Punk Vacation

Punk Vacation attempts to update the concept of 1960s biker exploitation flicks for the late ’80s, so this time a quiet American backwater town becomes the target of unruly, rampaging punks. Unfortunately, the result is little different from the formulaic and generic contributions of the original subgenre and doesn’t really offer anything of interest. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is evident in the occasional slapstick episodes of the final third, where a redneck criminal gang chases the punks through the woods. But even the momentary flashes of humour don’t particularly dilute the mediocre pathos and fail to break up the traditional structure. So that they don’t overshadow the desperate rural normies, the punks are portrayed as morons, so in the end the viewer has no one to root for at all. (14.11.2021)