MovieChat Forums > Race with the Devil (1975) Discussion > Okay I get it, but.....

Okay I get it, but.....

posted 16 years ago by BritGoesToCal
10 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand why they just didn't take off the night that they were 1st attacked. I don't think I would have stopped in that little small town to file a police report...I would be so paranoid and so suspicious and freaked out that I probably would have just kept driving until the gas tank ran out. Giving me a pretty big lead from the satanists.

I don't know....maybe that's just me.

It didn't make sense....realistically.

Good movie though overall.

TCM. The Sweetest Drug.

http://myspace.com/britgoes2cal

[–] Splarne 16 years ago

time frame being the early to mid 70s, i don't think the idea of everyone being involved was out there. being in this neck of the woods (where this film was made), if i were chased by someone on the road, i would go to the police first - then question whether or not they are related to the ones causing me grief.

the one question i missed the answer to:

why did they think it was alright for them to turn off onto a dirt road and camp without knowing if they were on someone's land?

***

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BAcker5150 16 years ago

They really didn't know what they were up against until it was too late. They had no idea that the whole town was in on it and naturally felt safe going to the police since they assumed it was just a small group involved.

[–] nvasapper 16 years ago

Absolutely correct. You're 100% right. Who would have thought that the police department would be composed of Devil-worshippers and that the Sheriff himself was the Big Kahuna? Also, when the Sheriff and his men went back to the sacrificial site with Fonda and Oates, all they had to do was unholster their weapons and shoot them dead- but then there would have been no movie!

[–] nvasapper 16 years ago

The good guys had no reason at first to suspect that the police in the town were part of the Devil cult. So their first instinct would have been to seek out the local authorities and report what they had seen. It was only later after Fonda and Oates had interacted with the Sheriff and saw where his head was at that they began to think that something wasn't kosher. But I understand where you're coming from. How could something like that go on without the authorities either knowing about it or worse, being a part of it? The film taught me something. If I'm ever driving in the boonies somewhere and I see something like that happen, I'd hightail it out of there right quick, bypass the local hick sheriff and make my report in the nearest big city. Then again, who's to say that the police in the big city aren't card-carrying demonists themselves? This movie made it out like everyone in Texas was a Satanist. Maybe I'd just call it even, mind my own business and try to forget what I saw. Sometimes a little paranoia is a healthy thing!

[–] JannesJambres 15 years ago

I think a lot of people probably would report it to the local sherrif, especially after they themselves were attacked. The part that didn't make sense is how they were able to keep their wits about them..being able to sleep after the oredeal with snakes in the trailer..even at the end, they are breaking out the champagne etc. just before they discover they have been set up. Most folks would have gone crazy way before that. In any case, I should point out, it doesn't appear they ended up back in the same place. In the end when they turn on the radio, the announcer clearly says you are listening to Amarillo, Texas. You have to consider that before that they were in Fischer texas which was 82 miles away and the incident with the Devil worpshipers happened about a few hours drive outside San Antonio. So that had to be over two hundred miles at least from Amarillo. Its doubtful they could pick up Amarillo stations from there. And Warren and Roger would have easily recognized the place sense they had been there more than once. So it looks like they actually got pretty close to Amarillo while the bad guys were secretly follwing them all the way..or else they someohow influenced them to rest at that particular spot..Scary!

[–] AlbertTheFlasher 15 years ago

One might also argue how could they even go on with their trip after the first time they were spotted and attacked by the Satanists. You would think it would be pretty damn difficult to enjoy a vacation after narrowly escaping a devil cult that was trying to kill you.

[–] holbrookp 14 years ago

Wouldn't they turn in to their RV's insurance company a claim for damages to it? Wouldn't they have needed to have filed a police report for the vandalism? Therefore, it's entirely plausible for them to have gone immediately to the sheriff, if for that reason alone.

"Truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[–] andrsbckly 15 years ago

Yeah, I agree....but Nigel McKeand (guy who wrote 'don't be afraid of the dark') told me something when I interviewed him about that movie, and asked him why Sally opens the fireplace grate when she has been warned not too; he said 'Andy, if it wasn't for stupid people, you wouldn't *have* scary stories...!'
and he's right.......you and I would have looked at each other, said "F IT!!!" hit the pedal, and be history....!!!

[–] tabbycat 8 years ago

That's the entire point of the movie.
You're right -- had they done that they all woukd have survived.

Problem is, they've got much invested in their vacation to notice they are in WAY over their heads. A $26,000 motor home, working every weekend, "living out of a suitcase". "We have put it together baby!" This is everything they've worked for, and they ain't turnin' back -- even when it's obvious they should. "We're goin' SKIING!" Only Kelly (Lara Parker) is willing to admit the danger they're in -- she seems attuned to it from the beginning. At one point in the RV park, she says, "It's the same truck. They followed us." Silence. No one says a word.

In the end, this is a story of being in denial, too invested in a goal, and out of one's element, and how that can get you killed.