May 3 2006
Heavy Metal Parking Lot
I can’t believe I had any doubts about getting this. I’ve seen bootleg videotapes of the famous underground “documentary” plenty of times. But how could I justify buying the DVD of a 16 minute oddity? Luckily I took the plunge and don’t regret it one bit.
One day in 1986, producers John Heyn and Jeff Krulik (more like two kids with a video camera at the time) scoped out the parking lot of their local arena, thinking it would be funny to capture the wasted shenanigans of head-banging teens waiting for the night’s Judas Priest show. And it is really funny. Guys with shaggy long hair and girls with, umm, shaggy long hair enthuse wildly about their favorite bands, themselves, and what’s wrong with everything else. A lot of the people on camera have become icons in their own right. The smooth twenty-something dude in sunglasses sloppily kissing his 13 year old date. The group of friends who scored backstage passes as a tribute to their dead comrade. The crazy guy in stripey spandex going off on Madonna and punk, affectionately referred to by fans of the film as “Zebraman.” It’s all a hoot simply for the characters that appear, but even more a time capsule of the mid-80s with each passing year.
Along with the original short, presented in amazing clarity compared to the umpteen-generation tapes traded since its conception, are oodles of bonus features. Commentary by Heyn and Krulik describes how they timidly approached the rough looking crowd, and their surprise at how eagerly the metal fans opened up for the camera. A “Where Are They Now” feature shows the filmmakers tracking down several of the grown stars, who have mixed reactions to their minor fame. We get a peek inside the basement of a Judas Priest superfan, which should calm anyone who worries that their own collections might be out of hand. Several other short films accompany the main feature, like Neil Diamond Parking Lot and Harry Potter Parking Lot. The movie’s place in popular culture is examined, including some amusing rip-offs. I enjoyed an interactive comparison of the newly restored film and a near-unwatchable bootleg version.
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is no Citizen Kane, but worthy to own just to show friends who haven’t seen or heard of it. And it’s short enough to watch again and again, as those friends initiate other people. You’ll be trading lines of dialog for weeks. Judas Priest rocks!!
