Freedom, Fun, and Fine Transportation: A Brief Guide to Vansploitation Cinema (Part 2)

Supervan — 1977, directed by Lamar Card

If the message of The Van is ““Yes, vans are awesome, but eventually you have to get over that and grow the hell up,” the message of Supervan is “Yes, vans are awesome, totally awesome, vans forever, my van has lasers, come check out my vaaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

Supervan is the point at which the Vansploitation cycle moves into Cronenberg territory. Not until Crash would such long, loving shots of vehicle interiors be seen in a film again. If other films in the cycle are, say, Playboy for vans (showing us their pretty exteriors while coyly teasing what might be held back), Supervan is an anatomy textbook. The doors of vans are flung wide, the camera taking in their bared interiors again and again. You can almost smell the Milwaukee’s Best that has soaked into their carpets. It is actually a little unsettling, and often more than a little boring, unless you really like vans. There are dozens shown at a van rally, and the titular Supervan is a bizarre, 70s-futuristic beast called Vandora. Vandora was designed by George Barris, “King of the Kustoms,” whose previous work in automobile customization included the Batmobile from the 1960s Batman television series. A complete breakdown of Vandora’s history and specs from George Barris’s official web…