Road Games

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Allan C Rear Window on 16 wheels in the Outback! Road Games (1981) **** I can’t believe I never watched this film before! I love Ozploitation flicks (MAD MAX, DEAD END DRIVE-IN, RAZORBACK, TURKEY SHOOT, etc.), and this one is very likely now in my Top 5. Directed by Richard Franklin (PATRICK, PSYCHO II), the film is a love letter to Alfred Hitchcock, telling the story of truck driver Stacey Keach growing suspicious of a green van being connected to a series of female hitchhikers disappearing and later found dismembered in the wilds of the Australian Outback. Keach picks up a cute roadside traveler, who he nicknames Hitch, played by a young Jamie Lee Curtis (still not a star at this point in her career and in the scream queen phase of her career, before her breakout role in TRADING PLACES), who feeds off of each other regarding the mystery of the green van and the missing girls. They play off of one another like Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, feeding each other’s suspicions, while everything they observe also has reasonable explanations. Just as with Hitchcock films, there are some great set pieces, my favorite of which has Keach distracting the van driver in a public restroom while Curtis searches his van for clues, which felt like a total call-back to Grace Kelly searching Lars Thorwald’s apartment. There’s also some terrific George Miller-like car chase sequences, which are exciting but injected with Hitchcockian suspense, particularly one involving Keach trying to get around a doddering old driver towing a boat. Although the story could easily have been set in Texas, California, or any other desolate location, the film is very much a uniquely Australian set film, filled with roadkill kangaroos, rundown Outback roadhouses, and most importantly, the unique, stark Australian Outback desert landscape. My only knock on the film is that I wish there had been some romantic connections between Keach and Curtis’ characters, at least having them flirt a little, even with the age difference. That connection in REAR WINDOW made the suspense even greater when Grace Kelly was in danger as Jimmy watches helplessly to save her, which would have given ROAD GAMES an emotional impact that was sadly missing. Still, despite lacking that emotional level, ROAD GAMES is a knockout of a thriller, and besides delivering top-notch suspense and thrills, it also delivers the same fun dark humor seen in the best of Hitchcock. I mean, the scene where Keach realizes there’s more “meat” in his shipment of hog carcases for the meat market than on the manifest is just as chilling as it is darkly funny. I found it interesting to watch ROAD GAMES as a companion to the films of Brian De Palma, who did his own homages to Hitchcock multiple times, even making his own version of REAR WINDOW with his gloriously sleazy BODY DOUBLE three years later. While De Palma brought the levels of sex and violence Hitch always wanted to do, but was never allowed by the Production Code, Franklin keeps ROAD GAMES cleaner with his PG rating, which works well for the film, but is kind of a surprise for an Ozploitation flick, which were known for their excesses. Overall, ROAD GAMES is a clever homage to the grandmaster of suspense that manages to be both uniquely Australian and universally enjoyable.  AI CAPSULE REVIEW: Road Games is a clever, Hitchcock-inspired thriller that’s basically Rear Window on 16 wheels in the Australian Outback. Stacey Keach and a young Jamie Lee Curtis make a great duo in this suspenseful, darkly funny Ozploitation gem filled with tense set pieces, car chases, and uniquely Australian atmosphere. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/22/25 Full Review Garry A The movie is heavy on dialogue and not much going on during parts of it. Curtis & Leach have a good rapport. It was just ok for me. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/15/25 Full Review Dustin S I’ve tried getting into this several times and I can’t. I love Keach and Curtis, but this, for my money, is just not very good. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/01/25 Full Review babarizam D I love this slow, entertaining movie. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/09/25 Full Review thiago s Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajudou a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/27/25 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Surprisingly good and intense, Trucker plays cat and mouse with killer on open Austrailian roads, Empathetic characters, especially Jamie Lee Curtis, Nice Hitchcockian style. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/01/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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