Movie ending - Race with the Devil (1975) Discussion

Nope....

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That it is what I really need help with is the point of the ending

am I the only one who thought no its NOT over

then WTF credits?????

It's not a question of IF
Rather it is a question of WHEN

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[–] tkm654 16 years ago

I just watched this for the first time tonight and my reaction was the same. What? It's over? This movie seemed awfully short. I liked it though.

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[–] BambooLounge 16 years ago

I also just finished watching this for the first time and knew it was the end b/c I knew the film's running time going into it, but still, that ending was pretty weak. In theory, couldn't a large motor home drive through a circle of people? So, I do not think it should be so simple that they're dead. I'm not a horror film fan at all, but with Warren Oates and Peter Fonda, I blind bought the dvd a while back cheap, it was worth the 5 bucks.

Did the red tow truck getting pushed off on to the elevated dirt road remind anyone else of Death Proof?

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[–] solman_66 16 years ago

That's the way most movies were back then, especially in the 70's. That's why the 70's is now regarded as a "Golden Age" in film. Back then, the audience didn't need, nor did the director provide, a nicely wrapped-up ending where everyone is saved and goes off into the own individual la-la lands and lives rich and happily forever-after.

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[–] monkeymechx 14 years ago

Yeah, what a "golden age," where people who just got done being chased down by a pack of killer Satanists (Who never get a proper explanation or motivation for chasing people over multiple counties in what appears to be a HUGE hundred+ person conspiracy with endless resources...) decide the best thing to do before reaching the town and refuge they need is to go off-road and spend the night out in the vulnerable sticks. They somehow move past that this setting is much the same where they first saw the Satanists and the trouble all started.

Totally illogical move on the main characters part. To top it off they decide to get drunk instead of remaining vigilant! And why did they think having a busted light was any reason to drive out in the dark? If you're going to ignore you've been driving for hours with the front-end of the RV smashed off, why worry about some lights? And if it's really going to be a problem, why drive off into the even darker woods where you may need to get out of in a hurry??

I think the 70's were a poor age for entertainment if you consider this as a defining movie of the time. Totally senseless plot movement to get to a decent looking yet not satisfying ending.

And if that was a coffin-shaped flame, where the hell did the Satanists get time to plan that out? How did they know the exact spot the RV would stop? This movie has more and more holes when you think about it. I guess that's why it's cheese.

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[–] White_Thunder 12 years ago

The films of the 70's are better than all the crap which has been spewed out over the past 15 years.

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[–] jonbecker03 10 years ago

you are correct. you were THERE. you obviously lived through the seventies, although many of the people on these boards did NOT. the seventies were essentially a reaction to the sixties. they had to do with the consequences of the idealism of the sixties blowing up in people's faces. back in those days the heroes were often killed off at the end of a movie. ("good" doesn't always triumph over evil. it oftentimes becomes the victim of evil. at least in seventies movies.) i call these "son of 'easy rider' films. in "easy rider," the two heroes (or anti-heroes) are killed. "race with the devil" is a "son of easy rider" film not only because of the presence of peter fonda but also because the fonda and oates characters get killed (like the peter fonda and dennis hopper characters in "easy rider"). this fact actually helps distinguish "race with the devil" from conventional action films and helps put it in a class with other important action pictures of the seventies/eighties such as "the wicker man," "idaho transfer" (directed by peter fonda), and "out of the blue" (directed by dennis hopper).

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[–] SaladGoat 15 years ago

Frost612:

Judging by your sig, you should have expected this ending! lol

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[–] CaptRhodes666 12 years ago

I thought this also,just saw the movie earlier 2day for the first time and coulnt help wonder what happens next?i mean its a ring of fire,just start the RV and get out of it,its not like it was some forcefield,plus they had a shotgun,i really enjoyed the movie but the ending was crap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkpbSD5sOj8 I'm running this monkey farm now frankenstein

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[–] CarlCarlson 8 years ago

No headlights in the middle of nowhere? Not saying they did right by sitting frozen in fear, but they could have easily driven into a ditch, tree, off the road, hit by another truck again ..., long story short, they probably wouldn't have gotten far.

"If Mad Max Fury Road is an 8 (I gave it a 1). Then I'll use 8 for OK, 9 is better, 10 is best."

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[–] autopro50 16 years ago

it looked like a rectangle to me.

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[–] freaky_dave 16 years ago

It was dark and they had no headlights to see where they were going along with the entire front of the vehicle being torn off. THat's why they didn't just drive away.

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[–] mhip 16 years ago

Hmmm....
Do nothing and be killed by satanists, or floor my rv through them with no headlights.

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[–] oldirtyhobo13 16 years ago

Haha, yea. I don't think I would have just stopped.

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[–] joebagtas1987 16 years ago

I just saw this on that special channel 190 that shows FOX classics. Im sure others did as it just ended a few mins ago and Im seeing replies from around that time.

Anyway yea I didnt notice the coffin, makes sense kinna...but there was no coffin theme going on with the satanic cult.

The ending I think they did it that way to have it left up to your imagination not really a sequel. An RV could run through people, but its like saying the cycle of stalking terror continues.

Also searched this and a 2008 title came up? Remake?

Anyone think alot of movies indirectly reference or borrow from this movie or was the formula already done to death even in 1975.

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[–] robotrix 14 years ago

What they did after they knew the Satanists were out there wasn't what ruined this movie for me....it's the fact that after everything they'd just been through to get to this town, they're minutes away from getting to the authorities, driving out into an isolated field is what got them into this trouble in the first place...they stop and pull off the road into the middle of an isolated field???

I mean....seriously????

In the meantime, we learn from this movie that....

~ Everyone in Texas in a devil worshiper - even the phone company. Everybody except these four people.
~ Winnebago evidently had a model in the mid 1970's that got 100 miles to the gallon...and could be repaired after a close encounter with a tree with just a few tools.
~ Even though these people who witnessed your satanic ritual must die, you should still sell them a shotgun so they can defend themselves...because this is Texas and not even the Devil is as important as someone's right to buy a weapon with no waiting period.

Hope they fix the ending when they remake it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night, I was lying back looking at the stars and I thought...where the *beep* is my ceiling???

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[–] nvasapper 14 years ago

Every one except these four and the gun salesman! He was a good guy. "That'll be $227.76 with the tax."!!

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[–] TheDanMan1 14 years ago

"Every one except these four and the gun salesman! He was a good guy. "That'll be $227.76 with the tax."!!"

the gun dude was also generous enough to say, "forget about the change (.76 cents)".. that was some true hospitality!

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[–] skjoseph 16 years ago

Well, seeing as how any vehicle touched by a flame promptly exploded in this movie, I think (to my dismay) that the RV would have exploded once it hit the edge of the fire circle. Plus, gasoline had been dumped on the RV earlier. In my mind, though, I like to think that the director was bias toward our friends, in that they *could* have booked it out of there without getting third-degree burns (or being incinerated!). After all, they had capable Frank and "Rog." Did you notice how at the very end Frank seemed to be bolting into action? He was probably headed for the driver's seat thinking "Heck! What have we got to lose?"

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[–] semsox 15 years ago

I think they finally gave up, because they realized they we're out of beer.

Love this movie, and I am looking forward to a remake. Such a simple story, but spooky at the same time.

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[–] TracesOfLove 15 years ago

Also I think the point was even if they ever made it home, it would never be over. Because when they first reported what happened to the sheriff they would have given their names. And we don't know how far up this cult went. It could possibly go so far as the Illuminati!

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[–] jrpelt 14 years ago

So your take on the ending is a sort of "Lady or the Tiger" situation? It could have wound up okay, or they all coulda died, it all depends on the viewer's point of view.

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[–] LollyMM 14 years ago

I've always loved this film-especially for the downbeat ending. I think by the end, it had become obvious that everyone who could help them was in this satanic cult and there was literally nowhere to turn. Yes, the vehicle could have driven away but they were terrified and I think the previous scene where gasoline is poured through the roof gives us a clue as to what will happen. I think the ending was clear that even if they had driven off, they wouldn't have got very far s there were so many satanists and the vehicle was buggered!

Brilliant film. The sense of dread and paranoia is fantastic and it's a wonderfully tense film. The 'mood' reminds me of Rosemary's Baby. This film blows a lot of modern thrillers/horrors out of the water.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] the_urban_prince 14 years ago

i always thought the downbeat ending was a sequel hook..

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[–] mcfly-31 13 years ago

Bottom line...

it's a movie. Questioning character motivations is pointless. They do what they do to service the plot.

I thought the ending was perfect; an "ohhhhhhhh sh!t" moment followed by an awkward laugh at their fate. All the shrieking and humming by the cult and the idea that they besieged the RV and carved 'em up was a welcome twist finish.

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[–] varuns-1 13 years ago

Yes, they should have had a sequel where the aggrieved and embittered friends, family and other concerned people, go out and clean up the Satanist garbage from the area, and avenge the awful killing of the couples. That would have been very appropriate. Perhaps an idea for a movie now?

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[–] camaroamx 12 years ago

The ending was designed to be open. the viewer can draw their own conclusions.
My thought is by the end of the film, they were tired, most likely out of ammo, low on gas, had no headlights (so they couldn't see to drive at night). They thought since they got away from the cult, they could relax a bit. they pulled off into the woods to keep the RV out of sight from the road, just in case the cult was driving down the road looking for them. Since it was pitch black out, they didn't see the cult surrounding the RV, until the cult lit the ring of fire around them. Yes they could of driven off. But how far would they have gotten with no headlights in the dark of night? they most likely would of crashed and the cult would of gotten them anyway. The cult wanted to kill them to prevent the cult from being exposed, as it was wide ranging and probaly extened into goverment to some degree, based on the resources they seemed to have.
The cult was able to keep finding them due to their apperent large network of believers. It'd be like running from the christian chruch if every peacher and chruch goer was looking for you.

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[–] surfink 10 years ago

@camaroamx: I think you nailed it.

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[–] slimturtle 12 years ago

I don't see any great mystery here. Our heroes are screwed, end of story. It doesn't matter if Frank or Rog fire up the RV, tear through the ring of fire (knocking off a few good ol' Satanists along the way) and make it back to the road. Hell, it probably doesn't even matter if they make to the highway. They're ranged against dark forces. No matter where they go the loony devil worshippers will find them.

Yes, you could probably build a logical case against this argument but guess what - this is fiction and the rules of reality don't apply. Only the internal rules of the piece itself matters and there's nothing in the film to suggest our heroes survive. Otherwise, why end on a shot like that?

It's a typically downbeat ending for a movie of the period, as someone already mentioned. Modern audiences may feel cheated that the story wasn't wrapped up neatly but contemporary viewers were accustomed to this kind of thing and were glad of it, not least because it engages the viewers imagination, something all good stories should do.

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[–] ElectricWarlock 11 years ago

I found the ending to be very surprising. I totally agree with the person who said that even if they did escape, they couldn't have driven very far anyways because of their broken headlights. If the cult didn't kill them, a car accident would. I also found it hard to tell who was a devil worshipper and who wasn't. Who knows how big this cult could've been? I am an avid believer in conspiracy theories, so I found it a plausible possibility that the Illuminati could have had people planted all over the country in an effort to find these people because they knew too much. For a while, I even thought Roger and Frank were part of the cult and set up this whole vacation to offer their wives as sacrifices. I read on the back of the box that this film had a shocking twist ending, so I thought that was going to be it. Either that or the cult was going to summon Satan himself to take care of the heroes. I enjoyed the ending we got, though. It was very creepy and I've seen hundreds of horror films so it isn't easy to creep me out.

I think modern audiences like to have everything spoonfed to them. Movies back in this period are much more intelligent and sophisticated than they are now, especially horror movies. I blame the Internet for a lot of this because people can click one button and have every answer to every question they can possibly have. Because of this, they don't want to think anymore so movies that try to get them to think and use their imagination are unwelcome. The movies of recent years reflect that in my opinion. The '70s is without a doubt my absolute favorite decade for horror movies and this film is a great example of why.

Come, fly the teeth of the wind. Share my wings.

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[–] AlbertTheFlasher 11 years ago

I first saw Race with the Devil when I was about 9 years old, and I certainly found the ending to be quite surprising. And very disturbing. When I was a kid I always enjoyed the villains getting their just desserts, and I always expected the good guys to win because I was so used to it. Then along comes this movie and the good guys are defeated. This had a major impact on me back then.

Seeing it again when I was older, I realized the ending makes perfect sense. It's a case of ordinary people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and were completely powerless to save themselves from a major conspiracy. This is the ultimate paranoia movie.

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[–] jmartz11 11 years ago

I saw this when i was a kid and did NOT like the ending or what happened to the dog !

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[–] trausti-hraunfjord 11 years ago

This was the scariest movie I ever saw.... I was 9 years old when I saw it, alone in a big black movie theater back in 1975. To this day I remember the fear I felt... but this was also the last movie that managed to shake me up, and I have normally enjoyed horror movies ever since.

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[–] jmartz11 10 years ago

I just wish they shot the scene what really happens to 4 in RV? died or escaped? and yes i am anaimal lover and did NOT like what happened to Ginger the Dog !

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[–] StaunchWoman 8 years ago

Nah, more like a badly drawn circle with a few hard lines. Nothing more.
http://www.cultreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/RwtD_endshot02.jpg

We've met before, haven't we?

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