PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

MisterWhiplash Well, Judas Priest *still* rules, long as they don't retire (though even then they can rule in perpetuity for another decade or so), so that's a given, I suppose.But what about what this represents? This is like getting a time capsule or an anthropology class; having gone to some metal shows over the year (and, in the interest of full disclosure, Priest played with Ozzfest in 2004 and arguably did better than actual reunited Black Sabbath at the concert, if just by a smidgen, but I digress), this is fairly accurate. Of course for this time and place it's young people getting f****d up before going in to see their favorite band (and Dokken, lol, Dream Warriors man!), but that's what's compelling about it: it's honest, and that's what matters.There's nothing else to it except that this filmmaker wanted to see what it was like in a parking lot before a metal concert. Of course it can't be helped that they all react like animals to the camera being there - hey, it's time for a concert, let's have fun - but the energy is certainly different than in the days of Woodstock or Altamont, where people didn't pay the camera too much mind unless if someone actually asked the hippies a question. For these "old-school" metal-heads who love Priest and Metallica and Scorpions and Ozzy (though one guy snorts that "he's gotten chubby!") it's all about showing the PRIEST RULES state of being for the cameras.You won't exactly get a ton of insight into the culture at large - Spheeris' Decline II: the Metal Years is the place for that as it's a feature - but it's a nifty little 16 minutes that is kind of funny for how passionate these guys and ladies are (sometimes it's hard to tell them apart due to the hair!) and there are little moments that stand out like when a girl says she's 13 (is she really, who knows, who would lie about something like that), or when one of the token Hispanic metal-heads chugs down some whiskey. Metal time!I think when I say this is anthropology it's that the filmmaker isn't showing us anything that's other than seeing a culture in its natural state of being or habitat: metal-heads are to this parking lot what the earliest homo sapiens were to a cave as they prepared their fire and had their women and Quest for Fire days. One might think it's almost cheesy to see by today's standards of audiences (i.e. Slayer or on the opposite end those EDM shows where people completely zonk out on ecstasy), but there's now a charm to it seeing this 30 years later, back when it was thought that metal was brainwashing young people's minds or even doing things like bringing them to violence.Are these metal-heads animated? Oh sure. May they be missing some brain cells? Possibly, or they will be more-so by the time they've gone and done their two hours of head-banging and whiskey swigging (or, if you're a groupie, screw Glen Tipton apparently). But they're ultimately, in the vision of this director, harmless. What a... nice trip down memory lane this will be for people of this time and age.

dstamlaw Hair, Profanity, booze, being young and restless... Above and foremost, it was a time when hard rock n' roll was in its prime. Found a copy of it recently hiding in a deck among other music dvds in a "Public" Store and it made me listen to all 1986 records that I have. Hell Of a year for hard rock!!! "Zebraman" rules and without any doubt sums up the vibe of the era. By the way, my first concert was Saxon, May 1986 in Athens. They played a blinding set. Spitfire, a very underestimated Greek hard rock band(still fighting and giving great shows you know),was supporting. Judas Priest's of 1986 show was immortalized in "Priest Live" live LP and video too. It really got me rocking' in the summer of '87 when it was released...

ktc-browndog Jeff Krulik is the king of independent filmmaking in DC. "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" displays all his talent and charms: he actually seems to enjoy learning about and interacting with the subjects of his movies, while also reveling in how bizarre they are. A great way to spend a half hour, and a nice trip down memory lane for those of us unfortunate enough to remember all those hair bands.

zardoz12 Shot on video somewhere in West Virginia, "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" is a pointless look at the massive tailgate party that precedes a "Judas Priest" concert. The concertgoers live up to every stereotype of mid-1980s metal fans in their dress, automobiles, and behavior. Drunk rambling is the order of the day while making the "satanic hand sign" whenever anybody mentions one of the idiotic "big hair" bands of that decade. An interminable 30-minute parade of spandex-clad women, hairy men boasting "Kill Them All" T-shirts, and one Camarro after another. I got to see this film because Chris Smith's "Home Movie" was not long enough for Landmark Theatres' to charge $8 per showing.