Director: Jack Starrett
Written by: Wes Bishop, Lee Frost
Cast: Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker

Year / Country: 1975, USA
Running Time: 84 mins.

You know these vacations where everything goes wrong? Not like it does in Race with the Devil I bet. Two friends go camping with their wives in a luxury RV. On the first night in the countryside, they accidentally witness a satanic ritual in which a girl gets sacrificed. Then they are spotted and have to flee in terror. Of course, the sheriff doesn’t believe a word they are saying, so they decide to head to Amarillo in Texas to talk to the cops there. But these devil worshippers are not to be messed with and they start a pursuit. A tense ride for life and death begins…

Peter Fonda plays a very different character in this movie than he does in the car chase flick Dirty Mary, Lazy Larry, in which he played a misogynist criminal. This time around, he is a normal American who has to experience America’s nightmare. The tension certainly rises to a boiling point when everybody seems to be part of the satanic cult. ‘Witnesses on the run movies’ can be fun and Race with the Devil is no exception. It’s like The Hills Have Eyes on the move with cannibals replaced by occult freaks.

The overload of stupid redneck people and the lack of feminist awareness are annoying, but are compensated by an entertaining story that has elements of action, horror and mystery in it. The race from the title doesn’t start until fifteen minutes from the ending, but when it does it’s a spectacular piece of action. The ‘surprise’ ending does not come entirely unexpected, but it still holds a clever twist and provides a fitting ending to an entertaining seventies car flick.

Rating:

Biography: Jack Starrett (1936, Texas – 1989, California) has a large résumé in early 70’s exploitation flicks in different genres, such as; blaxplotation, western, crime and biker movies. Although not all of his pictures received favorable critique, some are definitely considered as classics in their kind. Cleopatra Jones and The Gravy Train have a steady cult following and the devil worship car chase horror / action film Race with the Devil became Starrett’s biggest ever drive-in hit and one of his most well-regarded movies. Besides directing he also acted and delivered a few remarkable performances, amongst others in Blazing Saddles and First Blood.

Filmography: Run, Angel, Run! (1969), The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969, TV episodes), Nam’s Angels (1970), Cry Blood, Apache (1970), Night Chase (1970, TV), The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972), Slaughter (1972), Cleopatra Jones (1973), The Gravy Train (1974), Planet of the Apes (1974, TV episode), Starsky and Hutch (1975, TV episodes), A Small Town in Texas (1976), Hollywood Man (1976), Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target (1977, TV), Nowhere to Hide (1977, TV), Final Chapter: Walking Tall (1977), What Really Happened to the Class of 65? (1977, TV episode), Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978, TV), Mr. Horn (1979, TV), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1980, TV episodes), Beyond Westworld (1980, TV episode), Eischied (1980, TV episode), Hill Street Blues (1981, TV episode), Kiss my Grits (1982)