Blu-ray Review – Punk Vacation

The punk experience had it rough in the media during the 1980s. Think
old worrywart "Donahue" debates or the infamous "Battle of the Bands"
episode of "CHiPs." Marginalized and infantilized, the punk scene also
made for excellent antagonists — riling up audiences with heavily
painted exteriors and acidic attitudes. They're easily branded baddies
creating insta-tension with a mere twitch of their squinted eye. "Punk
Vacation" uses the music subculture in a predictable fashion, pitting
the misfits with switchblades against a rural community armed to the
teeth. It's exploitation cinema in its purest form, though the jubilant
nonsense of such an endeavor is often muted by the movie's absurd
construction, with the no-budget seams of the effort exposed in a most
severe manner. A ludicrous production that's stunningly earnest, "Punk
Vacation" is best appreciated as a bottom-shelf treasure with mistakes
galore, making it amusing on multiple levels of engagement, especially
those who prize examples of punk's influence on pop culture as it neared
its expiration date. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com