Vulcanizadora review
Vulcanizadora asks what happens if you never emotionally mature…and what happens when you try after it’s too late.
In theaters May 2, 2025
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Vulcanizadora
Directed by Joel Potrykus
Written by Joel Potrykus
Starring Joshua Burge and Joel Potrykus
Vulcanizadora Review
Vulcanizadora, according to a quick search, means tire repair shop. That’s not what you expect for a movie that appears to be about two friends on a camping trip to be titled. Vulcanizadora isn’t really about two men on a camping trip. It isn’t about a tire repair shop either…but both the camping and the tire shop play a role in what it is about. This is a movie less about plot than character. Outside of one showstopping event…most of Vulcanizadora is about two middle aged men reaping the effects of their inability to grow up.
That’s an oversimplification, of course. But it feels accurate enough to lead us into a discussion. The immaturity is on the surface of Derek’s (writer/director Joel Potrykus) character. His incessant manchild behavior dominates the first half of Vulcanizadora. So much so that his hiking partner Marty (Joshua Burge) barely gets a word in edgewise. As time passes…it becomes clear that Marty isn’t overly interested in Derek’s antics…or commenting on much at all. Because, as time passes…we begin to work out what this camping trip really is.
Marty is dealing with the repercussions of his own adolescent behavior. He’s spent time in jail and believes he’s about to head back for an incident that he swears was an accident. Burning down a tire repair shop. Derek lacks the quiet self-reflection that Marty carries around like a two ton weight around his neck. He has a son he doesn’t see…and a good deal of money he hasn’t paid in child support. Acting out may be Derek’s way of suppressing the emptiness of his reality. Marty is clearly through with that life. If the purpose of their trip comes to fruition…both will be done with any life at all.
Vulcanizadora is a dark story…and a deep one. It’s also quite funny in that bleak gallows humor type of way. The dynamic between Derek and Marty is an immediately interesting one. The hyperactive manchild and his rueful partner who’s not so into the crime anymore. Derek’s volume is important to understanding what Marty has become. Maybe he was always this quiet and Derek isn’t meant to draw a comparison to what he used to be…it’s not uncommon to see a loud friend partnered with a silent one. Either way…the juxtaposition allows Marty’s soulful ruminations on his mistakes to stand out from Derek’s obvious avoidance of doing such a thing.
It isn’t even clear how good of friends Derek and Marty are. Derek says several times that they aren’t that close…but that comes out in moments of duress. What I learned after watching Vulcanizadora is that it is a quasi-sequel to Joel Potrykus’s 2014 film Buzzard. Marty and Derek are characters from that film. Not knowing that before going into this movie…I can tell you that you don’t need to see Buzzard to understand Vulcanizadora. It’s a testament to the script and the work of both actors that this feels like a story completely independent of other works…despite the characters having been used before. Though, after seeing Vulcanizadora, I’d imagine you may want to seek out Buzzard and give it a watch as well. I certainly do.
About halfway through Vulcanizadora the story changes completely. It’s a shocking moment even though we’ve been slowly preparing for it. Although the narrative switch is a dramatic one, the character arcs hold true to form. A story about living in the aftermath of a life spent refusing to grow up becomes a story about trying to do the right thing…and struggling to figure out what that even is. It’s effective and complete in a way that makes you wonder how much deeper it would play having seen the characters a decade earlier with no sense that they were screwing up their futures. Maybe you should go ahead and give Buzzard a watch ahead of time after all.
Scare Value
Vulcanisadora is a dark and effective look at two friends who never grew up. There’s plenty of funny moments…even if they’re often uncomfortable in nature. The lead performances are wonderful and feel authentic to the film’s story. It’s bleak, yes…but it’s a well-crafted story about a character who understands how bleak it is. Well aware of what his role in arriving at it has been.
4/5
Vulcanizadora Link
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