Roadgames (1981)

March 3, 2025 12:17 PM

[TRAILER] A truck driver (Stacy Keach) suspects a man in a green van on the long and desolate road to Perth (Grant Page) is a serial killer, targeting hitchhiking women. When he befriends one such hitchhiker (Jamie Lee Curtis), the game of cat-and-mouse between the two men escalates. An Aussie take on Rear Window, setting the action along the highway through the Australian outback.

Produced and directed by Richard Franklin. Screenplay by Everett De Roche. Story by Everett De Roche, Richard Franklin. Cinematography by Vincent Monton. Edited by Edward McQueen-Mason. Music by Brian May (not the one from queen, the Aussie composer.)

92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Multiple current streaming options in the US. Check options in your country on JustWatch.

posted by DirtyOldTown (4 comments total)

Wow, this was fantastic. An absolute blast. The first hour is just perfect. The film noir-ish bit in the third act where Keach's character goes wild talking to himself is a bit much. But the inventive, tense final act is tremendous. Keach is a charismatic oddball here and Jamie Lee Curtis is as winning as ever. Crackerjack little riff on Rear Window. Big recommend.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:19 PM on March 3 [3 favorites]

Yeah this is definitely one of my go to fun films.
posted by miss-lapin at 1:43 PM on March 3

It popped up on the Criterion Channel couple years ago which is where I watched it. For some reason, maybe it was the trailer or clips I'd seen in the Ozploitation doc or I was mixing it up with something else, but I always had in my mind that this was some kind of Aussie Hitcher rip off. So I was kind of confused going into it - but delighted nonetheless. Definitely underrated. From the director of the fun Ozploitation classic Patrick and of course the dumb but entertaining Link.
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:17 PM on March 3

He also directed the underrated Psycho II.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:36 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]