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Written by Larry Clow
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Wednesday, 14 June 2006 |
Sabre Productions, 1975
starring: Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker
directed by: Jack Starrett
the plot: Best friends Roger (Fonda) and Frank (Oates) are eager to take a vacation from their successful dirt bike racing business. They buy a brand new RV with all the latest features and hit the road with their wives, Kelly (Parker) and Alice (Swit). After a long day of driving, Frank parks the RV in a secluded area. While Kelly and Alice sleep, Frank and Roger sit outside and sip whisky, reminiscing about their past. Suddenly, they see a bonfire spring up nearby. Investigating, they find a Satanic ritual taking place. When the cult leader spots Frank and Roger, the two men high tail it back to the RV and take off. The Satanists proceed to chase the vacationing couples across the state of Texas. As Frank and Roger race to safety, they find that even the most innocuous places are teeming with psychotic evil.
why it’s good: Can any movie with dirt bikes and Satanists be bad? “Race with the Devil” is certainly a keeper. Oates and Fonda own the movie as regular guys who transform into a pair of paranoid hardcases who shoot first and don’t bother to ask any questions. The script, by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost, is tight and suspenseful. The Satanic action gets underway pretty quickly, and from there, the suspense builds with every strange look that the doomed quartet receives while they’re on the road. The plot’s inherent implausibility—a Satanic conspiracy that stretches across the entire state of Texas and involves everyone from local law enforcement to a bus full of school children—is actually one of it’s neatest features. Just when you think our heroes are safe, another horde of Satanists emerges from the placid Texas landscape ready to raise hell. Add to that suspense the near-gratuitous amount of car crashes and explosions, and you’ve got yourself a solidly entertaining B-movie.
why you should own it: Anchor Bay’s excellent DVD features commentary by producer Paul Maslansky and Lara Parker, as well as an extended interview with Peter Fonda, who, it seems, has nothing but fond memories of making “Race.” |
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