Race with the Devil

Two couples set out on holiday in a motorhome, driving from Texas to Colorado. They stop by the road to spend the night. They see a fire in the distance and look through binoculars: a group of people are performing a rite, and at the end of it someone is killed. They realise they have been seen and drive off. They reach a town and go to the police; the sheriff looks at the site and says he found nothing. They continue, and the cars behind them multiply. Jack Starrett directs. Peter Fonda and Warren Oates take the leads. The film joins the road films of the seventies to horror; the narrative takes place largely on the highway and the threat is always behind. The motorhome chases were shot with real vehicles and the stunt work is what stands out. The fear it builds is not supernatural; the danger comes from people, and in which town who belongs to the group is unknown. The idea is that there is nobody to ask for help; the police, the petrol station and the motel clerk are equally suspect. It was made cheaply, did good business, and became a cult film in later years. The ending is open and hard; the narrative offers no resolution. Who it is for: viewers who like seventies genre cinema and road films. Who it is not for: there is little depth of character, the middle repeats, and the ending is abrupt.