Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Intriguing idea, OK execution
It is not often that I watch, let alone review a movie of this genre but this one in particular left an indelible impression on me as a child. Like several of the previous reviewers, I first
saw this film at a drive-in in the summer of 1976 with my dad and brother. It was not uncommon then to see a movie circulating in the drive-in theatres a full year after its release. The VCR and VHS were still several years away.Roger (Peter Fonda) and Frank (Warren Oates) are owners of a custom motorcycle business on vacation with their wives to Aspen, Colorado, traveling in a luxurious new RV with all the
amenities imaginable in 1975. (The color TV, the stereo, microwave oven...goahlly!). On their first night camping out in a remote area, they witness a human sacrifice in the distance as
part of a satanic ritual taking place across the river. All hell breaks loose when the two are discovered and a vicious pursuit of the foursome ensues escalating into several attacks and car chases. Throughout the film, the motorhome is damaged and falls apart piece by piece as a metaphor for the group's shattered sense of security, diminishing sanity and a dream vacation which has turned into a run for their lives! The movie's shock value for me was diminished only as a result of my vivid memories of several scenes and due neither to the passage of time nor maturity when I finally saw it for the first time in over two decades. It was still as chilling today as it was when I first saw it a quarter of a century ago! Don't let the critics' maligning criticism dissuade you from watching this flick. (Hey, how many of us buy a book because it's on Oprah's list anyway?) Granted, much of the dialog is pedestrian and the characters played by Loretta Swit and Lara Parker seem little more than shallow cutouts of the Stepford Wives. As for Peter Fonda, the motorcycle riding scenes, reminiscent of his role in Easy Rider, seem gratuitously provided in an attempt capitalize on that movie's popularity. That said, who can forget the sinister smile that appears on the face of Fonda's character just before he runs a satanist's car off a bridge exploding into a fireball?
But the best lines belong to Warren Oates who also appears to play his role with more sincerity.
("Well, this time they ran out of cats!") One curious thing that is never explained, though is why the the gunshop owner goes ahead and sells the two men a 12-gauge rifle if we are led to believe that he too is involved in the conspiracy. (After all, the phone lines are "down" at the shop due to a "big wind"!)
The film's best asset, however, is it's ability to transform seemingly peaceful and innocuous settings into an erie landscape. Gradually, the audience as well the characters realize you can run but cannot hide as the entire area seems blanketed by a network of satanists conspiring to terrify and ultimately catch the two couples. Through the skillful hands of the director, this movie affirmatively answers the question as to whether a successful horror film can take place on a rural Texas interstate --- and often in broad daylight! While that may not seem like a great leap today, back in the mid 70s, Race With the Devil was among the first of its kind. Prior to that, most horror films often revolved around gothic settings such as a haunted house,ghosts or graveyards. Although this film is not the best execution of an intriguing theme, it's one of the quintessential 70s B movies which helped set a precedent for modern horror.
Rating:  - Long live the drive-in!
Ah,how I loved going to the local drive-in when we had one around here when I was a boy!I remember when this one came out,but Mom wouldn't take me.I DID catch the movie a few years later on TV,and,boy,it was cool!Energetic,fun,spooky,this has it.I'm a texan myself,and the whole satanic conspiracy thing cracks me up!Peter Fonda,Warren Oates,Loretta Swit,and Lara Parker(DARK SHADOWS fans take note)are all brilliant.Naw,this is not a hardcore horror flick at all,though it does get creepy at times.It's an entertaining time!Nuff said.
Rating: - Suspend your disbelief
Right off the bat... suspend your disbelief! If you aren't willing to do that, you are simply not going to get as much enjoyment out of this movie as you deserve to. The premise is suspect, there are holes in the plot, and the actions of the main characters lack sense much of the time. If you are the type of person to get frustrated because the characters forgo the logical path, then this movie is going to irritate you. You'll just be yelling at your television. That's not healthy.That being said, I love this movie. It's creepy in all the ways that really get to me. It has a town's worth of evil, down-home Texan wiccans. It has paranoia. It has fantastic car chase sequences. It has beautifully sinister locales. It has a motor-home park with demented old folks. It has a battle against rattlesnakes. And it has a brawl in a cowboy bar. It has Peter Fonda, Warren Oates and Lorettta Switt. It's not gory. I appreciate that. In truth, this movie shouldn't really work with all of its disparate elements. But it does. It builds its tension very slowly, but once it gets going it does not let up. And it has a terrific ending. I wouldn't quite say it's a classic (thus only four stars) but it's damn close. I'd buy it on DVD.
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