Race with the Devil (1975) User Reviews

Good drive-in movie

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 27 August 2007]

Two couples are on vacation and driving around in a huge motor home. They are Roger (Peter Fonda), Kelly (Lara Parker), Frank (Warren Oates) and Alice (Loretta Swit). One night while camping they see a Satanic ritual where a young girl is murdered. The members of the cult find out and the couples spend the rest of the movie with witches after them to kill them.

The story is a little silly and the dialogue is pretty bad but this is the type of movie that used to pack them in at drive-ins. It's full of action, fast-moving and has likable (if one-dimensional) characters. It's basically a chase movie disguised and marketed as a horror film. The killing in the movie isn't that explicit and the nudity in it is purposely blurred out-some people think it was edited from theatrical prints but it was always that way.

The acting doesn't really matter--I mean who's seeing this for the acting? Still all four actors give their all to this. The only thing that bothered me was Swit and Parker screaming nonstop when anything happens and letting Fonda and Oates "save" them. It's quite amusing to see Parker being attacked by witches in this one since she played the evil witch Angelique in the "Dark Shadows" TV series in the late 1960s. The climax is either a perfect one or a lousy one. I'm torn between the two myself.

Quick and fun with a really incredible car chase at the end.

Tense and effective thriller

[gridoon · 7/10 · 26 April 2006]

Not a classic movie perhaps, but a good little thriller with some very tense moments (like the fight with the snakes - I wonder how they did that) and a few spectacular car chases (the stuntwork is excellent). Director Jack Starrett does an effective job of creating a feeling of (justified) paranoia and conspiracy: what the heroes presume is a weird orgy turns out to be ritualistic murder, and what's worse for them, the initially small group of devil worshippers appears to be supported by entire towns! Peter Fonda and Warren Oates create two believable, down-to-earth characters that you can easily root for; on the other hand, the women are reduced to useless screamers during the moments of danger, in what I seriously consider the biggest annoyance of this film. (***)

Defending the Ending ***SPOILER***

[tabbycat · 8/10 · 30 December 2005]

For years I've listened to nitpickers attack the ending. "Why didn't they just drive away?" If you recall, the attendant at the last gas station they stopped at warned, "You got a busted headlight on that thing". Not to mention half of the front end torn off, exposing the engine compartment.

Fonda's character pulls off the road to repair the headlight "while there's still enough light to see what I'm doing". The cultists last contacted them at the roadside construction project, and followed them to where they stopped -- at twilight.

When night fell, they either smashed the other headlight or disabled the engine by quietly pulling a cable or belt. In the dark, with no headlights, surrounded by hills and dales and rocks and streams and trees, that big behemoth isn't going anywhere, if it's even still running.

The couples originally see their $26,000 Vogue as a castle on wheels -- king of the road. "We don't need anything. We are self-contained, baby!" They quickly realize that it is in fact a lumbering, vulnerable deathtrap that makes them easy prey in isolated, unfamiliar territory. This refusal to accept that they are so out of their element -- in a race that they can't possibly win -- is the movie's entire point.

Perfect drive-in fare

[inspectors71 · 30 March 2006]

Let's hop into the wayback machine and return to the North Cedar Drive-In Theatre in Spokane, Washington, circa 1975. It's hot and muggy and my best friend and I are seeing maybe the fortieth movie of the summer, sitting in my Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser or his 12 year old F-250 (I can't remember which). We sit back to watch Race With the Devil, an obvious B-grade horror flick we've heard great things about from friends.

I haven't seen Jack Starrett's RWD since that night in the summer of '75, but I distinctly remember how good it was, how merrily hell-bent-for-leather the action was, and the way it tied into our goofy fear of Satanic cults and human chains thirty years ago. If you were around the greater Spokane area (now there's an oxymoron!) way back when, you must have heard the stories coming out of Rathdrum, Idaho, north of Coeur d'Alene. This flick was shot in the southwest, but with all the rural versions of urban legends clanking about the Idaho Panhandle, Race With the Devil seemed like a home movie.

I believe the movie made a gob of money that year.

I recommend Race With the Devil in no small part for the fact that it's obvious the people involved are having a great time, a must for a low-budget movie. It has the pacing and the chills to scare teenagers wearing long hair and bell bottoms and, I'm sure after I order a copy from Amazon, it will put a grin on the face of this paunchy, middle-aged nostalgist.

This film has its moments.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 6/10 · 25 June 2017]

My brother told me about "Race With the Devil" many years ago after he had seen some of it on a late night T.V showing. The way the film was described to me, made me curious in wanting to see it. I had to wait a while for the film to be shown again as obtaining it on video was going to be hard. BBC 2 eventually showed "Race With the Devil" in 1997 at about midnight. I was quite impressed with the final results. Warren Oates is the best actor in the film - he is most under-rated - but the other main cast members are OK. The film has a pretty good atmosphere and is well paced with a fair bit of incident. Nothing is quite what it seems at first glance. The ending comes after quite a build-up and I found it to be all the more shocking. This wasn't the kind of film that was expected to be a box office success but it is still a neat little film.

They Witnessed A Satanic Act- It May Cost Them Their Lives!

[phillindholm · 7/10 · 29 June 2005]

As low budget horror movies go, "Race With The Devil" has aged well. The plot is simple--two couples en route to Aspen for a long overdue skiing vacation, end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and witness a human sacrifice. The rest of the film deals with their attempts to escape their pursuers, who happen to be modern day witches! Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H) and Lara Parker (Dark Shadows) are the couples in question, and R.G. Armstrong is the local sheriff they enlist to help them. All the performances are fine, especially the vastly underrated Oates, who is only now receiving the acclaim long due him, (he has since passed away) and his acting is as compelling as ever. The just-released DVD includes a commentary from producer Paul Maslansky and Lara Parker, a retrospective documentary with Peter Fonda, trailer, still and poster galleries and radio spots. Enhanced for widescreen TVs the film looks great, and is a great one to watch late at night (if not alone) when you feel the need for a few genuine scares.

The Road to Terror

[Vomitron_G · 7/10 · 21 February 2010]

I'm very pleased with this little occult road-movie classic from the 70's. It's fun and moves at a decent pace. Of course you have to wait for more than an hour before the racing starts, but the climactic last 20 minutes make up for it. Two couples on a holiday with their mobile home are witness to a satanic ritual killing during one night. Naturally, the local authorities have some difficulties believing all this, and soon the two couples find themselves being harassed and eventually chased by several cult-members. I liked the sense of paranoia this film has. Just about everyone in this movie could be a satanic cult-member. I liked the ending too. And Peter Fonda was cool as always. This time he used the word "terrific" a lot as an expletive, instead of "groovy".

Don't read spoiler reviews before watching.

[otter-stl · 7/10 · 30 November 2014]

I have not read through all the reviews, so I'm hoping no one spoils the ending. Read the ones marked spoiler after watching the movie.

Considering how long ago this was made, it was a very cool movie. Starts off a little slow, but once you see the bonfire start, things pick up.

Roger (Peter Fonda) and his buddy, Frank (Warren Oates) take their wives, Alice (Loretta Swit) and Kelly (Laura Parker) on a nice vacation in a large motor-home. There are some comical scenes, some sad scenes, some motorcycle action and, of course, some suspense and action. I have to agree with one reviewer about the women being in it to provide screaming and in fear of almost everyone else in the movie. The car chase scenes were very good. You won't see any gross scenes in this. I would recommend seeing the movie. Enjoy!

"I don't believe a school bus on Sunday."

[Hey_Sweden · 9/10 · 10 February 2012]

Never mind the nasty dismissal in the annual paperback guide to movies by critic Leonard Maltin and cronies. This is classic, exhilarating *and* suspenseful drive-in entertainment, man!

Real-life good friends Peter Fonda and Warren Oates play buddies Roger and Frank, who embark on a vacation with wives Kelly (Lara Parker) and Alice (Loretta Swit) that includes, or will include, activities such as camping, motorcycle racing, and, hopefully, skiing. Frank has even procured a state-of-the-art RV for the occasion. Unfortunately for this quartet, Roger and Frank end up witnessing a Satanic ritual & sacrifice taking place across a river. The Satanists (supposedly played by actual Satanists) realize they've been witnessed and thereafter relentlessly pursue the heroes.

Actor / director Jack Starrett ("Slaughter", "Cleopatra Jones") stepped in on short notice to replace original director Lee Frost (Frost and co-writer / producer / actor Wes Bishop being familiar names to exploitation aficionados) as 20th Century Fox was dissatisfied with what Frost was turning out. And the results make for a fine viewing experience. The tension just builds and builds throughout the whole thing. Just get a load of the sequence where the nervous Kelly sees, or seems to see, menace in every strange face around her. This will have the audience thinking, "Just how many people are in on, or could be in on, this whole damn thing?" You'll wonder, too, if there's *anybody* trustworthy in the cast of characters.

Particularly exciting scenes are those where Roger and Frank have to rush to get their vehicle going again before the villains can catch up, and where they and their wives must deal with an attack by a pair of rattlers. But best of all is the invigorating, breathless climactic action featuring some extremely impressive human and vehicle stunts. Leonard Rosenman's music score is ominous through and through, and there's one Hell of a distinctive looking tree to serve as an enduring image. Fonda, Oates, Swit, and Parker are immensely likable, and the supporting cast includes old pro R.G. Armstrong as the sheriff, Bishop as Deputy Dave, Phil Hoover as the creepy looking mechanic, and Paul A. Partain (Franklin in the original "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre") in a bit part. The movie features one of the most priceless of the downbeat endings common to 1970's cinema, ending this on a perfect note.

"Race with the Devil" is must viewing for anybody looking to discover the drive-in favourites of decades past.

Nine out of 10.

Great suspense flick

[jromano01 · 7/10 · 17 October 2005]

Saw this movie on TV years ago and loved it. Most reviews I've read classify it as a poorly done, low-budget thriller. I found it highly entertaining, a little campy yes, but over-all very enjoyable.

The satanic ritual scene is great (Loretta Switt's hair-brained act of turning on the light and hollering never ceases to annoy the hell out of me), nerve wracking escape and subsequent encounters with the cult members fuel the energy and suspense. Lots of creepy scenes along the way keep you wondering who might be in on it and might make you think twice about a back roads RV trip.

Great ending too but I won't spoil it.

okay acting....terrible story

[stepi-1 · 3/10 · 24 August 2007]

From a historical perspective, this is an example of the perfect Drive Inn flick. The acting is okay, the action is dated (this is the 70's)and the storyline doesn't have to make sense. As you enjoy this cinematic adventure (thank you Dane Cook) ask yourself these questions

1. Under the circumstances why buy one gun? 2. Just how far away is Fisher anyway? 3. what kind of communication network must those satanists have that allows them to transcend time and space? 4. Would you stop driving for anything? 5. Are there any normal people in that state at all?

You may enjoy this film as a slice of 70's culture and when you consider that that time was a period of social change and uncertainty does the ending make more sense? Hey don't lay your morality on me man.

Great little seventies road horror flick!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 13 January 2006]

Wow, what a great little flick. Race With the Devil is a seventies road movie/satanic horror film about a group of holidaymakers who get more than they bargained for when they witness the brutal murder of a young girl by a group of devil worshippers. The film is an obvious influence for modern horror films such as From Dusk Till Dawn and The Devil's Rejects, and also serves as a great prelude to later seventies classics including The Hills Have Eyes. There isn't anything particularly nasty in the film, which actually helps it as it allows more time to be spent on the plot and characters. Race With the Devil was clearly never meant to be a shocking horror film, as most of the movie is spent dealing up suspense, and this is good also as it ensures that Ride With the Devil is one exciting trip through the wastelands of America. The plot never really delves into the reasons why the satanic cult sacrifices people, and this is indicative of the time in which the movie was made. The fact that they're cult members is incidental to the fact that they're chasing our leading group of characters.

Director Jack Starrett does an amazing job of creating paranoia for our central quartet. The director ensures that we never really know where we are, and who to trust; and this serves in making the suspense all the more potent. The acting isn't brilliant, but cult stars Warren Oates and Peter Fonda make for enjoyable leads as they try their best to stay alive. The rest of the cast, including the central women, do their jobs well and this film pretty much delivers what you would expect from a seventies horror thriller on the acting side. Race With the Devil spends its first hour building up to an absolutely great climax, which features car chases, gunfights and even good old-fashioned brainpower. The film is slow burning (yet interesting) up until this point, but once it hits the hour mark – it really takes off. The car chases are well filmed, and the way that Starrett always keeps our focus on the lead characters makes sure that we are able to get behind them, and the chase pans out as it should. On the whole, this is a very enjoyable thriller that has shamefully been lost over the years. While watching, I was surprised at how this hasn't been tagged for a remake yet - so you can guess how I felt when I discovered that, actually, it has...

it's one hell of a road trip!

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 14 May 2005]

Two couples on their way to Colorado for a holiday; stumble across a ritual sacrifice by some Satanists. So now it's a race to get to a big city to report it, as everyone they bump into seem to be part of this secret. The cult will stop at nothing to prevent them in doing so, by pursuing them over the countryside.

Well, I didn't really intend to watch it, but the title and plot outline sounded fairly interesting and I thought I'd give it a view. I wasn't expecting big things, but actually I found this b-grade film better than expected.

This paranoia thriller comes across as a melodrama, with spurts of action (mostly Satanist road rage) and a horrifyingly creepy and downbeat conclusion. This basically one idea film starts off fairly slow and quite talkative, but it picks up mid-way through with certain incidents becoming unbearably tense and nerve wrecking, like the snakes in the motor home, chaotic car chasing scenes and the chilling ending. There are some startling and vibrant images that created an impact, especially the opening scene of the film, the burning tree and a downright striking and persistent score. The cinematography at times is quite flashy and jumpy, with plenty of zoom in to capture the character's expressions.

There are solid and down-to-earth performances by Warren Oates, Peter Fonda, Lara Parker and Loretta Swit as the two couples. Which is quite good as you truly sympathise for these characters.

Though, the overall story comes across as far-fetched and quite predictable up until the last 30 seconds of macabre, but still it's an amusing 90-minutes. It's nothing more than a jolting thrill ride of clichés and suspense, but just don't expect anything great or you might be disappointed in what you see? A side-note; it just somehow reminded me of a more action-packed road version of ''The Wicker Man''.

It's definitely worth a look.

Lara Parker's awful performance brings this film down

[belanger75 · 5/10 · 7 April 2017]

Review contains a few spoilers.

Just about everybody in this film is good to excellent especially Lorretta Swit (of TV's Mash--see my review on that show). The action sequences when hoods come on the motor home while its moving and unsuccessfully try to destroy it are sensibly filmed and well-crafted. All that ruins this film is Lara Parker's terrible performance as Peter Fonda's wife. She makes 100% amateurish, lousy, overblown faces trying to act scared. Swit on the other hand makes perfect countenance in every minute she acts frightened. Swit proves totally that Parker is a terrible actress. Maybe,say, Susan Strasberg should have had Parker's role. Or maybe Swit's character could have been the sole wife in the motor home. Parker was such a mistake in this film!

An edge-of-the-seat ride!

[one4now4 · 12 January 2004]

"Race With the Devil" is an excellent blend of spine-tingling horror, riveting suspense, and slambang action. I had heard good things about this one, and I definitely got what I was looking for. In fact, I got too much because this is one spooky movie and is the type of film that I love because it's a great movie, but hate because it sends my paranoia levels spiralling through the roof. In it, four vacationers are traveling in their badass RV and end up getting drunk out in the middle of an isolated countryside. The two guys see something that piques their interest across the river at night and spy on it, thinking they're watching hippies have an orgy. What they don't expect is the Satanic ritual sacrifice that takes place right in the middle of it all, and they don't make a very clean getaway. Before you know it, devil-worshippers are coming out of the woodwork everywhere they end up at, chasing them all over the state. It is a very creepy and believeable film, and I've got to commend a movie that makes car chases exciting when I can't remember the last time I ever gave a crap about a single one. An exhilarating, fast-paced movie that is an edge-of-the-seat thrill ride! I highly recommend it!

How to annoy me

[muckydog2 · 6/10 · 12 August 2014]

I'm only adding an observation. I have noticed on so many occasions where a film places the poor buggers in question in a perilous situation, whereupon they take leave in a mighty hurry in a perfectly roadworthy vehicle. It so happens if it was one of us, we would find ourselves shifting into top gear and pelting up the motorway away to freedom and safety...Not so for these poor f@@kers, the petrol gauge suddenly shows empty at worst moment, a tree suddenly appears to halt progress, a tire goes flat, and so often a decent driver suddenly can't control the flippin' vehicle and off the road they go spinning over and coming to rest upside down only to be hacked to death by the mad axeman(spell correct offers ''taxman''). Here in Race with the Devil a cupboard aboard a mobile home is opened as they are driving and a snake pops out! If you were the driver, what would you do? Stop and help? No way! You must drive even faster and erratically over bumpy rough ground until everyone ,snakes and all are writhing about helpless on the floor and then crash into a tree. Yes that's what I would do.

Highly Entertaining, Even If a Bit Silly

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 18 October 2015]

Two couples vacationing together in a new Vogue R.V. from Texas to Aspen, Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.

Some of the decisions made by the characters in this film defy all reason. The bad driving, the ritual sacrifice within view of others campers... and some just silly mistakes. But all the silly plot is made up for by the action, chases and explosions. This is sort of like "Duel" in an RV.

The most interesting thing is how the film starts with dirt bikes and you quickly assume the "race" must involve the dirt bikes. And yet, not even halfway in, the bikes are destroyed and serve no real point to the plot. A tank of oil (or gasoline) does, though.

Solid 7; good cast, fun to watch; Saturday morning keeper

[ffrudderiii · 7/10 · 6 February 2021]

Maybe it's the nostalgia having seen this at a much earlier age. Central-west Texas still looks much like it did 45 years ago (I'm writing this review in Feb 21 outside Gatesville). Warren Oates is Warren Oates, and Peter Fonda and Loretta Swit and Lara Parker provide a believable cast of protagonists who just happen upon a Satanic Cult in the rurals. It's a classic what-if disaster road trip before cell phones would render this story unbelievable to many viewers. The director does a good job with suspense - are the rural Sheriff and his people just aloof or are they conspirators; are the pool-goers friendly or in on it? And a pitched gun battle in a motor home on rural highways may seem far-fetched, but Satan and it's followers are persistent. Worth a watch if you're into mid-70s nostalgia/suspense/thrillers.

The Devil Went Down To Texas....

[ferbs54 · 7/10 · 14 April 2009]

"Race With the Devil" is my idea of a "guilty pleasure" movie if ever there were one. A low-budget picture with not overly deep characters and a rather simple plot (even costar Peter Fonda, in an excellent interview extra on this great-looking Anchor Bay DVD, describes the film as having "not a lot of nuance"), it is yet so much fun to watch, its four leads so likable, its suspense so real and its action such a blast, that the viewer is compelled to put aside his/her critical objections and just enjoy. In the film, two couples--Warren Oates (who just about steals the picture for me) & Loretta Swit (how nice to see her away from the Pusan Perimeter for a change!) and Fonda & Lara Parker--pack some dirt bikes aboard their new $36K motor home and drive off into the wilds of rural Texas (which, ever since a certain 1974 film involving chain saws, has seemed like a pretty scary place). Trouble ensues when the boys accidentally witness a nighttime satanic ritual, and the devil worshippers begin chasing the quartet throughout the state. The picture gets maximum creepy mileage from the fact that just about everyone the four encounter--be it sheriff, librarian or gas station attendant (that last played by director Jack Starrett himself!)--seems suspicious; it's almost as if everyone in the backcountry of Texas is an acolyte of Old Scratch! And this suspicion IS fairly well borne out, as the film goes all "Road Warrior"-ish and caps things off with an absolutely chilling ending. Buddies Fonda and Oates, who had previously worked together in "The Hired Hand" and "92 In the Shade," have great screen chemistry here; Peter tells us that the entire shoot was great fun, and that joy of film-making is certainly communicated to the viewer. A huge hit for 20th Century Fox back in 1975, "Race With the Devil" holds up excellently now, almost 35 years later. Although the vacationers in that summer's "Jaws" had a rough time, "Race"'s four vacationers surely had it no easier!

Rosemary's Baby meets The Hitcher!

[KingM21 · 8/10 · 2 September 2005]

Ah, it's always great to discover a forgotten gem like this for the first time. Staring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates, the story involves them and their wives going on a cross-country vacation in their new RV. They decide to spend their first night parked in a secluded section of woods and just before going to bed, they witness a brutal, satanic ritual off in the distance. When they are spotted, the chase of their lives begins. Simply put, Race with the Devil was an entertaining flick. The ritual was suitable creepy (I loved the shot of the fire being started, as well as the flaming tree later on) and the chase scenes were tense, exciting, and action-packed (great stunt work). The "can't-trust-anyone" theme really helped to develop the foreboding atmosphere, all leading up to a chilling finale. I recommend checking the movie out before the remake hits screens in 2008…you won't regret it! By the way, Race with the Devil was clearly an influence on From Dusk Till Dawn.

Ready or Not Here We Come!

[damianphelps · 6/10 · 25 September 2020]

Great entertaining movie during a golden era of 'B' horror films. This was a time when a lot of occult style movies were being pumped out ranging from abysmal to excellent.

Its a funny thing, I can't help feeling if you remade this now shot for shot it would suck (as would many classic westerns), it would be slow, boring and seem quite simple. However for some reason this (and the classic westerns) work and provide great entertainment. Its really noticeable when I watch an old movie I love with my kids, they keep waiting for things to get good and I'm loving it lol.

Race with the Devil works great, building more tension as the pursuit heats up.

Odd watching Hot Lips but she's good in it.

What would you do in their shoes?

I've wanted this movie to be remade since 1975!

[dcaruso1968 · 3/10 · 25 August 2006]

When I was a kid I saw the original movie in the theater twice because I thought the CONCEPT was a great idea. But at the same time, I HATED the stupid and inept actions and dialog of the four main characters. Even as a kid, I knew the audience was much smarter than any one of these losers. I typically cringe at remakes of classic horror films using dumb teens in lead roles but in this case, a remake can do little harm to the characters unless the filmmakers abandon the chase concept altogether. So unless the previews for the new film just look ridiculous, I for one will be in line to see this remake when/if it gets made.

Nothing less than a classic

[stevenfallonnyc · 10/10 · 10 September 2004]

I remember seeing "Race With The Devil" on cable TV in the late seventies, and it had an immediate impact on me. As a lover of horror films, cult films, and car chase films, this had it all and was a blast from start to finish.

When I saw the film again years later on video, it still held up every bit as good and is still one of my very favorite films. This is what a film is supposed to be - fast, furious, and FUN. It's the old cliché - they don't make them like this anymore.

Peter Fonda, Warren Oates and their wives are on vacation in their RV, finding one desolate spot to spend the night on their way to their ski vacation. Warren and Peter are outside getting drunk and spot nude girls and other characters (Oates on one of the girls: "That's choice!") dancing around. Things get serious when they witness a girl being sacrificed as it was a satanist meeting or whatnot. Then for the rest of the film, they are on the run from the Satan nuts, who want to get the witnesses to their killing.

Then the ride really starts. Little by little it is apparent that our heroes seemed to be trapped in this kind of mass conspiracy where everyone it seems is part of the devil-worshiping clan. The devil worshippers seem to be playing with our heroes instead of just doing them in immediately (after failing to do so when they first spotted them) with signs that they are always just around the corner (the dead dog, the broken bikes, the stares Fonda's hot wife always gets, etc).

At one point, the film gets extremely vehicular with a series of two incredible car chases in a row, with Fonda and Oates knocking off cars and trucks like flies. The action here is nothing less than incredible, especially for car chase fans - cars and trucks fly off roads, crash head-on, explode, do two-wheels, and more, including an incredible crash where a car rolls off the road what seems like 25 times. And guess what? It's all REAL, with not a silly stupid computer effect in sight. The way films SHOULD be made, with elbow grease, not geeks with computer mouses.

Of course this being what it is, it is fun seeing the errors in these sequences, such as the trucks whose dents keep on disappearing, and the car who starts to flip before the explosion that causes it to. But that's just part of the fun.

There's even some unintentional laughs here and there, many due to Oate's grumpy comments that he makes occasionally. Oates is great as the most pessimistic of the two friends, and Fonda is a total delight to watch do his thing. The opening sequence is probably one of the most chilling images in film history, with what may be the coolest looking "horror tree" ever. An of course, the classic ending may be a downer to some but it does make perfect sense, and it's nice and refreshing to see that the film didn't take the clichéd "safe" all-is-well-now approach in ending the film.

And besides all that, "Race" even has one of the coolest film titles ever!

This really deserves a release on DVD with some great extras. "Race With The Devil" is a look back on how films should be made, and how much fun they used to be.

Never quite takes advantage of its creepy premise, but a good opening and a violent finale make it worthy viewing

[Condemned-Soul · 7/10 · 16 August 2018]

Starring Peter Fonda and Warren Oates as the likeable leads, 'Race with the Devil' is about two vacationing couples who find themselves pursued by a satanic cult after witnessing a ritualistic murder. With a strong beginning, the film unfortunately never quite capitalises on its spine-tingling premise, and true sequences of horror and terrorisation you may expect from the plot description never quite come to fruition. The plot meanders at a stately pace after the sacrifice and escape, trying to envelope proceedings with paranoia and fear at every opportunity. Every local seems to be part of the creepy cult, and yet they seem intent on playing games with their victims rather than outright laying on scares or kills. But 'Race with the Devil' makes up for any flaws and narrative shortcomings with a tensely staged car chase in the finale. Vehicular destruction and admirable stunts present themselves in the final scenes, and its pleasing to see the cultists finally shift into their endgame and come at the protagonists with aggressive determination. There are deaths, explosions, and barrel rolls to keep up the tension, and just when it seems the main cast has escaped the clutches of evil, a surprising and clever twist makes us realise the true horror the film alluded to earlier: everyone in the vicinity including police is seemingly ensnared in devil worship. The final image is a creepy downer reminiscent of The Wicker Man, and makes 'Race with the Devil' a low-key recommendation. 7/10

Moderately entertaining, but no meat on the bones

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 20 July 2015]

Released in 1975, "Race with the Devil" stars Peter Fonda, Lara Parker, Warren Oates and Loretta Swit as two couples harassed in their RV by a group of Satanists in central Texas after accidentally witnessing a sacrificial murder.

This is a decent horror/thriller with quite a bit of action, mostly of the car-chase variety, but it's held back by its lack of depth and routine style. There's a secret group of Satanists in central Texas and they seem to be everywhere and COULD be anyone, even the sheriff and his deputies, but this is the extent of the film's depth.

In one sense there's nothing wrong with this approach because there are serious Satanists out there and some of them have been known to engage in human sacrifice; Adolfo Constanzo's Mexican cult in the late 80s is a good example (for which the 2007 movie "Borderland" is loosely based). Satanists and human sacrifice have been around for centuries. So it's a great story idea, but it's necessary to add meat to the bones, so to speak, to maintain the viewer's interest. If the filmmakers can't do this then they have to make up for it with exceptional thrills.

While there are thrills in "Race with the Devil" they're rather pedestrian and on the level of the average 70's TV movie. Speaking of which, more than anything else "Race with the Devil" comes across as a prosaic made-for-TV movie. Still, it's worth catching (or owning) if you like the stars and the subgenre, just don't expect anything exceptional.

The movie runs 88 minutes and was shot in areas West of San Antonio, Texas.

GRADE: C+