Tag Archives: The Cars That Ate Paris

50th Anniversary Retrospective: Exploring the Dark Secrets of “The Cars That Ate Paris”

26 Sunday May 2024

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An outback town with a dark secret is the setting for this Aussie New Wave classic directed by Peter Weir. A beautiful 50th-anniversary restoration presented by the National Film and Sound Archive brings this haunting tale back to life, reminding audiences of its enduring impact on Australian cinema.

After surviving a car accident, Arthur finds himself in the peculiar town of Paris, NSW. Welcomed with open arms by the local community, Arthur’s initial relief soon turns to suspicion as he uncovers the sinister truth lurking beneath the surface. Why do so many car crash victims keep arriving? And what kind of strange influence does the Mayor, portrayed by the legendary John Meillon, hold over his constituents?

With its atmosphere of mounting dread and eye-popping production design, “The Cars That Ate Paris” takes viewers on a journey into Australia’s violent car culture, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of Australian cinema. This film marked a stunning feature debut for the great Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, who would go on to captivate audiences with masterpieces like “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (1975) and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003).

“The Cars That Ate Paris” premiered at Cannes and the Sydney Film Festival in 1974, garnering attention for its bold storytelling and unique perspective. Its exploration of societal themes and intricate character dynamics continues to resonate with audiences, even fifty years after its initial release.

Peter Weir: Director Extraordinaire

Peter Weir is an Australian BAFTA-awarded filmmaker whose impact on Australian cinema is immeasurable. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Weir’s films like “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “The Last Wave,” and “Gallipoli” have made renowned contributions to the 1970s Australian New Wave, defining a generation of filmmakers and inspiring future storytellers.

Beyond his contributions to Australian cinema, Weir has achieved international success with a diverse range of features, including “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Witness.” His ability to craft compelling narratives and evoke powerful emotions has cemented his legacy as one of the most influential directors of his time, inspiring generations of filmmakers to push the boundaries of storytelling and explore the human experience through the lens of cinema.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of “The Cars That Ate Paris,” we reflect not only on the enduring impact of this landmark film but also on the incredible work of Peter Weir and his invaluable contributions to the world of cinema.

  • Saul Muerte

A small jaunt through the history of hillbilly horror.

30 Tuesday May 2023

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There is an inherent fear that we hold deeply of our fellow ‘man’ and the extremes of depravity that we go to away from the confines of urban security. It seems that the further or deeper we go into the backwoods or remote locations, the greater our fear becomes. At the turn of the seventies, now prominent film director Steven Spielberg exposed those fears in the open road, hauling ass from an unknown truck driver across the vast landscape of the US for Duel; John Boorman took the love of adventure and male bonding across the riverways into more dark terrain in Deliverance; and Terence Malik offered up a slice of teenage runaways on a killing spree in South Dakota in Badlands, but it didn’t stop on US soil. In Britain they amped up the fear of folk stories by subjecting its audience to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle in The Wicker Man; and in Australia Peter Weir was serving up some outback disturbance as political commentary for The Cars That Ate Paris. It was a growing trend that was steadily getting darker.

Arguably it was in 1974 that close scrutiny was cast on the unknown and sheltered parts of the country, and a family feasting on travellers to fuel their appetite in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that would throw turmoil into the mix and slowly craft out the slasher sub-genre. A master of horror, Wes Craven would pick up that agitation baton and run with it for The Hills Have Eyes, casting everyday white American family against a mutant inbred family set in the heart of the Californian desert to really shake us to the core. From here on in, the audience had hillbilly horror to contend with as a new playing field for the genre.

As we etch our way into the late seventies and early 80s, the raw appeal was on show to explore through I Spit On Your Grave; Tourist Trap; and the birth of slasher itself in Friday the 13th. The eighties would then play around with this concept with similar fodder in The Burning; Don’t Go In The Woods; and Just Before Dawn. It wouldn’t be long before the subject would be made lightly and Troma Entertainment didn’t disappoint with the horror comedy, Redneck Zombies to combine this trepidation and mix it with the undead. 

The nineties would prove a lonely trail until we would be taken off the road and onto an unbeaten track in 2003’s Wrong Turn, a film that has somehow spawned six follow up features. Now, this may be a contentious point but it still stands strong twenty years on to me for nostalgic purposes and no amount of tree-leaping naysayers can sway me from this opinion. And while part of my reasoning may swiftly be driven by the casting of Eliza Dushka its heroine (still a Faith fan and not in the Buffy camp), but also with a pre-Dexter Desmond Harrington and a post Clueless Jeremy Sisto in its fold. And that’s not to mention a Queens of the Stone Age track in the soundtrack to complete the auditory reckoning, and some of the team from Stan Winston studios to add the gloss and gore. Sure it’s twee horror, but it continued this trend of hillbilly horror, satiating those needs and passing on the baton again for more comedy visions in Tucker and Dale vs Evil, and full out gross horror in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes by Alexandre Aja, bringing us full circle again. 

The subject is here to stay as long as our fear remains, and in a post COVID world combined with our isolated lives, surviving or not through cyber connections, surely that fear will only grow stronger and thrust us into a whole new realm of revulsion. Hopefully this will pave way for more creativity to force us on the path of destruction and desolation.

18 movies that shaped Australian horror

26 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by in Australian Horror, Uncategorized

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It’s Australia Day.

So here at Surgeons of Horror we thought that we would look across the years at the movies that helped shape the horror movie genre in our Southern Land.

So without further adieu, here’s our definitive list, let us know if you agree.

  1. Night of Fear (1973)
    Dubbed the first Australian film of the renaissance, (and closely resembling Texas Chain Saw Massacre in style, released another 2 years later) you can see why this movie is well respected among horror movie lovers.

  2. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The legendary director Peter Weir would debut with this fantastic comedy horror that he also wrote.
    Set in the fictional town of Paris where the towns inhabitants forage off the remains of car accidents, the movie has established something of a cult following.

  3. Long Weekend (1978)
    One of my favourites on this list and fittingly released on the year that I was born.
    Long Weekend wasn’t initially well received upon its initial release, but has a strong message from director Colin Eggleston, where nature fights back on a disrespectful couple.
    It has since been remade in 2008.

  4. Patrick (1978)
    The first of two films by Richard Franklin in our list, this science fiction horror is often cited by fans of the genre.
    Part of the Ozploitation movie scene, Patrick tells the story of a comatose boy with psychic powers.

  5. Alison’s Birthday (1981)
    It’s got all the right ingredients for a horror movie, with ouija boards, spirits from the beyond, demonic possessions, and that killer ending.
    All good reasons why this independent movie makes the list.

  6. Roadgames (1981)
    It’s the movie most noted more recently because of its vocal nod from Quentin Tarantino.
    Starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis it follows a truck driver and a hitch hiker who take it upon themselves to track down a serial killer on the loose.
    Oh and yet another soundtrack from Brian May.

  7. Razorback (1984)
    Australia’s creature feature and our very own Jaws movie albeit about a wild boar on the loose.
    Say all you like about it, but this is a classic in its own right.

  8. Bloodmoon (1990)
    This slasher film may have come late to the Ozploitation, but such was its impact and not necessarily in a good way that it nestles amongst some great titles here purely for its shocking comedy.
    So bad, it’s positively good.
    And features music from Brian May.
    Again this might not necessarily be a good thing.

  9. Body Melt (1993)
    The influence of Peter Jacksons early work is evident to see in this satirical horror.
    It’s got gore to the max and delights in every possible way.

  10. Saw (2003)
    Yet another Australian horror film that would ignite a genre with horror porn, which some don’t have the stomach for.
    In this instance it generated a horror icon in Jigsaw with its glorious deadly traps and launched the careers of both James Wan and Leigh Whannel.
    It also spawned a massive franchise with a success that only falls short of being the best in the entry by The Friday the 13th movies.
    All that could change though come the release of the next instalment, Saw: Legacy this year.

  11. Undead (2003)
    This movie should be better than it is, and goes all guns blazing in the first third of the film before losing the plot entirely.
    Film critic Roger Ebert to say it’s so bad that it’s bad, but despite its flaws, the film still resonates and is a bit of fun at the end of the day.
    And it did launch the careers of the Sperig brothers, who have gone on to direct bigger movies with a lot more fan fare.

  12. Wolf Creek (2005)
    Inspired by the afore-mentioned Roadgames, director Greg McLean has made a strong name for himself in the horror genre with movies such as Rogue, Wolf Creek 2 and the eagerly anticipated The Belko Experiment.
    Part of its appeal was capitalising on the daunting and dangerous world of the Australian Outback and made Mick Taylor on of modern horror movies most glorious villains thanks to John Jarratt’s chilling performance.

  13. Lake Mungo (2008)
    One of a couple of movies on our list to adopt the doco style of storytelling, Lake Mungo received fairly positive reviews of a family coming to terms with the loss of their daughter, hinged on a supernatural component.
    It’s a slow film but worth the wait for its gripping climax.

  14. The Horseman (2009)
    A revenge thriller with violence dialled to the extreme and may not be everyone’s taste.
    Personally though, I feel that this film speaks to the fringes of human emotion, evoking rage, heartbreak and empathy all in the space of its 96 minute running time.

  15. The Loved Ones (2010)
    Sean Byrne is still a director to keep an eye on and I for one can’t wait to see his follow up Devil’s Candy.
    His debut feature though would gain a huge following with its gender swap of a damoiselle in distress and a female killer played by the delightful Robin McLeavy.

  16. The Tunnel (2011)
    The second movie to adopt the doco style of storytelling, but through the medium of found footage horror.
    The Tunnel shook up the movie industry with its new approach to distribution, allowing viewers to buy frames from the movie as a means to raise the quota to cover the budget and leave room for a little profit.
    It was a business model that was both brave and rewarding for the producers, but more importantly, the film itself seemed to echo that sentiment.
    It’s a bold movie that keeps you hooked as a camera crew delve into the hidden tunnels beneath the city of Sydney only to find more than they bargained for.

  17. The Babadook (2013)
    One of the more recent movies to make the list and one that has the Surgeons sitting on both sides of the fence.
    Jennifer Kent’s debut feature deserves the recognition though as this psychological horror starring Essie Davis tackles a strong subject matter and tells it in a unique fashion.

  18. Wyrmwood (2014)
    Rounding out our list is this balls-to-the-wall bloody fantastic roller coaster of a movie.
    There is nothing predictable about this movie about a zombie horde let loose.
    Rumours are abound that there is a sequel in the works too.

    • Paul Farrell