Death Race 3: Inferno

A direct sequel to DEATH RACE 2, which revealed the origin of both the Death Race and legendary racer Frankenstein, DEATH RACE 3: INFERNO reunites much of that film’s cast with its director, Roel Reine (PISTOL WHIPPED), as well as writer Tony Giglio (CHAOS). You wouldn’t think there was another story to tell with this premise, and you’d be right. The only substantial difference between DEATH RACE: INFERNO and the previous films is its setting.

Reine takes the Death Race away from the dilapidated prison and into the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, where both direct-to-video sequels were filmed. Thanks to a huge cop out elaborate plastic surgery, Luke Goss doesn’t have to wear the Frankenstein mask he earned from a fiery crash at the end of the last movie. Weyland (Ving Rhames) is out as the owner of the Death Race he created after an even bigger and richer asshole named Niles York (Dougray Scott) takes over his company.

York wants to franchise Death Race, so he sends Carl Lucas aka Frankenstein and his team Katrina (Tanit Phoenix), Lists (Fred Koehler), and Goldberg (Danny Trejo), the world’s last Mexican Jew (“I killed all the others.”) to the maximum security prison in the Kalahari. While opening up the film and exploring the beautiful Kalahari scenery gives DEATH RACE 3 a fresh look, the clumsy Reine’s haphazard coverage of the race leaves the audience confused. The race’s rules are unclear, and it’s difficult to tell who’s winning or losing.

The SAW sequels were an obvious influence on the ending, which is designed to lead into DEATH RACE. It’s easy to see a FAST AND THE FURIOUS influence too. Reine’s dedication to practical effects — fire gags, car stunts, squibs — is admirable and give his DEATH RACE sequels a boost over a lot of other direct-to-video action movies.

Death Race 2

It’s unlikely anyone cared that much about the origins of the Death Race seen in the first film nor how Frankenstein, a character killed off in the first five minutes, became involved with the race, but here we are. David Carradine, the star of DEATH RACE 2000, contributed his voice to the masked Frankenstein in DEATH RACE, but Luke Goss (HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY) plays the role in DEATH RACE 2, a direct-to-video sequel shot in South Africa.

I don’t think it’s unfair for the audience to expect plenty of Death Racing in a movie titled DEATH RACE 2, but nobody told director Roel Reine (THE MARINE 2 and 12 ROUNDS 2) that, and you would think he’d be smart enough to know. Nope, it takes DEATH RACE 2 an hour to present its first Death Race, but will you still be watching? Goss is a dull leading man, and female lead Lauren Cohan (THE WALKING DEAD) is all cleavage and no talent, leaving veterans Ving Rhames (PULP FICTION), Sean Bean (GOLDENEYE), and Danny Trejo (SPY KIDS) to do the heavy lifting, acting wise.

Before he was Frankenstein, a prisoner at Terminal Island and the most famous (so we’re told) Death Racer ever, he was Carl Lucas, getaway driver for gangster Marcus Kane (Bean) on the most poorly planned and executed bank robbery of all time. Lucas is caught and sent to Terminal Island, which is a for-profit owned by Weyland (Rhames), who also owns a television network. TV producer September Jones (Cohan) creates prison death matches as a ratings boost for Weyland’s network, and when ratings begin to drop, graduates (finally) the Death Race.

Casting Trejo as a prison inmate is indicative of the originality of the screenplay by CHAOS’ Tony Giglio (from a story co-written by DEATH RACE director Paul W.S. Anderson). Like the first movie, the stunts and action scenes are quite good. Reine, being a better director than Anderson, is hamstruck by a dull leading man, an inessential story, and a plot that doesn’t introduce its first Death Race until Act 3, but manages to pull off some exciting action. Not enough to make DEATH RACE 2 a better film than the original, but it isn’t worse either.

Death Race

Most likely the biggest budgeted film Roger Corman ever received a producing credit on, DEATH RACE is a remake of one of Corman’s most popular films. In 1975’s DEATH RACE 2000, directed by Paul Bartel (CANNONBALL) from a screenplay by Robert Thom (WILD IN THE STREETS) and Charles B. Griffith (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) and a story by Ib Melchior (ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS), competitors in a cross-country road race earned points by mowing down pedestrians with their tricked-out cars. Leave it to hack writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson (SOLDIER) to remove the one element that everyone remembers about the original film and replace it with...nothing, really.

In removing DEATH RACE 2000’s central gimmick, Anderson has also removed its clever social satire and, thus, its reason for existing. What’s left is a thoroughly uninteresting melange of loud noises (the soundtrack is too graceless to be called “sound”) and blurry violence. No longer a cross-country race, Anderson’s Death Race is merely a bunch of cars — still tricked out, at least — driving around in circles behind the walls of a prison called Terminal Island (also the title of a better exploitation film of the 1970s).

The newest inmate is Jensen Ames (Jason Statham), an unemployed steelworker and former race car driver who is framed for the murder of his wife. Anderson doesn’t miss a prison cliche — cafeteria fights, cruel guards, loss of dignity, threats of solitary. The evil warden (another cliche), played by a slumming Joan Allen (THE CRUCIBLE), needs Ames to drive in the next Death Race as a substitute for the masked champion Frankenstein (voiced by David Carradine, the star of DEATH RACE 2000), who was killed in his last race.

Ian McShane (DEADWOOD) and Fred Koehler (KATE & ALLIE) serve dual functions: Ames’ pit crew and disseminators of information about the race and its drivers to the audience. Natalie Martinez (UNDER THE DOME) plays Ames’ sexy navigator, though why a driver who’s just going around in circles needs a navigator is left vague in Anderson’s screenplay. As is the warden’s reason for needing Ames to pretend to be Frankenstein. We’re told millions of people are watching Death Race, yet we see none of them or their supposed idolization of Frankenstein.

Unlike DEATH RACE 2000, which contributed food for thought to the dark humor and violence, it seems very little thinking went into crafting the remake. The races are streamed over the internet for the viewing pleasure of its bloodthirsty viewers, but satirizing reality television is low-hanging fruit. Anderson’s race choreography is poor — you rarely know the geography of the racers or even who’s winning — but exploding cars is always entertaining. The well-executed CGI is seamlessly blended with excellent stuntwork, which manages to keep this dumb movie watchable.