Turbo Kid, a Canadian action-horror film directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, is a pastiche of many different genres and themes all sewn together like a quilt. Not only is it a mash-up of action, horror, comedy and adorkability, but the movie also contains post-apocalyptic motifs and plenty of homages to Mad Max and its many successors. Add in some gnarly gore and fantabulous 80’s music by the dreamy Montreal synth-electro group Le Matos and voila! You have Turbo Kid! 

It’s 1997 and Earth is barely inhabitable. Our hero, the Kid, is orphaned and on his own in a land called the Wasteland. He collects memorabilia from days past and sells them to a flea market-type of dealer in order to keep himself afloat. For the Kid and others in the Wasteland, avoiding the tyrannical Zeus (Michael Ironside) and his gang of biker misfits is imperative to survival. Zeus is using the bodies of captives in order to be juiced (grossssss) for the most precious and scare resource on the planet – water.

Eventually, the Kid meets his new BFF, Apple (Laurence Leboeuf), a spunky, pink-haired, cute, but slightly annoying girl who slaps a tracking device on the Kid’s wrist before he unsuccessfully attempts to ditch her. Leboeuf is so heartbreakingly adorable in this movie that you want to hug and shake and hug her again throughout the entire 95 minute run. She’s a huge plus in the movie, and once the Kid and Apple start to bond – SHE OF COURSE GETS CAPTURED BY ZEUS! (This is an 80’s throwback, after all…)

Insert geyser-level blood spurts! Send in the action scenes, with razor blades, torture devices, intestine-pulling, and more! Crank up the synthpop (seriously…so much delicious, sugary synthpop!). Turbo Kid may have its hands in plenty of other movies, but it still feels young, fresh and fun.

Grade: B+

Check out the trailer below and if you like what you see, consider renting or purchasing the film from Vimeo!