We’ve all seen the regular, obvious car movies, and we love them, but sometimes we need more. Sometimes we need weirder, more obscure or, frankly, better movies (I mean have you seen Le Mans? Great cars, awful movie).
So, I asked you for your recommendations for some low-key car movies that are off the beaten path and friends, you delivered. Here’s the best of what you submitted.
Until the End of the World, made in 1991 set in 2000 and the director used a mix of background cars that includes a lot of concept cars from the time not to mention the old Rover that the main character drives. It’s an interesting look at what we in 1990 thought the not so distant future would look like.
Submitted by Dean Beyer
My favorite kinds of “car movies” aren’t necessarily about cars, but instead happen to feature great car casting.
“L4yer Cak3" is up there. The main characters’ ride of choice is an Audi RS6 Avant, and the other characters get some equally interesting rides themselves.
Submitted by Aldairion
“The Nice Guys” plot actually involves cars pretty heavily, and it features a wonderful collection of 60s & 70s era American cars against a backdrop of 1977 Los Angeles. It became one of my favorite movies ever upon first watch, and it feels like it flew under the radar a little.
Submitted by Aldairion
I recall the 1979 TV movie, “Death Car On The Freeway,” with Shelley Hack as a TV reporter investigating a serial killer targeting female drivers on the LA freeways. This guy, called the Freeway Fiddler because he plays a cassette of psychotic fiddle music during his rampage, drives a souped-up black Dodge panel van as his weapon of choice. Apparently, the reporter and killer must know each other, because she becomes his next target. The movie bears some resemblance to “Duel”, but at least “Death Car” is way better than most of the late 70s super cheesy TV flicks.
Submitted by IDM3
And there’s “Road Kill”, a 2011 Australian fright flick about four teens who encounter a driverless road train (“Road Train” is the actual name of the movie in Australia) in the Outback, and one by one they undergo a psychological change once they enter the semi’s cab. There’s also a thick crimson red fuel that leads from the trailers to the engine. One hint: that ain’t diesel!
Submitted by IDM3
While there are a few obscure ones that come to mind, like License to Drive with the Corey’s Haim and Feldman and The Chase (the terrible Charlie Sheen one, not the Marlon Brando version), the movie that gets my vote is Excess Baggage. It was about a rich girl (Alicia Silverstone) who locks herself in the trunk of a BMW 850i to get the attention of her dad, which just so happens to get stolen by a car thief (Benicio del Toro). Of course, all kinds of car heist shenanigans ensue, she falls in love with her kidnapper (not unlike The Chase, but without the police pursuit sex scene), etc.
Not sure how they got the A-listers in this movie, which also include Christopher Walken and Harry Connick Jr., but it’s worth a watch in a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of way.
Submitted by Paradsecar
How about a movie about a car part, specifically a tire that becomes sentient and goes on a homicidal rampage? If you’re looking for something incredibly strange and fun, I highly recommend 2010's Rubber.
Submitted by Hankel_Wankel
Jacques Tati’s “Trafic” is a great parody of the culture in the 60s-70s, as most of his movies are. Definitely worth a watch.
Submitted by MattRedondo
A couple of Aussie classics,
The Big Steal.
Submitted by Orange Torana
And I think someone mentioned the Goddess of ‘67 the other day.
Submitted by Orange Torana
I enjoyed Motorway, a 2012 Hong Kong movie (it screened at TIFF!). It’s a bit generic, but the chases were pretty well done, and some of them take really good advantage of the setting (like trying to maneuver through an impossibly small alleyway rather than just outright speed).
Submitted by Maymar
Stone (1974). Okay not a car movie but an Australian movie about bikies, an undercover cop, political conspiracy and many Kawasaki z1's.
Submitted by JM95
Finally, “Gattaca” - the first movie that made me notice its excellent selection of cars despite not being a car movie. Seeing Uma Thurman driving a Citroen DS Cabriolet taught me what “butterflies in my stomach” actually felt like.
Submitted by Aldairion