AUSTIN, Texas — Indie directors often characterize their films as meticulously crafted, completely original labors of love. Filmmaker Evan Glodell actually has two: His apocalyptic revenge epic, Bellflower, and the flame-throwing '72 Buick Skylark he custom-built for the film.

After a well-received screening at Sundance last January, Glodell wheeled both of his loves into Austin for the South by Southwest film festival. A mechanically inclined tinkerer with a penchant for mischief, Glodell and a small group of friends took it upon themselves to outfit the ride — lovingly known as Medusa — with fully functional tech, including dash-mounted surveillance cameras, an integrated smoke-screen generator and lever-toggled suspension.

"We looked around forever trying to find the right car, but we didn't have that much money," said Glodell over the throaty growl of Medusa's engine. "A stock Skylark showed up on Craigslist in Oxnard, California, for $2,800, so we started there."

Three years, 30,000 volts and three engine blowouts later, Glodell's homegrown doomsday machine finally matched the Mad Max-ian spec his script called for. Here's an up close and personal tour of Glodell's road-raging custom ride.