Before we go anywhere, let's look at the main premise of this series. It's set in a near future in which a lot of horrible things have happened. Standard dystopian rules apply: water is rationed, punishments are swift and terrible and the police are little more than a group of thugs who collect teeth. More importantly, society is long past peak oil and it now costs a few thousand pounds to fill a car.
Given that petrol is expensive and lives are cheap, what's the obvious solution to the problem? No, it's not rickshaws. That'd be far too sensible. Instead, we're going to remake the standard combustion engine so that rather than petrol, it runs on human blood. Genius. And the bonus is that it means we can have engines with frankly ridiculous cutting systems built in, allowing you to throw people "under the hood" in a glorious mess of viscera.
The "Blood Drive" of the title is a select, supposedly secretive race between those people who drive these monstrosities, with a prize fund of 10 million dollars and the threat of death for the last past the finish line. Compliance with the rules is guaranteed by the use of brain chips, which are implanted into our deuteragonists, Arthur and Grace. Arthur is one of the aforesaid thug cops (though naturally a little more empathetic than most) and Grace needs the money for her sister.
The other racers are a delightful mix of crazy, from a middle-class couple who race in their Prius, to the Gentleman and the Scholar, obsessed with manners and cars respectively. Also, Fat Elvis. No, I don't know why either. The cast put me in mind of another show, which is both excellent and slightly worrying.
This programme knows it is silly. It doesn't seem to mind that, which is excellent as it makes everything a carload more fun. It's homaging a lot of old grindhouse material, and does it in a very slick way, with some really neat visuals. It's not for everyone, especially those who prefer things with a low gore content, but if you can accept the silliness in it you're set to have a wild ride.
Highly recommended.
Tagged: TV Horror Grindhouse Broadcast