This is my all-time favorite movie. It might seem a pretty strange film at a distance of 30 years; perhaps you had to be living in Australia in 1972 to appreciate it. Peter Weir made 'The Cars That Ate Paris' about the same time as 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (which was much more successful at the box office and won a lot more critical acclaim). One top film critic at the time commented that 'Picnic' with all its ethereal mystery was Weir's take on sci-fi movies, while 'Cars' was an allegory of the vampire movie. Vampire films are meant to be gory and crass with low-budget special effects; so is 'Cars'. It resonates perfectly with the 1970's Australian shock-horror tabloid culture about road accidents, violence, bikie gangs, rebellion, drugs and guilty pleasures. The understated menace of the small-town violence is brilliant, a precursor of modern Australian horror films like 'Wolf Creek'. The pathetic impotence of the older generation is also a classic 1970's theme. The intentionally low budget production style is another hallmark of Australian creativity. To me this film encapsulates and satirises everything that happened in 1970's Australia, and I cherish it.