PopHorror Let's Get Scared
There was the craze of indie films in the 90’s. I remember finding them at video stores like Suncoast or renting them at Blockbuster. My friends and I would get excited and talk about what films we watched the following Monday, deeply invested and try to outdo the previous film or person’s review. We had no internet, so word of mouth was an information highway. I fell in love with the craft and the stories of young directors who would later go on to direct big blockbuster films. I learned to appreciate all forms of film from the good to the bad to the ugly. I learned to appreciate that filmmaking is a struggle and a labor of love. They were doing what I love.
The film I want to talk about is one that brought me back to my high school days watching indie films that didn’t fall into a category that can be listed within a one-word genre, Eating Cars, written and directed by Trevor Hollen (Coming Together: An Office Romance 2016) in his feature length directorial debut. The film stars Lexi Pappas (Sinked Up 2019), I Was A Teenage Wereskunk’s (2016) Shey Lyn Zanotti and Scott Monahan, Lauren Ashley Carter (The Woman 2011), Casey Moeckel (The Funny Man 2011), and Maisie Klompus (Good Trouble TV series).
The synopsis:
Max, a failed writer, goes in search of her estranged girlfriend. At the same time, she attempts to unload a large number of drugs she stole off her bosses to pay for a trip back East to care for her dying mother.
Eating Cars is a brave direction for a feature film directorial debut. Mixing elements of film with the idea of a stage play in a black and white color scheme gives the audience an idea of the beige moments of Max (Pappas), who shows the character development of a terrible person without care. We get caught up with the visual display shown of how to make a movie on a budget with limited space but not taking away from the story. People may get discouraged by the heavy dialogue or slow burn of Eating Cars, but they are rewarded as the film progresses following Max and the situations in her life.
For a story about drugs and death, Eating Cars is not glamorized or shown with quick camera movements or snappy dialogue as if the director was mimicking big Hollywood filmmakers. There’s not a soundtrack of music that we’ve heard before. Eating Cars is a gamble for a director that shows potential and creativity from its cast and director. I highly recommend watching the movie and the other works of the cast and crew.
