Race With The Devil

February 1, 2009 4:09 PM

Race With The Devil "This novel fusion of car-chase film and spooky horror became a surprise box-office hit in 1975. The story begins with car enthusiasts Frank (Warren Oates) and Roger (Peter Fonda) taking their wives, Kelly (Lara Parker) and Alice (Loretta Swit), on a vacation in a recreational vehicle. Their camping trip goes horribly awry when Frank and Roger accidentally stumble upon a group of hooded Satanists committing a human sacrifice. The cultists give chase..." 1::2::3::4::5::6::7::8::9
posted by vronsky (34 comments total)

Actually saw this in a theater back in '75. I recall digging it.
posted by davebush at 4:17 PM on February 1

Holy Cow!! I LOVED this movie when I saw it as a too-young-to be-watching 8 yr old. And the ending! Thank you SO MUCH for this post. You made my weekend. (and yeah, it doesn't age well, but hey, those are the breaks!)
posted by snap_dragon at 4:17 PM on February 1

This is the second link to a Warren Oates movie on YouTube this week.
posted by birdherder at 4:17 PM on February 1

Caught it on cable TV a year or so ago.

Horrible. Horrible movie. Right up there with Manos, Hands of Fate.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 4:17 PM on February 1

Does this have anything to do with the earlier post of "European Medical Cannibalism?"
posted by millardsarpy at 4:18 PM on February 1

(I hit post too soon... not that it is a bad thing per se, but it is odd that full-length films are making it onto YouTube. Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia even had nudity)
posted by birdherder at 4:19 PM on February 1

"This is the second link to a Warren Oates movie on YouTube this week." What was the other one?

Yeah birdherder, I thought this played surprisingly well on the computer. And I could definitely see mst3k having a field day with it, but this movie isn't "horrible" by any stretch.
posted by vronsky at 4:26 PM on February 1

I ended up watching this movie after Kevin Smith name-checked it at his talk in Akron, OH a year or two ago. (He (perhaps jokingly) said his upcoming horror film, "Red State", would be in the same vein.) I enjoyed it, but then again I'm a sucker for bad horror films.
posted by brandman at 4:32 PM on February 1

I remember this as on one of the great Horror Double Bills the BBC use to run late on Saturday nights during the summers of the late 70s and early 80s...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:34 PM on February 1

Holy mother of....This movie is the source of my nightmares for years after I saw it in the theater as a tiny child. Parenting was apparently much different then. I never got over what they did to the dog.
I just asked my boyfriend if he'd ever seen it and he's never heard of it. We are watching it tonight.
posted by hecho de la basura at 5:02 PM on February 1

This is a great movie. Full all of that great earnest 1970's paranoia that was at once innocent and subversive. But I'm extremely biased as it was making out during this film in 1976 that I first had girl touch my winkle.
posted by tkchrist at 5:07 PM on February 1 [1 favorite]

tkchrist was a nun?
posted by ooga_booga at 5:09 PM on February 1

How long 'til one actually touched your ding dong tk?
posted by vronsky at 5:10 PM on February 1

"this movie isn't 'horrible' by any stretch."

"Opinions vary."

--Dalton, Road House
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 5:14 PM on February 1 [1 favorite]

I have great memories of this, one of the first horror movies I remember watching with friends. I can still recall a shot (by a beach?) of the camper at night, very creepy stuff.
posted by stinkycheese at 5:22 PM on February 1

It's really sad that someone would even mention Manos hand of fate with Race with the devil but then again youse people are newbies and are only downloading films or jumping on the Msytery 3000 bandwagon when you really don't know anything about this genre of film.

Race with the devil is a fine motion picture. Can you do any better? You can't judge and watch a film in spurts on You tube. It breaks up the suspense and drama. Back in the day in a movie house or drive-in, you sat there in suspense. You tube doesn't count Geez! I feel like
Hank Hill talking to you.
posted by doctorschlock at 5:23 PM on February 1

I kinda liked it, more when I saw it as an 11-year old than now. For a kid, it felt pretty scary to me: anyone can be hostile (and probably is). They wrapped that simple paranoid premise inside a blanket of Satanism, but the premise itself was pretty scary to me as a child. Of course, I was often surrounded by adults who actually *were* hostile at that point in my life, so that probably exacerbated the fear factor for me.

Now I look at it as just another movie in a long line of movies based on that same paranoid premise: The Thing, most zombie movies, Rosemary's Baby and on and on. As an example of the Paranoia Genre, it still seems semi-decent to me.
posted by jamstigator at 6:05 PM on February 1

birdherder: "This is the second link to a Warren Oates movie on YouTube this week."

I approve.
posted by Joe Beese at 6:08 PM on February 1

I worked on this title's DVD release. Now it's up on Youtube. I am this close to becoming one of those mythical little people who gets hurt by piracy—you know, the ones who don't even get mentioned in this thread.

I don't own the content, so I can't file a DMCA takedown. But Marcus a.k.a. salemslotmov shouldn't bother applying for a job anywhere I work or anywhere people I know work.

And if I see him on the street, I can't guarantee I won't punch him in the dick.
posted by infinitewindow at 6:11 PM on February 1 [3 favorites]

You worked on which movie iwindow? Race or Salem's Lot?

And feel free to notify someone if you think that is right, but seeing these on YT probably make it more likely that I will buy the dvd. Is it available? Link?

I haven't really been watching the game, but these two coke commercials stood out. avatar and heist.
posted by vronsky at 6:28 PM on February 1

heh, Pepsuber.
posted by vronsky at 6:41 PM on February 1

infinitewindow: "I worked on this title's DVD release. Now it's up on Youtube. I am this close to becoming one of those mythical little people who gets hurt by piracy."

I don't want to derail this into a piracy discussion. Nor do I want to give the slightest appearance of speaking for vronsky.

I just want to say that I once posted about a complete film that could be seen on YouTube - one that was commercially available on DVD, as it happens. I made the post because I had a strong desire to share that film with the rest of MeFi. The first segment of the film was removed very shortly after my post appeared. And the possibility that someone here had exploited my enthusiasm as a narc-ing opportunity made me feel sick.

That said: Do what you gotta do.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:01 PM on February 1

I worked on Race, and it's here on Amazon. $10 new, $4 used, or rent/Netflix it if you don't feel like buying (the disc has commentary and interviews that are as yet not available on Youtube).

_{Damn, I wasn't expecting to feel so helpless about this, and it hasn't even directly affected my job yet. I'm sure other stuff I've worked on has been pirated before, I don't know why this particular project hit me so hard. Maybe because it was posted to MetaFilter? Normally MeFi's such a cozy, comfy place. It feels kind of like I went to the local ice cream parlor and someone walking by kicked my dog for laughs. Anyway, no hard feelings towards fellow MeFites, folks, unless one of y'all happens to be Marcus.}
posted by infinitewindow at 7:04 PM on February 1 [1 favorite]

_{And oh yeah, it is a creepy, creepy flick.}
posted by infinitewindow at 7:34 PM on February 1

I'm buying this. Of course, I bought Brotherhood of Satan, too.
posted by adipocere at 7:50 PM on February 1

So an interesting marketing question is whether this Youtube post has increased sales of the video. Does anyone know where the #s might be found?
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:34 PM on February 1

"You can't judge and watch a film in spurts on You tube. It breaks up the suspense and drama."

Bittorrent to the rescue.

infinitewindow while it sucks for you personally reasonable copyright terms would have, IMO, released this film in the public domain already. Think of all the great movies you could be transferring to digital that languish in copyright orphan hell limbo.
posted by Mitheral at 8:37 PM on February 1 [1 favorite]

So an interesting marketing question is whether this Youtube post has increased sales of the video.

Monty Python reportedly made a buttload of sales recently by doing just that --- releasing all of their material on youtube, so it might be a good idea. But let's everybody say what we really want: I want convenient, cheap access to media under reasonable terms. I'm not going to pretend that I'm anybodys guerilla marketing department to get it.
posted by ghost of a past number at 5:59 AM on February 2

I'm not going to pretend that I'm anybodys guerilla marketing department to get it.

No, I agree. I'm just wondering whether the cries of economic harm are valid.
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:04 AM on February 2

Think of all the great movies you could be transferring to digital that languish in copyright orphan hell limbo.

But think of Mickey®!
posted by Mental Wimp at 8:09 AM on February 2

You can't judge and watch a film in spurts on You tube.

That's why I choose YouPorn instead.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:49 AM on February 3

Hey, infinitewindow, how d'ya figure the chopped-up, crappyomatic YouTube version of the film is going to hurt you?

By my thinking, this film was bound to languish in discount bins across the nation. Its market was basically restricted to a few thousand people who liked it enough in 197x that they might buy it in 2009. But with the YouTube release and MeFi exposure, it's suddenly got the attention of a bajillion people. Now it's market is freakin' massive.

Now it'll sell not only to a few hundred of the nostalgic original moviegoers, but a small percentage of the bajillion YouTubers will also some day spot it on a shelf and decide to buy it. And a small fraction of a bajillion is bound to be one helluva lot better than its pre-pirated potential market.

Monty Python experienced a 20 000% increase in sales after officially releasing their work into the YouTube domain.

This film will likewise benefit.

But, hey, if you'v got a cogent argument as to why you'd be better off if it hadn't made it onto YouTube and MeFi, I'd love to hear it. Seriously, do explain.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:59 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]

The Public Domain will never grow until we separate Mickey from some movie that nobody's seen in fifty years.

This isn't should or shouldn't. It's simple prediction.
posted by effugas at 12:39 PM on February 3

Halloooo, infinitewisdom, let's have a response.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:23 AM on February 4