20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very suspenseful vehicular stalker movie, February 7, 2004
You know, the phrase `this movie will have you sitting on the edge of your seat' gets thrown around a lot to the point of being cliché, but it really does seem to apply to this movie. Not in the literal sense, mind you, as I was lying down when I saw it, but figuratively speaking, that is, unless you are prone to sitting on the edge of your seat anyway in which case forget what I just said and move on. (seems like a dumb place to sit anyway...I mean, aren't you just asking for trouble?) Road Games, released in 1981 and directed by Australian born director Franklin Richards and starring Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis, is an excellent little movie I had heard absolutely nothing about until it was recommended to me on this website.
The story follows an American truck driver working in Australia, hire to drive a load of slaughtered hogs from Melbourne to Perth across a desolate stretch of highway. Stacy Keach plays Quid, an intelligent, self-educated man who is keenly observant of his surroundings, trading quips with his companion, a pet dingo that travels with Quid in his cab. Seems there's a serial killer stalking female victims, and Quid begins to suspect a green van he's seen on the roadways. Soon Quid picks up Hitch (Jamie Lee Curtis), and things begin to unravel at an alarming pace. Quid quickly finds himself a suspect, set up by the real killer, in the spate of grisly murders, and must not only clear his name, but also save his own life, as the mysterious stranger in the green van soon goes from being pursued to being the pursuer with the backdrop being some really beautiful wide-open Australian scenery.
Think this sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie? Well, that's exactly what the director was going for and he achieved his goal very nicely. He manages to build the suspense and maintain it throughout the movie, driving it to one of the more exciting conclusions within a film I've seen in a long time. Another nice touch is the way he directly avoids showing the violently visceral aspects of the killer's crimes, only alluding to them. There are many wonderfully, slyly humorous moments littered throughout the film as the director gradually tightens the screws on the viewers. I found the scene with Quid and Hitch at the rest stop/gas station especially grueling.
Along with a beautiful, wide screen presentation, Anchor Bay provides a number of interesting features including an audio commentary by producer/director Richard Franklin, a 20 minute featurette with the director and actor Stacy Keach, a trailer, talent bios, original storyboards, a poster and still gallery, a wonderful five page insert on the movie, and even the original screenplay available on DVD-ROM. If you enjoy thoughtful, well-directed thrillers chocked full of suspense and a minimal amount of violence, then see this movie. It'll be worth your time. If you like this one, I might suggest Duel (1971), Breakdown (1997), or Joyride (2001).
Cookieman108
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice little masterpiece, May 8, 2005
This is one of those movies that gets sorely overlooked because it doesn't pander to the slasher & gore genre ,in true classic horror movie fashion it let's your own imagination do most of the work.You get drawn into the characters because they never seem pretentious or one dimensional ,this is also very much in the Hitchcok vein, so if you are looking for something a little different w/thought instead of gore this is the ticket.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One more Jamie Lee Curtis horror flick makes it to DVD!, April 15, 2005
oOkay, this isn't so much horror as super suspense. Jamie Lee doesn't even appear in the first half of the movie. Stacy Keach spends the time driving across country trying to get away from some unseen psycho in a truck. But after he picks up Jamie Lee, you really feel like you've entered a classic Jamie Lee slasher flick!
This movie is a must for Slasher/Scream Queen fanatics.
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