''Blood Car'' is a 2007

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

film directed by Alex Orr and starring Anna Chlumsky, Katie Rowlett, and Mike Brune. It is set in a not-too-distant future where

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

prices have become exorbitant ($30+ US/gallon). Things take a turn for the worse when a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

(Mike Brune) invents a car that runs on a different fuel source:

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

Plot

Archie Andrews is a vegan kindergarten teacher who buys products from Lorraine's vegetarian road side stand. He is developing an engine that runs on

wheatgrass Wheatgrass is the freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant (''Triticum aestivum''), used as a food, drink, or dietary supplement. Wheatgrass is served freeze dried or fresh, and so it differs from wheat malt, which is convect ...

with no results until he accidentally cuts his finger and the blood falls in the wheatgrass, which filters to the engine and then causes it to run. Andrews then tests his car out and offers a ride to Denise, who runs a meat stand and is a rival to Lorraine. After Denise expresses an interest in Archie (believing he can afford 30+ dollars a gallon gasoline), he drives her home, but runs out of fuel. Archie turns to hunting animals, but they do not provide sufficient blood. He turns to larger prey such as predatory people, and eventually, settles for any victim after rebuilding a more efficient blood engine. The government, which has been tracking Archie's progress, eventually offers him any position he wants, provided he can create more "Blood Cars" after the original is destroyed, and his existence is erased. Archie is concerned where the fuel for the new cars will come from, and the federal agents promise him it will come from invalids, convicted criminals, and the homeless. Archie agrees. Images of Archie's rise as President are cut with the government agents murdering Lorraine, Denise, his kindergarten students, and anyone that saw him developing the Blood Car.

Cast

* Mike Brune as Archie Andrews * Anna Chlumsky as Lorraine * Katie Rowlett as Denise

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 13 critics.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote :"One-joke pic runs out of (ahem) gas in its last lap, and is too marginal for extensive travel. But it’s still frequently hilarious"

Film festivals

''Blood Car'' has been shown at various

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

s, including: *

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

, 2007 * Austin Film Festival, 2007 *

Cinequest The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

, 2007 *

Seattle's True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) was started in 2005 by a group of filmmakers whose feature film Swamper was rejected by the Seattle International Film Festival. STIFF was modeled after the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City UT as ...

Toronto After Dark Film Festival Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a showcase of horror, sci-fi, action and cult cinema held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival premieres a diverse selection of feature-length and short-films from around the world including n ...

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

Award

''Blood Car'' was winner of the New Visions Award at the 2007

Cinequest Film Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

.Cinequest Presents the 2007 Award Winners
,

17, February 23 - March 7, 2007 Winner - Best Narrative Feature Film at the 2007 Chicago Underground Film Festival Winner - Best Feature Narrative Film at the 2007 Philadelphia FirstGlance Film Festival Winner - Best Narrative Feature Film Award at the 2007 Atlanta Underground Film Festival Winner - Audience Award 2007 Faux Film Festival Winner - Best Feature – 2007 Backseat Film Festival

United Kingdom release

Though filmed in 2007, the film released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 23 February 2012.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0780485
''Blood Car''
at

Films set in the future American comedy horror films 2007 films 2007 comedy horror films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films