Midnight movies, they have a special place in people’s hearts. Whether they are gore films, sexploitation, bizarro, or comedies, there has been a resurgence of them as more and more have been remastered and rereleased to the masses. With the faux-midnight movies starting with the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double feature, Grindhouse, getting a cult following, others have appeared and many are pretty solid. One, a Quebec Canadian production entitled Turbo Kid, arrived in 2015 that unlike the others, mashes together the innocent feel of the Power Rangers and early Saturday morning television shows like Land of the Lost with Paul Verhoeven’s most violent films.

In a post-apocalyptic world where water is scarce and the main transportation for survivors is the bicycle, The Kid, an 18 year old, teams up with Apple, a robot-girl, and Frederic, an arm-wrestling cowboy, to stop the evil and tyrannical Zeus from exploiting the masses and hoarding the water. On the way, he discovers a suit of power armor manufactured in the likeness of his favorite comic book hero Turbo Man. But unlike the toy he thinks it is, he discovers very soon that it makes anyone who wears it a superhero.

With its 1980’s electronic soundtrack, its throwback costumes, and its timeline now already in the past, the movie is a bit tongue in cheek without trying to be a parody. Rather it relishes in its over-the-top nostalgia while trying to present a engrossing and solid story. Dark Discussions takes a look at this homage to film from another era and gives their thoughts.