''Drive-Thru'' is a 2007 American
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...
directed and written by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn, starring
Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...
and
Nicholas D'Agosto
Nicholas D'Agosto (born April 17, 1980) is an American actor, best known for featuring in ''Final Destination 5'', ''Heroes'' and ''The Office''. He starred in the Showtime series ''Masters of Sex'' and the Fox series '' Gotham''.
Early life
...
. It is set in
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
and involves an
evil clown
The evil clown is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was ...
as a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. The film was released
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
on May 29, 2007.
Plot
At the
fast food restaurant Hella Burger,
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
Horny the Clown insults Brandon, Tony, and their girlfriends Brittany and Tiffany over the
drive-thru intercom. Tony breaks into the restaurant to confront him. Brandon enters several minutes later and finds Tony with his head in the deep fryer. Horny appears and kills Brandon with a
meat cleaver
A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through ...
. He then goes outside and kills Brittany and Tiffany. Meanwhile, Mackenzie and her boyfriend, Fisher, find an
ouija board and decide to ask it what their future will hold, to which the ouija board spells out the license plate of Brandon's car. The next day at school, Horny ambushes Mackenzie's friend Val in the locker room. The school janitor, Lenny, finds and returns Mackenzie's camera, which she lost at the party. Mackenzie develops the photos, which show the dead bodies of the four murdered teenagers. Horny chases Mackenzie into the gymnasium, where she finds Val's head has been placed in a modified microwave that causes her head to explode. Horny chases Mackenzie throughout the school and she finds Lenny has been hanged, before bumping into a police officer, who does not find any bodies. Mackenzie is taken to a police station and questioned by Detectives Brenda Chase and Dwayne Crockers, who suspect Lenny to be the killer. The detectives visit Hella Burger's owner, Jack Benjamin, who proves to be no help in solving the case.
At a carnival haunted house where Mackenzie and Fisher are working, couple Chad and Tina are killed by Horny. Fisher, in shock after finding the bodies and encountering Horny, is taken to the hospital and visited by Mackenzie and her mother, Marcia. Mackenzie starts to think her mother is hiding something from her, as all the so far murdered teenagers are the children of her old high-school friends. Fisher escapes the hospital by drugging Crockers and later reunites with Mackenzie. Inside Hella Burger, Horny kills two stoners vandalizing the restaurant. Back home, Marcia tells Mackenzie that when she was young, she and her friends bullied Archie Benjamin, Jack's son and the original performer of Horny the Clown. On Archie's 18th birthday, which he celebrated at Hella Burger, they knocked him unconscious and when they left, a birthday candle lit the place on fire, burning Archie alive. Now, his vengeful spirit has returned from the dead to kill the children of his murderers. Later, Mackenzie and Fisher are attacked by Archie. While Mackenzie is knocked unconscious, Fisher manages to unmask him. Fisher's eyes become bloodshot upon looking at Archie's deformed face. Archie then hurls Fisher through a window. Chase and Crockers find Jack hiding from Archie and they arrest him believing that he is behind the murders.
Mackenzie wakes up in Hella Burger, tied to a chair with her mouth gagged and surrounded by the bodies of her friends. A birthday cake is in front of her, as it is now her 18th birthday. Archie douses her with gasoline. Marcia arrives and shoots Archie in the mouth, who in turn chokes her out. Mackenzie takes a drink of whiskey from a flask and holds it in her mouth. Archie torments her with a candle and she spits the whiskey at him, setting him on fire. Mackenzie and Marcia escape as Archie burns to death. Mackenzie and Marcia rush to the hospital to see Fisher only to discover he has escaped, having been possessed by Archie's spirit. At Hella Burger's drive-thru, Crockers is killed by Horny.
Cast
Production
''Drive-Thru'' was written and directed by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn. Cowles and Kuhn were two of the original organizers of the
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
. Shane Kuhn received a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Screenwriting from the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
, but was relatively new to Hollywood, having previously written novels. After feeling unable to express his creativity the way he wanted to, he discontinued his work as a writer/director and returned to novel writing, as well as working in advertising and motion graphics. In an interview with ''Who Asked You?'', Kuhn stated, "When I write a novel, the world is massive, the characters vivid, and there are almost no constraints. Screenwriting is constrained and technical. It’s very difficult to add deep layers to that kind of work. Movies are a directors’ medium, full stop. TV is different. Writers can live and breathe in that world, but not movies. You have a finite amount of time/pages and a very unforgiving story structure. Not to mention the fact that you might sell the damn thing only to have it sit on a shelf FOREVER. To me, screenwriting is like failing to follow
Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and its 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor ...
's Chocolate Factory rules. It’s tempting, but a total waste of your golden ticket." On the contrary, Cowles continued to write several other screenplays after ''Drive-Thru'', but did not direct any other films.
The writers of this film paid homage multiple times to
John Carpenter's ''
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
''.
Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...
's character's name Mackenzie Carpenter is a clear reference to John Carpenter, in addition to a famous line spoken by
Jamie Lee Curtis in the film ("Go down to the Mackenzie's and call the police.") Additionally, when Fisher comes into the room, there is a point-of-view shot which bears a heavy resemblance to the intro of ''Halloween'', and he is then seen in blue coveralls similar to those worn by
Michael Myers.
''Drive-Thru'' was shot in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Vincent E. Toto was the cinematographer. The year before, he was the cinematographer for another horror film, ''
Dark Ride'', which received a similar audience response. The camera used for this film was a
Panavision Panaflex Gold II.
Editing was done by Daniel R. Padgett, who has worked in the editorial department of many films of different genres, including ''
The Royal Tenenbaums
''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. ...
'' and ''
Space Jam''.
Release
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment on May 29, 2007 and in Canada by
Maple Pictures
Maple Pictures Corporation was the distribution arm of Alliance Films. It was formed on April 13, 2005 when Lionsgate demerged to two companies—Lions Gate Entertainment and Maple Pictures (formerly the original Lionsgate Films). Maple Pictures ...
at the same day.
Before ''Drive-Thru'' was released in the United States and Canada, it was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in Germany two months earlier, as well as being released on television in the UK on March 31, 2007. Besides these four 2007 releases, ''Drive-Thru'' went on to premiere in Mexico (May 2009) and Germany (May 2011).
''Drive-Thru'' was released under several different titles depending on the country, such as ''Burger Kill'' (Canada and France), ''Fast Food Killer'' (Spain), and ''Death Burger'' (Japan). The USA working title of this film was ''Hellaburger''.
Reception
''
Popcorn Pictures'' gave the film a negative review, writing "Really hard to sit through despite the promise of a killer clown, ''Drive Thru'' is eighty-three minutes of pure fast food junk. Like a fast food burger, it may look good when you pick it up but as soon as you take your first bite, you realize you’ve made a horrible mistake and all you’ve got left is an ultimately fatty concoction of things that are bad for your health."
Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...
panned the film calling the film's dialogue "painfully bad" and criticized the film's ending.
DVD Talk called it "routine slice and dice dreariness", criticizing its inadequate humor, "callous characterization", and lack of actual scares.
Legacy
''Drive-Thru'' continues to get the attention of horror film critics, having several film review articles and videos made about the film between 2019 and 2020. The film is often included in watch lists regarding
killer clowns.
''Drive-Thru'' was featured in two different episodes of ''
Phelous & the Movies''.
See also
*
List of horror films about clowns
References
External links
*
*
*{{Amg movie, 384038
2007 direct-to-video films
2007 films
2000s slasher films
2007 horror films
American comedy horror films
American slasher films
Lionsgate films
Horror films about clowns
Films set in 2005
Films set in Orange County, California
American films about revenge
Films about death
2000s English-language films
2000s American films