Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, out now

A modern reimagination of the cult classic.

Had enough of serious SF films like Arrival and can’t wait for Fast & Furious 8? Stick Death Race 2050 on – and while this is never going to be in contention for the Oscars, it’s a lunatic demolition derby as drivers race from coast to coast knocking over pedestrians on the way. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Roger Corman has done an Escape from LA on his original Death Race 2000 movie from 40 years ago – bit bigger budget, but pretty much the same plot.

There’s some heavy-handed political satire in here (the leader of USA replacement, the United Corporations of America, has a comb-over style… played by Malcolm McDowell in what might be termed an unsubtle manner), and more than a little in what has to be dubbed questionable taste. But this does pretty much what you expect from the pedigree and the name. Corman didn’t want to go the typical terrorist route for his bad guys, so we’ve got someone killing in the name of Saint Elvis Presley, and he’s taken the obsession with computer-driven cars to its logical (okay, maybe using that word a little loosely) conclusion… with a car that develops a consciousness.

The extras give some insight into the thinking behind the script, but perhaps the most interesting element is discovering how shooting in Peru helped create the movie’s look.

Verdict: Insane in the best way. 6/10

Paul Simpson