be rundowns of some of my favorite “low-budget” / drive-in worthy films that I think everyone should give a watch.
1. Doctor Mordrid (1992): While this may come off as a Doctor Strange knockoff, the only thing it really has in common with the Marvel Comics character is that the Doc is a sorcerer. Starring Jeffrey Combs, Yvette Nipar and Brian Thompson, this movie tells the familiar tale of good vs evil. One (Thompson) wants to subjugate Earth with his magic while the other (Combs) fights to save it. Throw the gorgeous Nipar in as a psuedo-love interest / co-hero and you have a fun popcorn film. This was from Full Moon studios and it’s one of those movies I didn’t have high expectations from when I sat down to watch it (“Oh jeez, a Doctor Strange rip off!”) for the first time but was pleasantly surprised by the time the ending credits ran. Combs comes off as pretty heroic, which is a departure from his usual creepy characters, even if it is with an eccentric flair. Mordrid (and his nemesis Kabal) has been around for hundreds of years, remembering when New York was “a nice place to live” and has a pet crow named “Edgar”. Thompson (Kabal), as always, plays the heavy with enough menace to make it convincing even though some of the scenes are just a little bit over the top. Nipar is a police consultant who lives in the building Mordrid owns. All in all, I think this is one that will surprise you if you’re even the slightest interested in sci-fi / fantasy /superheroes.
It’s streaming on Tubi as of this writing.
2. Trancers (1984): This is another Full Moon Studios production and stars Tim Thomerson and Helen Hunt.
Thomerson is a cop from “Angel City” (Los Angeles of the future) named Jack Deth…yes, you read that right…Deth. The “A” is silent, I guess. It seems that in the future they’ve developed a method of time travel where you can visit the past via a serum which lets your mind inhabit a blood relative’s body. If you don’t have any relatives in the time period, you’re out of luck. Deth’s chasing a cult leader named “Whistler” (Michael Stefani) who gains followers by turning them into mindless, zombie-like creatures called…Trancers. Whistler has gone back in time (or “down the line” as it’s termed) and is killing off members of The Council, the three leaders of Angel City who are holding things together. Deth is sent “down the line” to bring Whistler back before he can eliminate the remaining two Council members by killing their relatives in 1984. Helen Hunt plays Lena, a young punk rocker who was sleeping with Jack’s relative in the past, Phil, then decides she likes Jack even better. The two set out to save the Council member’s relatives and bring Whistler back up the line.
For a low budget film, they had some pretty decent co-stars. Richard Herd (“V”, “Seinfeld”), Art LeFleur (the Tooth Fairy from “The Santa Clause”), Telma Hopkins (part of Tony Orlando and Dawn as well as “Family Matters”), Bif Maynard (“The Flash”) and Richard Erdman (Leonard from “Community”) to name a few.
I liked the method of time travel, though they simplified it in the sequels. Yes, there were sequels. Six of them to be exact with famed comic book writer Peter David penning numbers four and five. I think the first time I saw this was on television. I caught the very end of it, and it intrigued me, so I had to hit the local Blockbuster for the VHS. Yes, it was that long ago. I also liked some of the little story touches they included. Things like using sea life references since most of California had fallen into the ocean. “Dry hair is for squids” (since men slicked their hair back) Jack tells Lena. “You’re a real shark, Phil” Jack muses seeing his relative’s draw full of women’s pictures. It also appears that, in the future, styles have gone waaaay retro. Like back to the 1940s, which is also a fun touch.
Anyway, I highly recommend this as it’s just a fun movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Some of the sequels are decent and pretty much stick to the same formula / storyline.
It’s also streaming on Tubi as of this writing.
I had, originally, planned this as a sort of “favorite five list” type of article but can now see how it could get a bit long. I think I’ll break it up into parts for future articles and we can all avoid the eyestrain :)
Have you seen any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do they look interesting?
Until next time—
Haven't seen either, but we have found good drive-in theaters in every place that we've lived. We always go to see at least one a summer. When the kids were little, they could just fall asleep in the truck during a double feature. Now that they're older, I'M the one the fell asleep in the truck while they watched the second feature on our last drive-in outing 😂