US Poster
The Cars That Ate Paris- aka The Cars That Eat People - is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. The film stars John Meillon, Terry Camilleri,, Chris Haywood and Bruce Spence.
Plot teaser
Lying in a gently rolling range of hills, the town of Paris has prospered from the hunting and destruction of cars: the road into Paris is a death trap. Into this trap drive George and Arthur Waldo. George is killed; Arthur survives and is pronounced harmless by the mayor. Although unaware, Arthur is a prisoner. He must never leave Paris. But the town that lives by the car shall die by the car, and eventually the hunters become the hunted
The producers unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate an American release for the film with Roger Corman after it was shown with great success at the Cannes Film Festival, being the first Australian film to gain international recognition at the Festival. Shortly afterwards Corman recruited Paul Bartel to direct his Death Race 2000; Bartel hadn’t seen The Cars That Ate Paris but he was aware that Corman had a print of the film.
The movie struggled to find an audience in Australia, changing distributors and with an ad campaign unsure whether to pitch it as a horror film or art film. However it has become a cult film. In 1980, $112,500 had been returned to the producers. It received an American release in 1976 by New Line Cinema under the title The Cars That Eat People with added on narration and other differences.
In 1992, it was adapted as a musical theatre work by Chamber Made Opera.
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Reviews
“Starting out creepy and soon moving on to full-on violence, The Cars That Ate Paris shifts gears with ease. Its petrol-soaked atmosphere is perfectly out of place in the serene landscape of Australia’s First State, which only results in a more powerful impact. Effortlessly employing surrealist and fantasy tropes in a story that is, ultimately, never very far from the possible, Weir steers us on a dizzying journey through autophilia, survivalist politics, and the darker side of human nature.” Eye For Film
“There is very little conventionality in this first feature from respected Australian auteur Peter Weir. More or less an experiment in impression and suggestion, The Cars that Ate Paris does a magnificent job of setting up a surreal, sinister tone for the people and location of Paris. Like a wily magician, Weir hints at hidden horrors (the late night car raids, the infirmary full of “veggies”) and never lets his story get overly expositional. Many things are implied here and it takes an alert viewer to catch them all.” DVD Verdict
“After a wickedly funny start, graced by some of the eerie lyricism of Weir’s The Last Wave and Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Cars That Ate Paris loses some of its allegorical grip in the second half, when the younger generation breaks off into lawless, terrorizing motor clans. Featuring snarling, custom-made death machines, including the poster-image Volkswagen Beetle with porcupine spikes, the climactic mayhem has the flamboyant kick of later work like Mad Max and The Warriors, but the film has frittered away its social commentary.” The A.V. Club
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