Roadgames (1981)
The American west can seem remote and desolate, but the Australian outback takes it up a notch, and this film really captures that atmosphere of being in the middle of nowhere. It is really off to a good start, with a Hitchcockian Rear Window type of paranoia and a great sense of “what the hell is going on”. Stacy Keach is convincing as the good natured truck driver, though he isn’t a truck driver just because he drives a truck, but the film fumbles a bit in the second half as it leaves the paranoia behind for a cat and mouse chase that doesn’t work equally well. Curtis is good when she shows up, but is sadly way underused. A highway thriller with good potential, but lackluster execution in the second half.
Rating: 3