Tweet This Page

Review of "Blood Drive" 7/7/17 by Suzanne
Airs Wednesdays, 10/9c on Syfy

This is what they call a "grindhouse" type of show, meaning it's campy and very violent, with lots of blood and gore. It's very extreme and comic-book-like. I've never really understood the appeal, frankly. To me, it's like violence porn. Too gross to watch.

"Blood Drive" takes place in a dystopian future where gasoline is super expensive and people are very poor and starving. The government and police are run by corporations. The hero of the series is a police officer, Arthur Bailey (Alan Ritchson), who wants to be a really heroic cop in the old-fashioned sense, despite the fact that the police in this time are paid by the corporations, who don't care about rules or decency. The police routinely beat up people and steal their teeth to get paid. He and his partner, Chris (Thomas Dominique), investigate this place where the "blood drive" is taking place. Horrible people race each other to win a huge money prize. However, their cars run on human blood. The engines have teeth, and people are killed and their blood taken when the drivers dump people into them. It's pretty disgusting and horrifying (as it's meant to be).

Arthur, nicknamed "Barbie", is unwillingly roped into racing with Grace (Christina Ochoa), a tough young woman who's determined to win so that she can help her sick sister. Despite her heroic motivation, she's very violent and doesn't seem to mind killing people.  Meanwhile, his partner, who was injured by the drivers, is trying to help Barbie escape, but he's fighting against the corrupt system to do it. All of the Blood Drivers are linked together, so they can't separate for more than a few feet without dying. Also, they're all trying to kill each other to win the prize.

Colin Cunningham, who was so great in "Falling Skies" as Pope, plays Julian Slink, the host of the Blood Drive. He does a fantastic job as usual. I wish I could stand to watch the show, just to see him. The plot is very interesting and innovative, but the whole thing is too over-the-top for me. It's just too crazy, outrageous and bloody.

MORE INFORMATION:

Los Angeles 1999 - The Future: where water is a scarce as oil, and climate change keeps the temperature at a cool 115 in the shade. It’s a place where crime is so rampant that only the worst violence is punished, and where Arthur Bailey — the city’s last good cop — runs afoul of the dirtiest and meanest underground car rally in the world, Blood Drive. The master of ceremonies is a vaudevillian nightmare, The drivers are homicidal deviants, and the cars run on human blood.