Race with the Devil (1975)
Anchor Bay / Widescreen (1.85:1) / Color / 1 disc / 88 minutes

Somewhere between the Satanic orgy and the scene where Warren Oates beats a rattlesnake to death with a ski pole, you realize you’re watching one of the finest drive-in movies ever made.

Director Jack Starrett’s RACE WITH THE DEVIL is that rare combination of horror, action, violence, paranoia and 1970s camp. Indeed, RACE could have only been made in the 1970s, and maybe that’s what makes it special — no one makes movies about Satanic cults anymore.

Lets go back to those halcyon days when weird biker gangs and those rambling characters that were something between hippies and erudite degenerates struck fear into the minds of conservative America. Anton LeVey brought stylized Satanism to the masses in the late 1960s, and the hippies were reportedly doing all sorts of dastardly pagan things in woods, such as dancing naked and practicing witchcraft.

This was around the same time we discovered that playing Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” backwards yielded a gruff voice saying “SATAN SATAN SIX SIX SIX!”. ROSEMARY’S BABY, a product of the late 1960s, showed us that the old folks next door were Satanists, and THE EXORCIST unleashed terror in its waves of green puke and crucifix masturbation back in ‘73.

At least this is the environment of the 1970s that I conjure in my own mind. What do I know? RACE WITH THE DEVIL was released two months before I was even born. It’s hard to believe now in these post-9/11 times, that devil worship was ever a big deal. But if you think RACE is just a big, dumb drive-in flick frozen in time, you’d be wrong. As we know, Satan is interchangeable with evil, and “evil-doers” are still problematic to us world citizens.

RACE WITH THE DEVIL shows us that evil is all around us, and no matter what we do, we can’t get away from it, even if we are “faster than hell.” It may not come in a pretty package like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, but the nihilism is present all the same.

Our story begins when business partners and friends Roger (Peter Fonda) and Frank (Warren Oates, sporting a perpetual rictus of constipation), decide to celebrate five years of success by taking their wives (Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H and Lara Parker of Dark Shadows) on “the best damn vacation they ever had.”

The foursome leave San Antonio for Aspen in a lumbering RV (”32-feet and gleaming”) equipped with the high technology of the time: Microwave oven, a stereo (4 channels!) and a color TV. The first day of the trip they pull off the roadway into secluded woods, where later that evening, they witness a Satanic orgy in the distance, complete with the ritual sacrifice of a nude woman. The worshipers, dressed appropriately in dark capes and headgear, chase the campers off the land and damage the RV in the process.

The redneck sheriff in a neighboring town dismisses the murder, telling the men “hippies” are to blame, and that they likely witnessed an animal sacrifice. More weirdness ensues as the group presses on towards Aspen, apparently with devil worshipers chasing them the whole way. There’s a downright creepy stay in an RV park, confrontations with questionable locals missing teeth, a tussle with two large rattlesnakes in the RV that puts the CGI of SNAKES ON A PLANE to shame, and automotive chases featuring inexplicable explosions, gunfire and the sort of precision RV driving that would make Jeremy Clarkson proud.

The top-billed Peter Fonda, who was a sensation some years earlier in DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY, is passable here, but it’s really Oates who steals the show as the occasionally grouchy leader of the excursion. Oates manages to dial back what could have been an over-the-top performance and relies exclusively on gritty facial expressions, quiet utterances and an alpha-male swagger earned in films such as the cult western, BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA. There’s not a lot of work for Loretta “Hot Lips” Swit’s character, or Lara Parker’s, as they are relegated mainly to screaming duties.

Starrett, who directed the motorcycle war flick THE LOSERS, blaxploitation/car action in CLEOPATRA JONES and episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard, is obviously comfortable directing exciting car chases and it shows in RACE. The pacing is nearly perfect.

Despite the violent subject matter, very little of it is actually seen. Even the nudity is shot out of focus. Paranoia and terror is created in the leering gazes of bystanders who may or may not be cultists. There’s nothing particularly shocking or controversial about RACE; it’s just a solid, entertaining film that might make you rethink taking that long road trip.

No doubt, some will be put off by the ending, which is fairly typical of 1970s horror. One could argue it paved the way for darker offerings, such as THE HILLS HAVE EYES. While it’s probably a stretch to relegate RACE to high art, there is a certain confidence in the film’s theme — that even death can’t be outrun, and despite one’s intelligence, and the independence afforded by a big old self-contained RV, the human condition is still a frail one.

Anchor Bay recently released RACE on DVD, including a featurette with Fonda titled “Hell on Wheels” and an audio commentary with producer Paul Maslansky and Lara Parker. The disc also includes the theatrical trailer, photo galleries and the film’s radio spots.

RACE WITH THE DEVIL is a rare shamefully choice offering. Highly recommended!

Check out a trailer for RACE WITH THE DEVIL below: