Horrorfest 2026: The Cars That Ate Paris

THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS
Written by Peter Weir

Story by Peter Weir, Keith Gow and Piers Davies

Directed by Peter Weir

Starring John Meillon, Terry Camilleri, Kevin Miles and Melissa Jaffer

Australia, 1976

Turns out THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS is not about automobiles devouring the capital of France. Who knew? This Paris is a little town in Australia, and the cars in question aren't so much eating it as being used by its residents to prey on unsuspecting motorists. Still, it's a great title.

This was the first feature film directed by Peter Weir, who would go on to make PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, WITNESS, DEAD POETS SOCIETY and THE TRUMAN SHOW, among others. It's interesting to see him starting out with something this weird, though, with PICNIC on his resumé, not surprising.

The story concerns a young man (Terry Camilleri) who survives a car accident that kills his brother. He winds up stranded in the isolated town of Paris, where the locals seem friendly enough, but there's something seriously wrong with the place. The townspeople have developed an unusual local economy based on causing automobile accidents and salvaging whatever they can from the wreckage. Including, apparently, the survivors.

It's a wild premise, and Weir approaches it with a mixture of black comedy, horror and small-town satire. The residents of Paris are a weird group, particularly the mayor (John Meillon), who seems determined to maintain some semblance of civic respectability despite the fact that his town is essentially a criminal enterprise.

And then there are the cars themselves. Some of the younger residents drive around in these ridiculous customized vehicles covered in spikes, looking like something out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. In fact, I couldn't help thinking this would make a pretty good double feature with THE ROAD WARRIOR, which came along seven years later.