Have you seen a retro-themed music video, packed with homages and references to the 80s? Even if you did, check out Highway Violence from Quixotic.
The premise looks simple: four rogue teen girls break into a secret arcade and start playing one of the games. They’re those kind of ladies one does not want to mess with: armed with a katana, machine gun and a baseball bat. They arrive on an unmarked van with a license plate of SYNTH.
The game they play already foreshadows on its selection screen what will happen. In an alternate universe we see the protagonist Quixotic himself to sit into his Miata and starts driving. He does have something in the boot which seems to be important. Around this time the penny drops (into the arcade) and things get wild!
What we get here are massive references to Terminator 2 featuring both T-800 and T-1000. Surprisingly a second player jump into the game - and into the passenger seat - to shower the pursuing T-1000 with bullets.
The game then changes into Star Wars and so is the story: the MX5 also stars as a X-wing fighter. Of course it is being attacked but
We land on a highway but as a Delorean, only to get clocked by a local cop with 88 mph no less and we get an easter egg in the middle of the references: it does not show directly what we already know but it’s there.
We arrive at the dystopian world of Mad Max where thugs are simply trying to kill the protagonist but they fall flat with some blood and gore. Bonus points for featuring the baseball bat lady again but this time with 1200% more nails drilled into the bat.
Things get a bit more friendly and we’re already in Knight Rider featuring KITT. After an epic guitar solo we see Quixotic driving in a Testarossa just to really emphasize what this video is about.
Finally we arrive at the Flamingo Drive-In where the Miata makes a comeback and finally the boot contents are revealed!
Literally, there is almost not a single second in this video without a reference. It oozes the 80s in that level of detail which was physically possible. I won’t go into the details, have a look for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.
The music is really well made, featuring a lot of massive guitars which really makes an impression. It’s also atmospheric at times where it’s needed and switches into a fast-paced action-packed track with a lot of impact.
There are more than one tracks that is in the video although it’s not straightforward: Highway Violence is the prominent one but at the end and during the credits Palms and Palms (8-bit version) can be heard.
Also, don’t forget to watch the credits. These guys really deserve it and you will find most of the references you might have missed. I know I did.