If you were in High School in the 60’s and 70’s, there’s a good chance you had to sit through highway gross-out classics such as “Signal 30” and “Wheels of Tragedy” in order to pass your driver’s ed course. But hell, after seeing these films, who wants to get out there and drive anyways? With shot after shot of twisted metal, slicked wet with blood and the sound of someone buried deep within this tragic mess screaming in agony, you’d think that these films came straight from hell, right out of Satan’s personal vault. But no…somebody had to go out and shoot these monstrosities and the new documentary “Hell’s Highway” reveals just who those somebodies were.
“Hell’s Highway” examines the driver’s ed shock value phenomenon from its very beginnings in 1959 as the Highway Safety Foundation created these grizzly films in order to scare good driving habits into young motorists, all the way up to its current cult status.
“Hell’s Highway” features interviews with members of the Highway Safety Foundation as well as Mike Vraney from Something Weird Video and archivist Rick Prelinger. The documentary will also include footage from classic films like “Mechanized Death,” “Highways of Agony” and “The Third Killer.”
Being shot on 16mm and digital video, “Hell’s Highway” is due for release in the winter of 2002.
For more on “Hell’s Highway,” visit the Highway Safety Films Project website.
