Reviewed by Geno McGahee
Established actors and a great storyline equal a great movie and this is the case here. Peter Fonda is in the lead role as, “Roger Marsh,” and is teamed up with Warren Oates, in the role of his best friend, “Frank Stewart.” They take off for Colorado in a large Winnebago with their wives, “Alice” and “Kelly.” Their trip to Colorado is interrupted by some Satanic activity. While parking in a desolate area to camp, Roger and Frank witness a group of Satanists sacrificing a girl. Unfortunately, the devil worshippers also see them and are now determined to kill the witnesses. The Winnebago makes it onto the road and to the police station, but the foursome is not out of the woods yet.
Sheriff Taylor (R.G. Armstrong), seemed not to be convinced by the story, and even less interested in looking into it. He laughs it off and suggests that they may have seen a dog killed by some hippies, which makes the other officer laugh. Roger and Frank are not amused and bring the Sheriff to the murder site, where he once again questions the story and doesn’t seem to be doing much of a job.
What is really great about this movie is that the characters, especially Roger and Frank, are very smart and act the way that most people would. They examine the behavior of the Sheriff and determine that he was trying to cover it up, and even entertain the notion that he may be in on it. As time goes on, the weirdos come out of the woodwork, and you and the characters begin to get the feeling that there is no escape.
No matter where they go, the phones are inoperable and the people that they meet are strange and seem to be part of this conspiracy. They realize that they have to make it to Amarillo, Texas, a place big enough and populated enough, where the chances of survival and assistance are better. There are some more obstacles along the way, however, as the crazy Satanists attempt to run them off the road. In one of the best horror scenes ever, Roger and Frank fight off four vehicles with a shotgun and a huge tank-like Winnebago, eventually outlasting them and moving on to the next problem, which happened to be a roadblock.
This movie was done really well. In movies like “Night of the Living Dead,” and “Evil Dead,” building the feeling of no escape is rather easy, as the characters are all trapped in a house, but in this movie, they are free to roam, but no matter where they go, they cannot escape this force. Everyone that they think that might provide help turns out to be part of this problem. You hope that they make it out and in the end, it seems that they do…seems.
Overall, everything about this movie is great. The pace is very good and the way that they keep on building the tension is fantastic. They have left nothing to chance in this flick and really put a lot of thought into it. From beginning to end, this movie is the bomb.
Scared Stiff Rating: 9/10. Outstanding Satanic Fun!
