Reviews: Turbo Kid is Speeding Into Theatres August 28th!

In this Mad Max inspired world, a lone boy simply known as The Kid (Munro Chambers) wants to survive.

Turbo Kid Poster

Coming to select theatres in Canada starting August 27th.Turbo Kid Poster
Also Arriving on VOD on August 28th on Bell, iTunes, Rogers, Shaw and Vimeo.

Back in the 70’s, bicycle motocross racing became very popular and it’s become the only mode of transporation in an aptly created post-apocalyptic world in Turbo Kid. This realm looks like it belongs in the 80’s, and that’s part of this film’s charm. It waxes tribute all the way and wanes with a cinemagraphic style to make it belong to the low budget category to make it a class of its own.

In this world, there’s no gas to move vehicles along. Everything depends on people using their own feet to get anywhere either in life or to destinations unknown. In this Mad Max inspired world, a lone boy simply known as The Kid (Munro Chambers) wants to survive. He trades junk — vestiges of a ruined world and perhaps also his youth — to survive. In what doesn’t get traded are his comic books, as they represent a dream world for him that he hopes to become part of.However, when he meets a rather kooky lass, Apple (Laurence Leboeuf), what’s next becomes a rite of passage into adulthood.

Survival is nigh impossible when the single eyed Zeus (Michael Ironside) exerts his control over the people of the Wasteland much like how Immortan Joe did in Mad Max: Fury Road. When he’s the only supplier of water, everyone has to bow to him. If only they knew, they’d be fearing him more; his methods of manufacturing this precious liquid is straight out of the alchemical works of John Dee.

When Zeus takes an interest in Apple, a plot develops on whether or not The Kid can live without her or not. He goes to rescue her, and the insanity that ensues is like watching a Japanese Sentai product cranked up to Astron-6 levels. The blood and gore are over the top crazy good. Body parts flop around and you can’t help but cheer waiting for that sliced piece of ear to go splat on somebody’s face. Although not combined with high intensity BMW racing, a sequel could potentially be made where fighters on these bikes are wielding lances and are trying to knock each other with bloody results.

A few set pieces that features impaled skulls suggest there’s more to come by RKSS (Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell and François Simard), the crew who created this world. Could they take inspiration from George Romero’s Knightriders? Probably not, but in what they have imagined in their debut certainly shows promise. When considering this Quebec filmmaking group cited love for Power Rangers and Synthpop, that’s where the focus is going to be. They certainly succeeded at creating feel that is straight out of the previous century. The use of 70s and 80s props are everywhere and the use of Viewmasters is a fitting nostalgia trip for those viewers in the know.

When considering this tale is set in 1997, watching this movie is like peering into an alternative reality where the Cold War escalated to nuclear levels to leave the planet in ruins. There’s plenty of Easter eggs in the visuals for Gen X’ers like me to go salvaging through. And these new up-and-coming teams of imagineers are a welcome addition to the independent movie scene. I can’t wait to see if they will hit the similar levels of insanity that Sushi Typhoon puts in their films.

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Ed Sum
Technophile, Pop Culture Addict, Lover of Egyptian Antiquity and Paranormal Enthusiast
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Ed Sum
Technophile, Pop Culture Addict, Lover of Egyptian Antiquity and Paranormal Enthusiast