Review: Pit Stop

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Pit Stop (aka Acid Pit Stop)
Directed by Jason Wright
Summer Hill Entertainment; Silent Studios; Tomcat Films; MVD Entertainment
79 minutes, 2020
www.chipbakerfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com

I am certain I am not the first (not likely not the last) to note that this film has nothing to do with the Jack Hill car racing film of the same title released in 1967 (reviewed HERE). And now, that I have completed this public service announcement, back to our feature presentation.

Callum McGuire, Megan Jenkins, Hal Hillman, Jennifer Johnson

In this British release, we meet two mid-twenties mates, stoner Paul (Hal Hillman), and practical joker / wise guy Lucio (Callum McGuire), who is a bit of an asshole. Paul has just broken up with his girlfriend Anita, and to cheer him up, Lucio is taking him to a party / rave that he organized for just that purpose.

Meanwhile, we meet two other mates, diminutive Anita (Jennifer Johnson), Paul’s ex, and Shailene and her bouncing cleavage (Megan Jenkins). Anita has just broken up with her boyfriend Paul, and to cheer her up, Shailene is taking her to the same party / rave.

The problems start when the car of the latter two literally run into the back of the former two on a less than busy road, so now they have to share a car. But first, Paul and Lucio stop off at a dealer’s house (Bruce Payne in a bad wig and an over-the-top one day’s worth of work cameo that gained him top billing) to pick up some – er – refreshments in the form of an experimental designer drug for which they don’t quite understand the dosage level. Payne does what one may just think of as the Bill Murray role.

Before long, the drug turns the party goers into starker blood-hungry and slow-moving zombies (okay, they’re not all dead, so let’s get beyond that “zombie” term strictness). For example, two topless ladies who are possibly lovers are now chomping on each other like it’s takeout at McD’s.

As the violence gets wilder, our four intrepid… schmucks?... hide out in the bathroom and have a discussion. Not that you can tell much of what they are saying; the sound quality of the film is absolutely atrocious, once the rave in in play. You can barely hear what any one is saying over the room echoes and the ambient sound (including the electronica music). The accents don’t help, either. The clam shell cover states there are English subtitles, but there are none.

Meanwhile, our four blokes are laughing it up, not taking this all too seriously, while trying to figure out a way out. On some level, this is a comedy, I gather, from certain moments, as it gets goofier as the film plays on. Or maybe it thinks it is funnier than it actually is, though there are moments that certainly made me smile.

The level of gore is decent, but far less graphic than one might expect. Bloody parts look a bit stringy and rubbery, but there is lots of blood. One thing I really liked is that the ravers look like normal people, i.e., friends of the lead characters (who are the best looking of the batch). No supermodels or of the pretty boys ilk, but all body types, from skinny to weighty, to wheelchair bound. That’s quite admirable.

Meanwhile, through the whole bloodletting, the rave music continues, and the zombies are dancing between chomping. My question is, as it was DJ-driven, who is spinning the discs? And will the two couples become couples?

The final act begins with the arrival of a gangster (Gbola Adewunm), his body guards, and some Hai Karate after-shave (I kid you not). Who will survive? Who will come back from the dead? Who will care? Considering the loss of life of their friends and acquaintances, the foursome don’t seem overly upset about that part.

The acting is generally over-done by just about everyone, and unfortunately, many of the jokes get lost in the accents and the aforementioned bad sound. Was this a good film? Generally, not really, but to be fair, there is a lot I lost in so much of the dialog being so badly recorded. Most of the third act could have been mime for what I was able to make out. I guess part of that could on me and my aging ears, but not all.

Generally, I like zombie comedies, such as Wasting Away (aka Ah! Zombies!!!; 2007) or Zombieland (2009), even when they are overly broad like Housewife Alien vs. Gay Zombie (2017), but this one either went over my head or out of my ass, I’m not sure.

Chapters are the only extras on the DVD disc.