Race with the Devil (1975)

Simply A Masterpiece

A Masterpiece!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Starring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates as the likeable leads, 'Race with the Devil' is about two vacationing couples who find themselves pursued by a satanic cult after witnessing a ritualistic murder. With a strong beginning, the film unfortunately never quite capitalises on its spine-tingling premise, and true sequences of horror and terrorisation you may expect from the plot description never quite come to fruition. The plot meanders at a stately pace after the sacrifice and escape, trying to envelope proceedings with paranoia and fear at every opportunity. Every local seems to be part of the creepy cult, and yet they seem intent on playing games with their victims rather than outright laying on scares or kills. But 'Race with the Devil' makes up for any flaws and narrative shortcomings with a tensely staged car chase in the finale. Vehicular destruction and admirable stunts present themselves in the final scenes, and its pleasing to see the cultists finally shift into their endgame and come at the protagonists with aggressive determination. There are deaths, explosions, and barrel rolls to keep up the tension, and just when it seems the main cast has escaped the clutches of evil, a surprising and clever twist makes us realise the true horror the film alluded to earlier: everyone in the vicinity including police is seemingly ensnared in devil worship. The final image is a creepy downer reminiscent of The Wicker Man, and makes 'Race with the Devil' a low-key recommendation. 7/10

My brother told me about "Race With the Devil" many years ago after he had seen some of it on a late night T.V showing. The way the film was described to me, made me curious in wanting to see it. I had to wait a while for the film to be shown again as obtaining it on video was going to be hard. BBC 2 eventually showed "Race With the Devil" in 1997 at about midnight. I was quite impressed with the final results. Warren Oates is the best actor in the film - he is most under-rated - but the other main cast members are OK. The film has a pretty good atmosphere and is well paced with a fair bit of incident. Nothing is quite what it seems at first glance. The ending comes after quite a build-up and I found it to be all the more shocking. This wasn't the kind of film that was expected to be a box office success but it is still a neat little film.

I'm only adding an observation. I have noticed on so many occasions where a film places the poor buggers in question in a perilous situation, whereupon they take leave in a mighty hurry in a perfectly roadworthy vehicle. It so happens if it was one of us, we would find ourselves shifting into top gear and pelting up the motorway away to freedom and safety...Not so for these poor f@@kers, the petrol gauge suddenly shows empty at worst moment, a tree suddenly appears to halt progress, a tire goes flat, and so often a decent driver suddenly can't control the flippin' vehicle and off the road they go spinning over and coming to rest upside down only to be hacked to death by the mad axeman(spell correct offers ''taxman''). Here in Race with the Devil a cupboard aboard a mobile home is opened as they are driving and a snake pops out! If you were the driver, what would you do? Stop and help? No way! You must drive even faster and erratically over bumpy rough ground until everyone ,snakes and all are writhing about helpless on the floor and then crash into a tree. Yes that's what I would do.

Peter Fonda, Lara Parker, Warren Oates, & Loretta Switt star in this supernatural hybrid horror/chase picture about two couples taking a trip in their RV from Texas to Colorado when they accidentally come upon a group of Satanists whose human sacrifice they interrupt. In retaliation, they spend the duration of the film chasing them down, in an effort to silence them.Though featuring a good cast and direction, and is reasonably exciting, this film has too many loose ends/story loopholes to succeed. Exactly why the devil cult is so determined to kill them, no matter how many of their own die in the process, especially when, since they're so secretive, and have already covered their tracks well, it doesn't seem justified, is a real mystery. Then of course is the revelation of exactly how big this cult is, that leads to the gut-wrenching finale, which defies credibility.("Rosemary's Baby' again an influence!) Not bad really, film is watchable(needs a stronger script), just don't think about the logic too much(like I did!)