Cop Car

Let me just say that I completely empathize with the two young stars of the latest indie film Cop Car because growing up in the country where there is absolutely nothing to do will make even the dumbest kid in the world run away from home. Just look at Bridgette Fonda in Doc Hollywood, even she was smart enough to realize that if you're in a town where nicknames like Big Country or Butch outnumber normal names like Michael or Kelly, then it's high time to split town before two drunken hicks try and reenact a scene from A Time to Kill on you (Yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!!!).

In Cop Car, two kids who have decided to run away from home stumble upon an empty cop car in the middle of nowhere. And after realizing that there aren't any cops in sight and that the car keys are still in the vehicle, they decide to take it for a joyride. Little do they know that the car belongs to the local sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon) and that the real reason he left the car behind is that he was up to something shady in the woods. Well once he finds out that his car has been stolen, he immediately starts to cover his tracks before the kids get caught or they find out his deadly secret.

This movie starts off playful enough with the two kids daring each other to say the dirtiest words they've learned to this point of their lives. And at first everything seems harmless and fun as they are getting to drive a car for the first time; driving it as fast as they can and playing with the siren and CB radio. But the second they hit the actual highway, things take a turn for the worst and you are immediately reminded why a couple of eight year olds left alone to their own devices can be one of the worst things in the world for both the kids and the people that happen to encounter them.

There are a number of moments in this movie that had me audibly gasping for air and shouting at the screen as if the kids could actually hear me; and I'm not even a parent, I'm just a scrub who appreciates human life. Parents who do go to see this movie will never let their kids out of their sight again, not until they turn 23 that is. And you have to keep in mind that you experience all of this well before the kids even run into Sheriff Kretzer.

This film is original, chilling, and haunting, and I have to admit that I had to sit outside of the theater for quite a few moments to collect myself before driving home. Thankfully though it gave me the opportunity to get into a debate with a couple of hipsters about the fact that Bacon might have only agreed to do this movie because it gave him the opportunity to expand his Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. I'm just glad he didn't taint any more young starlets like he did Denise Richards and Neve Campbell in Wild Things to do so.

This movie is very FRESH and I strongly suggest that you pop in to check it out.