Cinema Egzotik: Freaky Fascist Night

Egzotik programmer Martin Koolhoven explains. 'In Death Race 2000 America is governed by a fascist regime. To keep the masses happy, the regime organizes a violent race. Extra points can be scored by driving unsuspecting bystanders to a pulp. Death Race 2000 is a blunt satire which was awarded zero stars by major film critic Robert Ebert because he thought the violence was way over the top. Just the thing for Egzotik, in other words. With a young Sylvester Stallone, a year before he became Rocky.

'In Starship Troopers we are in a sense also dealing with a fascist regime, but director Verhoeven confused the American public by masquerading them as the good guys. He also loaded the film with references to Nazi Germany and was predictably lambasted for having made a fascist film . This film, too, was slashed by Roger Ebert: 'The most violent kiddie movie ever made'. Meanwhile, the film turned out to be a pretty accurate predictor of how the Middle East was going to be “rearranged” in the years to follow.'

Death Race 2000 Paul Bartel, 1975, US, English spoken, Dutch subtitles.A cult classic starring David Carradine as the 21st-century bad guy Frankenstein, the terror of the tarmac who runs down as many innocent bystanders as he can in the Transcontinental Death Race. For fun? No, for bonus points. Sylvester Stallone, aka Machine Gun Joe, is his opponent from hell. A typical Corman production bursting with action, violence and sex . The sequel, Death Race 2050, is coming your way!

Starship Troopers Paul Verhoeven, US, 1997, US, English spoken, no subtitlesWho or what lives on the planet Klendathu? It”s a question that puzzles Mobile Infantryman Johnny Rico, after which the destruction of the totalitarian, aggressive bastard bugs from outer space takes off. An SF production by Verhoeven, who – as per usual – was accused of outrageous sexism, fascism and oversimplification. But were the critics right?