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Road Games.

post #1 of 17
8/18/04 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
Not sure if this qualifies as horror, but I figured it was worth bringing up here. Anchor Bay recently resurrected the little seen thriller, and I'm hoping a new audience discovers it as a result.
I saw this years ago and was thrilled when word of the DVD release came down, it's a fantastic midnite movie that was unjustly ignored upon it's initial release.

Very cool, taut film, with *great* characters and a clever story.

Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis are really on point as Quid the truck driver (but don't call him that!) and Hitch (the hitchhiker of course).

The plot is simple: An eccentric truck driver w/ a love for mystery, poetry and classical music, runs afoul of a enigmatic man in a green van, whom he believes to be a vicious "Jack the Ripper type" serial killer.

Certainly one of the brighter spots in Keach's oeuvre, a great early performance by Jamie Lee Curtis, and better than my somewhat regrettable "Haute Tension" viewing by far.

As it is explained by director Richard Franklin in the special features; think Rear Window as a road film, and you have Road Games (of course it cannot really compare, but...).
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post #2 of 17
8/18/04 at 7:31pm
Oh yeah, this is a great one. Very Hitchcock-y. I saw this many years ago on tv and about 6 months ago I spotted it in a used DVD store, realized what it was and picked it up.
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post #3 of 17
8/18/04 at 7:35pm
This is a great flick and I was thrilled when Anchor Bay put out the dvd (with some nice extras as well.)

I used to always catch this on A&E which showed it quite often. IT's pretty much Rear Window on the road, but very well done and with some great acting and scenes. Plus I always loved the music. I wanted a dingo as a pet for years after this.
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post #4 of 17
8/18/04 at 11:41pm
It sounds really interesting. I'm gunna have to pick this one up. Thanks for the tip.
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post #5 of 17
8/18/04 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 
No problem.
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post #6 of 17
8/19/04 at 3:46am
I saw this a couple years ago and I thought it was good. Stacy Keach has had a bewildering career.
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post #7 of 17
8/19/04 at 9:42am
The ending alone makes it horror. What's it like to get hit in the head by a Nolan Ryan fast ball? The ending of Road Games.
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post #8 of 17
8/19/04 at 6:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gus Bjork
The ending alone makes it horror. What's it like to get hit in the head by a Nolan Ryan fast ball? The ending of Road Games.
Funny thing is Richard Franklin didn't even want that ending, it was a suggestion from the studio; It does work though.
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post #9 of 17
2/22/10 at 1:17am
Way milder than I was expecting after working through some of the Ozploitation flicks - almost a sweetly naive Hitchcock tribute. Love the bit where the road and tail lights are superimposed over Keach's face.

Ultimately a surprisingly classy affair and a nice little suspense primer.
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post #10 of 17
2/22/10 at 2:17am
Yeah, it doesn't quite live up to its terrific poster. I think I prefer "Patrick" over this when it comes to Franklin's output.
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post #11 of 17
2/22/10 at 1:38pm
Watched this not too long ago during my short lived Ozploitation phase. Thought it was great actually. That ending though. I didn't hate it but it was just really goofy. Probably actually made me like the movie even more.
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post #12 of 17
2/22/10 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
Hey, now. I recently introduced this film to a friend of mine after talking it up for years and he fell in love with it. This is one of my ambient noise films, like The Warriors, Detour, Shaft, Night of the Living Dead, and Excalibur, I know it back to front and throw it on just to have a soundtrack to whatever else I'm doing.

It's just a fun, breezy, but really effective thriller and I'm glad more and more people are picking up on it. Also, despite it's ghoulish subject, the fact that it's not a terribly violent film, is something I really appreciate. As mentioned above, it's classy, no need to get things wet at all.
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post #13 of 17
2/22/10 at 2:26pm
http://chud.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101287
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post #14 of 17
2/22/10 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
3 years late!
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post #15 of 17
2/22/10 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malmordo View Post
Sorry I missed that one, boss. Grabbed the first one that turned up on Google search.
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post #16 of 17
2/22/10 at 10:01pm
No problem-o. I linked it only because I was too lazy to write a new post. And I obviously wasn't getting any takers in '07, so glad to see the movie's picked up some (vocal) fans.
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post #17 of 17
2/22/10 at 10:43pm
Been meaning to pick up the dvd after only seeing the vhs a few years back. Agree on it being pretty mild. I think only 2 people get killed, and the hitchhiking guitar chick at the beginning has a suspenseful scene.

Keach was pretty great as the truck driver. It's a decent Saturday/Sunday afternoon flick.
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