1975’s mobile home invasion film, Race with the Devil, is another example
of why you should veer off the interstate highways in Texas…ever. On a
backwoods getaway, two couples park their RV in a supposedly secluded area in
the woods to relax, race dirt bikes, and drink beer. After sunset, they witness
a sacrificial murder by some sort of a cult, and the rest of the movie is spent
trying to escape from the murderous mob.
The film is directed by Jack
Starrett, a Texas born filmmaker who specialized in southern fried fare such as
A Small Town in Texas, Final Chapter: Walking Tall, a couple of
episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, and
the intriguingly titled Big Bob Johnson
and his Fantastic Speed Circus. He also directed the b
Its satanic cult premise is one that
was very popular at the time; seen in Rosemary’s
Baby, The Wicker Man, and The Omen among others. The sub-genre should
have been revived with Ti West’s The
House of the Devil. Much to the detriment of our society, we got the
vampire craze instead. If taken as more than a throw away thriller, Race with the Devil can also be read as
an allegory for religious extremism that is still prevalent in rural America
today.
The film’s visual style is in line
with many of the grind-house films of the time. It has a documentary feel that
is helped by using non actors as background characters. In true exploitation
cinema style, Starrett claimed to have used real Satanists as extras in the
cult scenes. The film has a very effective sense of paranoia, shown by
suspicious looking close-ups of all the locals.
Seeing the back of the RV for the
first time, I expected one of those cheesy motorbike chase sequences similar to
the ones in Wes Craven’s The Hills Have
Eyes Part 2. Luckily, the bikes were employed (or rather deployed) in a more
realistic manner in the film, acting as roadblocks during the climactic chase
sequence.
The primary weakness of the film is
the character development, especially the women. The female characters, played
by Lara Parker and MASH’s Loretta
Swit spend the movie screaming and cowering. I would much have preferred to see
them empowered by the experience in the way that The Final Girl does in slasher
films. The one substantial scene they have is the same clichéd sequence all
these films have, where the protagonists research the cult at the library,
finding the info they are looking for in the first and most conveniently titled
book they grab.
The male characters have it a little
better. Peter Fonda gets to do some action hero business, but beyond that,
there is little development of his character. The stand out is Warren Oates,
mostly due to his approach to the role. He is more vulnerable and down to earth
here than in any other film I’ve seen him in. Oates’ characters are typically
in control of their environments and it is fun to see him flying by the seat of
his pants as he leads his friends in their escape.
This is a genuinely frightening
film. The rattlesnake sequence is one of the best snake scenes I’ve ever seen,
no doubt because real snakes were used. Real animals are rarely used in movies
anymore, replaced by digitally rendered creatures. The prevalence of CGI today
causes a disconnect between me and the action of the film. The ending is
chilling as well. It has what I consider a “true” horror movie ending. Scary
movies should end with evil triumphing or at the very least, a sense of
uncertainty about the good guys’ fate. It’s so much more effective that way.
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