Race with the Devil (1975)

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

Director:

Jack Starrett

Writers:

Lee Frost, Wes Bishop

Stars:

Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Fonda	...	Roger
Warren Oates	...	Frank
Loretta Swit	...	Alice
Lara Parker	...	Kelly
R.G. Armstrong	...	Sheriff Taylor
Clay Tanner	...	Delbert
Carol Blodgett	...	Ethel Henderson
Phil Hoover	...	Mechanic
Ricci Ware	...	Ricci Ware
Paul A. Partain	...	Cal Mathers
James N. Harrell	...	Gun Shop Owner
Karen Miller	...	Kay
Arkey Blue	...	Arkey Blue
Jack Starrett	...	Gas Station Attendant
Wes Bishop	...	Deputy Dave

Storyline

Frank and Roger and their wives take off for Colorado in a recreational vehicle, looking forward to some skiing and dirt biking. While camping en route, they witness a Satanic ritual sacrifice, but the local sheriff finds no evidence to support their claims and urges them to continue on their vacation. On the way, however, they find themselves repeatedly attacked by cult members, and they take measures to defend themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude woman | female nudity | nudity | murder | targeted by a cult | 

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Taglines:

Witness an unspeakable act!

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carrera contra el diablo

Filming Locations:

Bandera, Texas, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Saber Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The picture of a human sacrifice that the women find in the library book is from a series of images of Aztec Indian life painted by H. M. Herget for the June, 1937 issue of National Geographic magazine.

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Goofs

Despite the fact that they are vacationing in January, and everyone has heavy coats on at the beginning of the movie, when the couples arrive at the RV park, everyone is swimming in the pool.

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Quotes

Gas Station Attendant: What the hell happened to your van here? Your back window is all busted up!
Frank Stewart: I don't drive too well when I'm asleep.

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Alternate Versions

Although all previous cinema and video versions were complete, the 2007 UK DVD release was cut by 25 secs by the BBFC to edit shots of a snake being struck with a ski pole.

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Connections

Edited into The Fall Guy (1981)

User Reviews

Get your motors running, get out on the highway. Because Old Nick is coming to get yah!

Race with the Devil is directed by Jack Starrett and written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost. It stars Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker and R.G. Armstrong. A Panavision/ DeLuxe Colour production, music is by Leonard Rosenman and cinematography by Robert Jessop.

Two vacationing couples have to flee for their lives when they witness a ritualistic slaying by occultists.

Great fun. A raging "B" movie for the 70s drive-in crowd that tapped into the decades new found taste for the occult and highway speeding. Film is cloaked with a paranoia vibe as our two frantic couples desperately try to stay out of the clutches of Satanists. Life and death confrontations come and go, and as they are never sure who is in league with the hooded blood drinkers, they have to assume that they alone must fight the good fight. It all builds to a crescendo of exciting vehicle carnage, which in turn leads to the final denouement, which quite frankly is frustratingly brilliant. Oates and Fonda entertain with brisk and airy performances, though Swit and Parker are really only directed to be screaming banshees waiting to be saved by their burly men.

Best served with lashings of Bourbon and Coke, and not designed to be scrutinised for moral or ethical worth, just enjoy the ride and try and stay one step ahead of Old Nick. 8/10