MovieChat Forums > Race with the Devil (1975) Discussion > Scary when you are eight....

Scary when you are eight....

posted 15 years ago by SaladGoat
9 replies | jump to latest

When I was eight years old - about 20 years ago - I had a crappy little TV in my bedroom. It was not connected to cable, so all I got was two channels with the rabbit ears. One was the CBC, which was good for watching hockey games. The other was "BCTV", which I guess showed movies at around midnight.

Being eight, I wasn't allowed to watch the TV after bedtime (8PM), but somehow, this one night, I did.

I remember watching this movie and thinking it was very scary. I think that may have had something to do with the fact that 1) I was eight, 2) our family owned a motorhome and 3) we often sought backroads so we could camp in seclusion in the middle of nowhere!

This is the kind of "scary" movie I like - the kind that scares you when you watch it, but also continues to scare you, even when you are not watching.

I didn't know the name of the movie at the time, but I relayed the main story points to my younger sister one night while we were supposed to be sleeping ... in the motorhome! My dad was sitting by the fire with the other grownups, but I guess he overheard our conversation because years later - I must have been in my teens - he told me my "favourite movie" was on TV that night. I never heard of "Race With The Devil" but I tuned it in. Hey! It's that movie!

The movie was on cable (as the Americans call it) last week and I had to watch it again. What can I say? As improbable and ridiculous as some of the situations and actions are, I found it to be quite suspenseful - surprisingly so. I can't say it's scary, but there were a few occasions where I was "sitting on the edge of my seat" in spite of myself.

I understand they are remaking it now - or at least IMDb has an entry for 2011 with the same title. I imagine it will be a boring slasher-fest, like all the other horror remakes. In this way I am not at all looking forward to it. On the other hand, if they are able to stay faithful to the feel of the original, it might be good. And in that way I am looking forward to it!

[–] equalizer5150 15 years ago

I just re-watched it tonight and really enjoyed it. What a creepy scenario to stumble upon some satanists. I'd bet that scene and the immediate chase afterwards will be redone in a much creepier fashion. The final chase scene should be spectacular. I wish I were advising on the remake. I am excited about it. I wonder what's taking so long. The remake was announced a year or two ago.

~ "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

[–] ChgoExtra 15 years ago

I was 8 when I first saw it when it first came out. It scared the crap out of me back then, and to this day, it is still one of the most disturbing and scary movies I've seen, because it seemed plausible that it could happen (versus some stupid monster movie that is completely ficticious).

[–] Hugh-Jorgen 15 years ago

I'm with you SaladGoat. My mother actually took me to the drive in movie to see it when I was eight. Scared me to death.

I hope the re-make only modernizes the original storyline. If they make wholesale changes, it will probably suck. Most moviemakers these days don't care about making good movies as much as they do making a $. If the think changing it will rake in more money, they won't think twice about doing it.

[–] greendimension 14 years ago

The snakes were found in the cupboards and one of their fangs hung onto the guy's pantlegs.

"just panties, what else do I need?"

Poseidon Adventure

[–] sillyspaghetti 11 years ago

I'm 33, saw this for the first time today, and it made me really uncomfortable. Brilliantly made though, I have to say.

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

I think it's scary now to think of myself being in such a situation which there is seemingly no escape. I wonder just how large the cult is and how far it spans. It seemed they would've chased them to the end of the Earth. It actually reminded me of the conspiracy theories about the Illuminati where a secret network of devil worshipers who are the wealthiest people on Earth supposedly control the entire world. It would be just like them to disguise themselves as poor, uneducated country folk so they could secretly hide among us. It shows me you can never trust anyone because you don't know what they do behind closed doors. You only know what they show you which is a scary thought. The idea of an enormous group of people obsessively chasing you is very scary.

Burn, witch! Burn, witch! Burn! Burn! Burn!

[–] b_brandon49 10 years ago

Don't be silly all posters. It is only a movie and Parker badly acted in it and brought it down anyway. There is one reality and that is the one you are in.

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

I am in reality. I know there are cults in this real world.

Burn, witch! Burn, witch! Burn! Burn! Burn!

[–] b_brandon49 10 years ago

She is such a lousy actress. How does she get all these roles? So unfair!