| Drive-Thru | |
|---|---|
Promo poster |
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| Directed by | Brendan Cowles Shane Kuhn |
| Written by | Brendan Cowles Shane Kuhn |
| Starring | Leighton Meester Nicholas D'Agosto Melora Hardin Larry Joe Campbell Lola Glaudini |
| Music by | Ralph Rieckermann |
| Cinematography | Vincent E. Toto |
| Editing by | Daniel R. Padgett |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | May 29, 2007 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Drive-Thru is a 2007 horror film directed by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn, starring Leighton Meester and Nick D'Agosto. It is set in Orange County, California and involves a serial killing clown mascot, Horny the Clown. The film was released on May 29, 2007.
The film opens with Brandon (Edward DeRuiter), Tony (Haven Lamoureux), Brittany (Jessica Landon) and Tiffa (Nicole Cavazos) arriving at the fast food restaurant "Hella Burger". While there, the group are continuously insulted over the intercom system, causing a furious Tony to enter. As he searches, he is attacked by the restaurant's mascot, Horny the Clown. Brandon soon enters, only to find Tony dead in the deep fat fryer before he is attacked and butchered by Horny with a meat cleaver. Horny proceeds outside and murders Brittany and Tiffa.
Meanwhile, Mackenzie (Leighton Meester) is having a house party with her boyfriend Fisher (Nicholas D'Agosto), and friends Val (Sita Young), Van (Penn Badgley) and Starfire (Rachael Bella). The group find a ouija board and decide to ask it what their future will hold, to which the ouija board spells out "N1KLPL8", a message that is unclear until the next day when the group see a news bulletin, showing the message is the license plate on Brandon's car. The following day at school, Val is attacked by Horny in the locker room. Mackenzie complains that someone stole her camera at the party, but after school the janitor, Lenny (Sean Whalen), gives her the camera. Mackenzie stays behind to develop the photos, to find they reveal the deaths of the four murdered teenagers. Horny chases Mackenzie into the gymnasium, where she finds Val's head has been placed in a modified microwave, that when turned on causes her head to explode. Horny chases Mackenzie throughout the school, where she finds Lenny has been hung, before bumping into a police officer, who fails to find any bodies. Mackenzie is taken down to the police station with her Mom, Marcia (Melora Hardin) and Dad, Bill (Paul Ganus) to be questioned by Detective Brenda (Lola Glaudini) and Detective Dwayne (Larry Joe Campbell). The two detectives don't believe Mackenzies story however, and suspect Lenny as the killer.
The next day, the detectives visit Jack Benjamin (John Gilbert), the owner of Hella Burger, who proves to be no help in solving the case. That night, Mackenzie and Fisher get ready to work at a carnivals haunted house. As they work, they have an argument with Chad (Tyler King) and Tina (Maliabeth Johnson), before they go into the ride. Suddenly, the lights are switched off and Chad is decapitated, before Tina is stabbed to death by Horny. Mackenzie and Starfire enter the haunted house after it breaks down. They find Fisher in a state of shock after witnessing the murders.
Mackenzie goes to visit Fisher in the hospital with Marcia. Mackenzie becomes annoyed with Marcia as she believes she is hiding something from her, as all the murdered teenagesr are the children of her old high-school friends. Detective Chase overhears this and questions Tinas father, Bert (Robert Curtis Brown). Meanwhile, Fisher drugs Detective Crockers to get out of the hospital and Mackenzie receives a note from Horny saying "4:20". The pair meet up and realize the message is referring to 420 crew, consisting of Chuck (Shedrack Anderson III), Spanky (Chad Cunningham) and Carrie (Sarah Buehler), who are stoned at the Hella Burger. Horny soon arrives and butchers Chuck and Spanky with his cleaver. As Mackenzie arrives home, Marcia tells her that when she was young, her and her friends accidentally murdered Archie Benjamin (Van De La Plante), Jack Benjamin's son, on his 18th birthday at Hella Burger. The group kept it a secret and the police thought it was an accident. After this, Mackenzie goes to visit Jack with Fisher, Starfire and Van. The group split up, but Van soon finds Starfire has been murdered, her corpse shoved into a freezer in the garage. Horny quickly appears and slices Van in half. Mackenzie and Fisher are next attacked, resulting in Mackenzie being knocked unconscious and Fisher being cornered. Horney somehow makes Fisher's eyes turn bloody red, before he throws him through a window. Meanwhile, Detective Chase and Detective Crockers come to the house and find Jack Benjamin behind his own bed, trying to hide from Archie.
Mackenzie wakes up in a Hella Burger, bound to a chair, surrounded by her murdered friends. A birthday cake is in front of her, as it is now her birthday. Horny appears and pours gasoline over her, before Marcia arrives and shoots Horny. Marcia attempts to free Mackenzie, but Horny is still alive and knocks out Marcia. While this happens, Mackenzie drinks a bottle of whiskey she had, and as Horney taunts her with a lit candle, she sprays the whiskey onto the flame, setting Horny on fire. Mackenzie and Marcia leave as Horny burns alive.
Mackenzie and Marcia rush to the hospital to see Fisher, who was described as in critical condition. However, Fisher wakes up from his coma, still with blood shot eyes, revealing Archie has possessed him. Fisher escapes the hospital. Meanwhile, Detective Crockers is ordering food at Hella Burger before Horny jumps on his car and murders him through the windshield.