With movie theatres being shut down, drive-ins have made a comeback in North America. While we applaud the expansion of ways people can see films, Canadian films may not be part of the equation on either side of the border.
Getting new films into drive-ins isn't likely since studios have shifted to on demand options. The go-to options are classics or family films, neither of which lend themselves to Canadian films.
Canadian horror films are legendary and appropriate for what drive-ins were in a much similar time. The dialogue not so important; blood and guts on a huge screen.
The kind of intellectual, thoughtful Canadian films that we enjoy reviewing doesn't fit the current version of drive-ins. Very popular and very familiar hit the mark.
If the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic lasts for awhile, drive-ins would be smart to think of a broader playlist. For U.S. drive-ins, Canadian films would be new to your audience. Here are some of our favourite Canadian films that would fit in well at the drive-in.
Horror films
Horror films are more obvious choices. Ginger Snaps might be a more intellectual approach to the horror genre but would still represent an excellent drive-in choice. David Cronenberg old-school choices such as Rabid and Shivers would be a most excellent double feature.
Black Christmas and Cannibal Girls would be another old-school duo. From famed directors Bob Clark and Ivan Reitman, respectively, they showcase future stars such as Andrea Martin, who is in both films, Margot Kidder (Black Christmas), and Eugene Levy (Cannibal Girls). Levy's hair in Cannibal Girls is frightening enough.
Ravenous | Les Affamés and Blood Quantum have plenty of zombies but are a bit subdued compared to other zombie films.
Canadian film review: Ginger Snaps
Canadian film review: Cannibal Girls
Quirky films
waydowntown might not seem like a drive-in classic, but I would love to see that film in that setting. No one is chasing anyone but the drive to stay inside makes the film ideal for a pandemic and create excitement for those watching the film.
Trailer Park Boys: Don't Legalize It might not be their best work but the film offers us a large-size version of their antics.
Black Cop is a film for these times and the chase scenes would do well in a drive-in setting.
Strange Brew and Porky's likely were shown at drive-ins of that era.
Canadian film review: waydowntown
Canadian film review: Black Cop
The United States has the most drive-in theatres in the world, approximately 300. Canada is second in the world at about 35-40 drive-ins.
We saw in this story that a Quebec drive-in (cine-parcs en Francaise) in St. Eustache, just north of Montréal, showed Menteur | Compulsive Liar. This should be explained in context: Quebecers are more likely to watch Quebec films and that film was 2019's top-grossing Canadian film.
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
I do remember drive-ins from my childhood and teenage years. Having audio pumped through the FM radio is a lot more fun than having a speaker on your car while letting mosquitoes into your car.
I associate drive-ins with carefree times so doing a drive-in during a pandemic is a much different experience. Even if those films I saw at the drive-in might not have been classics, I remember those films fondly even to this day. Would be nice for people to have those kind of memories about a Canadian film.
photo credit: CTV News; Ginger Snaps film; waydowntown film
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