MovieChat Forums > Race with the Devil (1975) Discussion > My idea for a remake...(inc. spoilers fo...

My idea for a remake...(inc. spoilers for original)


Have one of the wives turn out to be a satanist. During the original, I had thought Loretta Swit was actually one of THEM. She just seemed too "Yes, dear" even by 70's standards. She just seemed a little too docile, as if deliberately trying to be the last person anyone would suspect.

Although, for the remake, I think you'd need to make the younger of the two wives the undercover devil-worshipper. It could be pulled off with her, say, looking around the pool, the audience thinking she's worried, but in a 'Usual Suspect' like twist at the end, we see her horrified husband put the pieces together as they - and his life - flash in front of his eyes for the last time.

Si hoc non legere potes tu asinus es!

reply

It sounds like you have missed the point of the film. The thought that you seem to be pro-remake shows that you are too jaded with modern films to get the point of films like this. You miss the point that the film doesn't NEED a twist. It's good as it is. I'm sure someone will ruin it with a remake, but for the time being, let people enjoy it for the great film it is.

reply

by - LollyMM on Fri May 14 2010 20:02:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It sounds like you have missed the point of the film. The thought that you seem to be pro-remake shows that you are too jaded with modern films to get the point of films like this. You miss the point that the film doesn't NEED a twist. It's good as it is. I'm sure someone will ruin it with a remake, but for the time being, let people enjoy it for the great film it is.


I am actually quite jaded by very modern cinema, but you're wrong, it is DESPITE that disenchantment that I advocate a remake. No, nor have I missed the point that RWTD didn't need a twist. Yes, I'm aware it's fine, in and of itself. If it weren't a good film, I wouldn't suggest it be remade.

Finally, it's redundant to advise me to "let people enjoy it for the great film it is" - I have no means to compel anyone NOT to watch or enjoy it.

You make a LOT of assumptions and obvious statements, which is fine, but what isn't fine is the shortage of anything else, in an opening post. Doesn't bode well for further discourse, but I reserve final judgement for now.

Si hoc non legere potes tu asinus es!

reply

I couldn't even be bothered to read your whole response you tedious bore!

reply

just in case you didnt allready know, the remake is in currently in production and will be released sometime in 2011.

reply

I really liked your suggestion Minuette.

reply

Interesting thought, minuette. How about taking it a step or two further...?

IMO one of the biggest fears is being alone. Throughout the original of course, no matter how scared they are, they still have each other. As you lose allies, more and more is on you for survival. So you could just kill them off or disappear them one by one to ratchet up the tension.

But what if it turned out that two, not one, were undercover Satan worshippers? Then, maybe a third gets kidnapped or killed (possibly sacrificed), leaving just the one. Using the original cast, I think Lara Parker should be the one innocent left at the end. She gave pretty good terror, to paraphrase Woody Allen.

Say Loretta is the original member of the cult. She seduces Peter, gets him on board by taking him to the cult's orgies, drug fests, or whatever. Sorry, Lara seems a real sweetheart, i.e. she probably never really put out a lot, so Peter would be vulnerable. Early in the film you'd just get very subtle glimpses that Peter and Loretta are a little too familiar, even for friends.

Of course if that's the true story then Peter Fonda couldn't use lethal force against fellow Satan worshippers. You could work around that, though. He's got the gun and darn, he missed the shot. Or he shoots and you hear a cry, but the others are busy doing something else so he alone pursues the villain in the darkness. He comes back and says, "I saw the body...he's dead. Let's get out of here!" The two innocents (and hopefully the audience) would take his word for it but later, the guy who's supposed to be dead reappears.

So rewinding, Peter chooses the place where he knows the sacrifice is going to take place. Peter and Loretta say "Let's chat under the stars" and set up lawn chairs. Lara and Warren go along with it of course.

Maybe they want to pursue these clandestine activities without fear of the spouse turning them in, or maybe Lara's family has a lot of money they want to tap into in order to further the cult, so they'll try terrorizing or brainwashing her into submission. Their goal, actually, is to recruit the spouses to the cause...or dispose of them if that doesn't work.

They still go to the authorities etc. but half of them are in cahoots, just a big fat conspiracy that runs even deeper than originally feared. And it could lend credibility: how do they always choose the exact wrong person to talk to, the worst place to park the RV, that sort of thing? If it's an inside job, totally believable in retrospect.

Instead of the ring of fire at the end, you could have the Satan worshippers grab Lara. "I don't want to die!" she shrieks. Peter and Loretta say, "You don't have to. We can protect you. Join us."

reply

[deleted]

[deleted]



A remake, actually a sequel, where the Satanists are taken out one by one, by some avenging crusaders, who knew the victims.

reply