RA: Race with the Devil
Oct. 16, 2009
RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975)
Rating: 3.5 out of 4 /Buy the DVD Here
Tagline:If you're going to race with the devil, you've got to be as fast as Hell!
Directed by: Jack Starrett
Starring: Warren Oates, Peter Fonda, Lara Parker, and Loretta Swit.
THE PLAN: Two couples on an RV road trip head toward Aspen with visions of having the perfect vacation ... until they go ahead and witness a cult sacrifice. Now they have to outrun, and outthink, what seems to be an entire county of satanic murderers.
THE KILL: I won't lie, the impetus to make this week's REEL ACTION RACE WITH THE DEVIL has a lot to do with being in the thick of October. My favorite month (and I'm sure I'm not alone) seems to demand having a RA film that's a unique blend of action, suspense, and horror, and I can think of no better than Jack Starrett's dusty 1975 thriller.
RACE has all the hallmarks of your typical 70s drive-in flick. Bikes, car chases, shotguns, naked broads, copious drinking, and Peter Fonda. All these elements thrown together usually make for an entertaining movie, but this particular movie is a one-of-a-kind kick in the pants. There's action, sure, but what RACE does uncommonly well is create a palpable feeling of anxiety, of tension, of feeling like every road stop and friendly face is hiding something sinister. It's an adrenaline rush for most of its running time, and I'd seriously advise those of you who have not seen this film to stop reading, buy the f*cker, and discover for yourself what a lean and mean machine this chilling B-Movie is for yourselves.
RACE WITH THE DEVIL - THEATRICAL TRAILER
The road trip in a mobile home. It's one of those antiquated but tantalizing fantasies we don't often allow ourselves to take seriously, but always seem perfectly reasonable in films. Maybe it's because, in real life, there's something a little scary about the notion of being in another state with all your shit right there with you. Cuz if you get f*cked then, well.. you're really quite f*cked. And we've all seen enough movies, like this one, that offer up way too many creepy situations where grinning small-town cops and sleazy gas station attendants offer more bad vibes than actual help.
That's the scenario this film sets up time and time again. After our protagonists have witnessed a brutal murder - at the altar of Satan, no less - they tempt fate multiple times because, let's face it, they're in a thriller and they have to. But because the movie is filled with such a palpable air of ominous unease, we don't really mind; it's so well-crafted - and so much fun. It also helps that the film is cast so that every other person we happen upon looks right-the-hell-out of the their minds. Starrett has an eye for people you would only ask for help if you absolutely had to.
Peter Fonda figuring out how to smoke a snake
It all leads up to the movie's climactic chase sequence: a ten-minute swerving, skidding, nightmarish demolition derby, where our leads - in their gigantic vehicle, mind you - attempt to out-run a seemingly never-ending swarm of devilish town-folk. Bodies and cars fly with wild abandon, and it's a terrifying and awesome spectacle. To say where it leads would be saying too much, so I once again advise you to give this wild ride a try.
TOP DEATH: It would have to be the death that starts it all: a naked girl is willingly stabbed to death over a bonfire in a haunting sequence that kicks off the film's central nightmarish drama.
TOP ACTION: A ten minute chase-and-crash sequence is just aces. The movie's highpoint.
FEMALE EXPLOITATION: Well, we get a few naked dancing girls, and one very comely lass who is lookin' real fine before she's sacrificed in Lucifer's name...
HOMOEROTIC MOMENT: Oates and Fonda bond for a little while over some drinks, but before it can cross over to homoeroticism, they witness a graphic murder, so, really not too much of that here...
TOP DIALOGUE: Fonda (to Sheriff): These weren't hippies we saw, Sheriff.
Sheriff: Well, same difference. They all gotta get stoned to do whatever it is they do.
DRINKING GAME: Drink every time our leads approach someone they obviously shouldn't be talking to. By the end of the flick, you'll be seeking out your own naked girl to sacrifice!
TRIVIA: The film's director, Jack Starrett, appears in the film as a creepy gas station attendant. Similarly, one of the co-writers - Wes Bishop - pops up as a shady deputy.
