Road Games (1981)

Director: Richard Franklin

Starring: Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The truck driver plays games... The hitchhiker plays games. And the killer is playing the deadliest game of all!

Plot: A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer who uses a young female hitchhiker as bait to lure victims on a desolate Australian highway.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

#32 on my on-going quest to watch every film from the amazing documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! (2008)

I became aware of this through the fantastic documentary, NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION (2008) of which I'm out to watch every film mentioned. For the most part I haven't been let down. There was one exception (NEXT OF KIN (1981)) which was absolutely dreadful...but that'll be for another day.


Keach plays the goofy truck driver. He really get silly sometimes but it makes sense because I imagine that's how I'd get if I drove a truck alone with only a dog to talk to. I'd be loopy, too, making up lame-ass jokes and back stories for the people I see. JLC is scrummy as always. Mmmmmmmmm. Damn, she's just too cute.


The stunts are great. There's a MAD MAX/ROAD WARRIOR feel to the camerawork which, at the time, was unique and it still adds excitement. The climactic chase at the end was great and suspenseful. With its unusual mix of humor, action and suspense ROAD GAMES makes for a really fun movie, one you certainly wouldn't have expected if you saw it on the video shelf. It's much better than it seems and it's definitely worth a look.