Killing Car

Killing Car
DVD cover (Region 1)
Directed by	Jean Rollin
Produced by	Jacques Michel
Starring	Tiki Tsang Bertrand Biget Jack Mitchel
Cinematography	Max Monteillet
Edited by	Janette Kronegger
Music by	Philippe Brejean
Distributed by	Impex Films
Release date	1993
Running time	87 minutes
Country	France
Language	French • English
Budget	$100,000 (in USD)

Killing Car (original title: Femme dangereuse or Dangerous Woman)^[1] is a 1993 French surreal revenge thriller film directed by Jean Rollin. It was filmed in 1989 and stars Australian actress and model Tiki Tsang.

Synopsis[]

A mysterious, young Asian woman enters a scrapyard where the salesman offers her payment-in-kind; the woman seems to be in favour of his service, but suddenly draws a gun and shoots him dead. The woman proceeds to steal an old Buick, only to be disturbed by the salesman's girlfriend, who begins to shoot back. Following a brief shoot-out between the women, the girlfriend approaches a group of prostitutes. The woman gives chase, gunning down the prostitutes, while the girlfriend escapes, but is eventually located and killed. A little toy car is discovered amongst the body as a calling card as two detectives investigate the case, one the which, the senior detective, seems to be dismissive and is almost due for retirement, while the young detective is convinced there is more to it than meets the eye.

The mysterious woman tracks a couple, Robert and Sylvie, to a country farmhouse, killing Sylvie, and severely wounding Robert. Before he dies he realises that he and the woman were connected to an incident that occurred one year prior. A man named Marc and his girlfriend, Monique, arrive at the farmhouse to meet with Robert, to do an illegal deal over a stolen Goddess of Fertility statue, only to find the woman waiting for them and claiming to be an acquaintance of Robert's. Marc agrees to do the deal with her, but Monique is suspicious of her intentions. Monique goes to the barn and screams when she finds Robert and Sylvie's bodies. Marc runs to her aid and is shot dead, while Monique tries to defend herself, to no avail, the woman impales her with a pitchfork.

A photographer named Pascale returns from New York to Paris and meets with the woman to engage in modeling photo shoot. Pascal becomes unsettled by the woman's haunting appearance. Following a nude shoot, they are interrupted by Pascale's friend, Barbara, who suggests they do a shoot for fun with the woman as an executioner, while Barbara plays the victim. The woman goes into a trance and proceeds to cut Barbara's throat when Pascale is forced to slap her; this invokes a memory for the woman and she stabs Pascale. Barbara attempts to lead her to safety, but the pair are shot and killed. The detectives retrieve the negatives from Pascale's camera and by this point, with the stolen Buick and the toy cars planted among the bodies, the woman has been dubbed "Car Woman".

The Car Woman's next victim is a young office worker who recognises the Buick parked in the street; she instantly remembers an incident that happened one year earlier and is shot an wounded by the Car Woman but manages to survive. She then auditions for the job of a night club dancer as a means of luring the owner, Sam Spade, to his death along with his current performer. Finally, she reveals her motive; one year ago she and her lover were involved in a car accident in the same Buick. The Car Woman discovered the identities of those who drove on and failed to help and swore vengeance. She lastly murders two antique dealers where it becomes evident that someone has been assisting her along the way.

She made a promise to her disfigured lover by exacting revenge and kisses him goodbye before putting him out of his misery by shooting him. She goes to a deserted wasteland where her assistant is revealed to be the senior police detective and pays him for services rendered. She walks away, while the young detective discovers the truth. The senior detective attempts to bribe him before drawing his gun, but is killed first. In her despair, the Car Woman wanders off as her mission has come to an end.

Cast[]

Production[]

The role of the "Car Woman" was specifically written for Tsang, and it remains her only film credit to date. Production for the film began around early 1989 under the working title Femme dangereuse (literally translated as Dangerous Woman). It was shot on 16mm and was originally intended for a direct-to-video release, although it did have a brief theatrical release in 1993. The film took 10 days to shoot, and by the end, Rollin had become seriously ill. He started editing about two months after he recovered. It took two years to complete, and was eventually released directly on VHS in 1993.

Home media[]

Killing Car was released in France on DVD as part of the Jean Rollin collection from LCJ Editions on 15 November 2004.^[2][3]

In the United Kingdom, the film was released via Redemption Films on 23 January 2006.^[4] Special features for this set contain a stills gallery, video art and a partial Jean Rollin filmography. It misleadingly lists an exclusive interview between Jean Rollin and noted horror specialist and academic, Dr. Patricia McCormack, Redemption preview trailers and a bonus triple silence feature - 'Spell' music video from band Cadaveria. The set contains neither of these three features. However, they are available on previous Redemption releases. The film contains its original French language, and contains optional English subtitles.

The film was released in the US on 29 April 2008 by Redemption, and included a Rollin interview.^[5]

References[]

External links[]

• Killing Car at IMDb
• Killing Car at AllMovie
• Killing Car at Rotten Tomatoes