Heavy Metal Parking Lot 1986
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a short film that came out in 1986. It’s just a bunch of footage taken before a Judas Priest concert in Maryland. It was interesting and fun to see how metal fans were back in the 80’s, when the genre was still very much in its infancy. There weren’t that many older fans interviewed, most of the people were in their 20’s. I was really shocked though, when one guy said he was 20, and his girlfriend was 13! I’m surprised no-one said anything.
Other than that, there’s a lot of silly people that are drunk or high, pumped to see Priest. Another funny moment was when a woman said that she’d jump Rob Halford’s bones. Even though it wouldn’t be another 12 years before Halford would come out, it still surprises me that people didn’t know. But I suppose, if you didn’t know the signs, there really wasn’t any way for the average person to think that Rob was gay.
It’s a really short film, only 17 minutes at the most. I think it’s interesting to see Metal in its early stages, though I don’t think it’s a mandatory watch. From a historical perspective, it’s interesting how the Metal crowd went from mostly young people, to now, where it’s people of all ages. Obviously, people age, but I think it’s very unique to see a snippet in time, where something was so new.
I remember seeing clips of this film in various other documentaries that talked about Metal. It was a treat to see where the original footage came from. It’s also funny seeing how many things really haven’t changed. If you go to a show today, you’ll still see people hanging out in the parking lot before and even during a show, while they wait for their favorite bands to come on.
3/5 stars
My video: https://youtu.be/WsNd9ar3DJY
