Road Games, a review by Jon
Road Games
3 out of 5
Stacy Keach is Pat Quid, driving a truck (but not a "truck driver"!) across the Outback. Prone to making up stories about his fellow road users, he begins to suspect one could be the serial killer he hears about on the radio. He picks up a hitchhiker, Jamie Lee Curtis, who feeds into his theory and tries to help. But then she disappears and the police think he may be the killer...
Another serial killer film that I took a chance on fitting in the "horror" genre and there's a couple of shocks and dark humour enough to count. I think.
This film is great fun, but caught me out somewhat. The first half is almost a comedy! Keach is brilliant as Quid, riding along making up stories about the other cars, chatting to his pet Dingo and quoting poetry. Does that sound weird? Well it does I suppose, but actually the mood is like a laid-back western and very enjoyable (If you're familiar with Aussie films beyond Mad Max, this balance between styles isn't unusual). Quid is just a well-read, friendly loner. And some genuine shocks and inventive camera work lift it well away from the mundane. I particularly liked the way the first victim is plucking at a guitar, which forms her own tension building theme.
Along the way he meets a variety of funny characters with their own oddities. Eventually he picks up a seriously under-used Curtis, although a running gag means we'd seen her twice already from behind, if you pardon the expression. Although while I'm bringing filthy innuendo into this, there is none at all in the film. Odd, for an early Curtis role. If you're not going to use the Scream Queen to scream, at least get her top off! I mean, it's almost slasher movie law!
After a roadside altercation with the two worst cops in film (just awful) and a campfire scene with a genuine spine-tingling shock worthy of any ghost story, she manages to get herself kidnapped by the suspected killer and Quid goes off in pursuit. Here, it all goes a bit wrong. It's like they were trying to reverse the vibe of Duel and that's just too high a target. Other variously good ideas will be bettered later by the marvellous The Hitcher with Rutger Hauer.
After a seriously daft chase the finale manages to involve all the same characters he met on the road in a sort of Cannonball Run cameo reunion. I really felt let down by that. Why would all these people be going to the same location? He's covered the distance between Melbourne and Perth. And so did everyone else?
It all finishes up in typical TV drama style and annoyingly never gives any kind of reason for what the villain is up to. Worse, the girl with the guitar is the only one killed on screen. So as a pure serial killer film, it's lacking. While it's certainly a film of two halves, the first being much better than the second, the whole thing has a tongue in cheek cartoon style that means it's never boring. And the final gag is bloody brilliant!
Note: I bought this DVD from Play.com and noticed a review from Ninehours (small world this Internet!) saying how awful the image quality was. It is bad. Sound too. I think it's just acceptable though and comparable with a lot of cheap bare-bones releases, but then thanks to Ninehours, my expectations were very low.
(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 16th, 2008)
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May 15, 2024, 01:17:47 AM
). I got repeatedly lost in thinking how certain people related to each other and what their motives were. The ending is strange and almost laughable, although that might possible be intentional.
.5
