 There
are some experiences you have alone, and some that you feel
compelled to share. Heavy Metal Parking Lot is best served as a shared experience. The title says it all;
it is comprised entirely of fan footage in the parking lot of
a Judas Priest concert circa 1986. Everything that one would
expect - the mullets, the big hair, the underage drinking and
the mindless ranting - are all present and accounted for. But
this isn't mindless MTV footage. There are few documentaries
that are able to truly capture the essence of obsesive fandom
in an objective way. Even Trekkies, with its
non-critical celebration of Star Trek fans,
doesn’t come close to capturing the poignancy of the very
real reactions of the heavy metal freaks in this audience.
And what reactions they are! In this 17-minute trip with
the fans we are introduced to a wide array of characters.
Among these, we hear one fan’s take on Madonna: “She’s
a dick.” One patron admits to really being there to
see Dokken, and one who likes to “get fucked up…
and have a couple beers.” But probably most astute was
the guy at the end who states, “Rob Halford, I don’t
know about you,” alluding to his homosexuality years
before it was publicly revealed. Awesomeness unbound!
There is no subtext, no moral guidance, and no point other
than to exist as a time capsule. But as far as short films
go, you can’t find a more amusing time than at the Parking
Lot.
 Presentation
In the 20 years since the creators made and first broadcast Heavy Metal Parking Lot on public access, the
film has slowly found itself enjoying a growing cult following
of both fans and musicians. Bootlegs have been available in
increasingly horrible condition for about a decade now. Since
there are so many horrible VHS dubs floating around it is quite
refreshing to see the film as it was originally broadcast for
this DVD. But if you are a purist, never fear. Included is the
ability (using the savagely underused alternate angle function)
to watch the video as a 10th-generation dub. The audio is also
surprisingly clear, but English subtitles are available as well.
And The Extras Are?
For a short film you might think you would get stiffed on
extras. Not so. You get a plethora of extras. There is
seemingly no end in fact. The extras run from extremely awesome
to “why did they include this”, but you’ll
be thankful for the effort put into the disc.
 Count Gore de Vol intro (1:44)
- The host of Creature Feature at countgore.com introduces
our film for us. Why? I am uncertain. But he does a good job
in that 80s-Horror-Host kinda way… I guess.
Feature length Directors’
Commentary – This is a really good commentary,
as John Heyn and Jeff Krulik discuss the inspiration behind
the project and share some of their memories. With the short
run time of the film, it suffers only in that the viewer will
want more and there aren’t any real interviews with
the directors on the disc. Still, what is here is well worth
the time.
Monster Truck Parking Lot (1:33) - This is essentially a trailer for a sequel project
that was never completed. I can’t blame them. It is
too easy a target for people to make fun of and the audience
is mostly uninteresting to boot.
 Neil
Diamond Parking Lot (11:40) - Nearly as good as the main
feature, this is a true sequel in concept to Heavy Metal.
Same venue, same parking lot, a whole different type of fan
base. It is also very objective and works precisely because
of that. Worth watching after the main feature.
Harry Potter Parking Lot (7:11)
- This is footage of the fans, mostly children, outside a
J.K. Rowling book-signing. This is another great doc and works
as almost completing a trilogy of sorts; each doc focusing
on a different age group of people. This amused me more than
Neil Diamond because of the overt geekdieness of the children.
Kids rule. The one that memorized the first page of the book
is pretty goddamn scary though.
Outtakes (8:02) - Going back
to the Heavy Metal Parking Lot; this is a
bunch of cool unused clips of other people being ridiculous.
Good times.
 Media
Coverage (3:33) - Just clips from a bunch of television
news programs reporting on the film, which shows how widespread
the interest is in this film. It's also important because
it shows that Tabitha Soren used to be hot.
Parking Lot Alumni (18:53)
- This is fantastic. The filmmakers actually managed to track
down some of the people they originally interviewed in 1986.
They are years older and wiser, growing into intelligent adults,
but it is awesome to hear how they feel about their unknowing
contribution to underground cinema. The person known as Zebraman
(“She’s a dick”) has made the most shocking
transformation, into a much more reserved and secretive guy.
Required watching.
Parking Lot Annihilation (8:27) - The Capitol Centre, and the parking lot, is now gone.
John & Jeff, who made several films here, return to document
its destruction. They even capture the sad crowd. This whole
bit is actually quite touching.
Heavy Metal Basement (48:32)
- Want to learn about Judas Priest? Jim Powell of Metal Grind
Records is here to educate you. This guy has quite possibly
the largest collection of heavy metal memorabilia and he loves
to show it off and explain the meaning behind everything.
I found it surprising that,  even though I am not a huge metal
fan, I sat through this whole bit marveling at the education
I was receiving. There is nothing quite like listening to
someone who is really into what he is presenting. An awesome
extra.
Minor
extras – I did say this set was comprehensive;
well here are more features worth mentioning, but not going
too in-depth about. A 15th Anniversary Tour Animation, a Mondo
Hollywood Video promo, American Hi-Fi’s “Flavor
of the Weak” music video (which is an impressive ode
to the feature), a movie trailer for a potential feature-length
scripted project, Jenny Jones Imposters (which I don’t
really understand the point of), and a DVD TV spot. This,
along with the expected text-based information about the filmmakers,
their filmographies, how the film made its circulation and
a couple vid-bits of a disasterous showing in Philadelphia
and a very bizarre public access music video round out the
package.
 And Now Some Parting
Words
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a total 1980s
time capsule that everyone who lived at any point during can
appreciate. The music and horrible hair is just part of the
experience. There is a lot more under the surface, with both
stuff to laugh at and stuff that feels really honest. It’s
less about the music than it is about the fans, and more importantly
fandom itself. You don’t have to like heavy metal or
Judas Priest to like this film; you just have to have a healthy
enough sense of humor to know how to laugh at yourself.
But if you can’t find the humor
in it, you certainly can still appreciate it for its unforced
documentary styling. Errol Morris and Frederick Wiseman would
be proud.
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