Roadgames (Australia, 1981)

Roadgames is another film I’ve been meaning to catch up with for some time. While it’s arguably more of a Hitchcockian thriller, it has enough of a horror pedigree to justify its inclusion in the OHMC. The script is by Everett De Roche, who penned such Australian horror classics as Patrick (which I reviewed in 2020), Long Weekend, and Razorback. It was also directed by Richard Franklin, who would go on to make Psycho II as his next film. Plus, I’ve usually had fun with Australian horror and exploitation films of this era.

So let’s see how Roadgames lives up to its peers.

Roadgames is currently streaming on StudioCanal in the UK.

Synopsis

Patrick Quid (Stacy Keach) is an American lorry driver living and working in Australia. After spotting a van driver taking a female hitchhiker to a hotel, Quid intuits that something sinister may have happened to her. There is no sign of the woman the following day, but Quid’s pet dingo, Boswell, sniffs at a bin bag thrown out by the van driver. The bin men pick the bag up before Quid can confirm his suspicions, however.

That day, Quid picks up a cargo of pig carcasses to transport west to Perth. This, of course, turns out to be the route the van driver is taking as well. So begins a game of cat-and-mouse across the desert, involving the two men, multiple hitchhikers, and the occasional innocent bystander. One of these hitchhikers, Pamela Rushworth (Jamie Lee Curtis) — the daughter of an American diplomat — is intrigued by Quid’s theories and encourages him to investigate in reckless ways.

But is Quid completely on the wrong track? Just what is in the van driver’s ice chest? And why do there seem to be more Americans than Australians on this stretch of road?

General Thoughts

Whatever I thought of the story, I often found myself marvelling at how Roadgames was shot. The crash involving the boat trailer was particularly impressive. It’s one of those scenes that would look much slicker with modern camera technology and CGI enhancements, but it was refreshing to see something so raw and unvarnished.

The jaunty score often seems incongruous for a thriller, and it does little to help set the mood. It does, however, work in the title sequence, where Quid waits in the meat-packing plant and plays his harmonica in time with the theme song. It is an odd moment, but one I enjoyed.

I feel bad for harping on about this, but it really does seem weird that an American lorry driver in rural Australia picks up an American hitchhiker and neither comments on it. Maybe the character of Pamela — or Hitch, as Quid dubs her — was originally written as Australian and they never updated the dialogue. Whatever the reason, it left me scratching my head.

It was nice to see our protagonists affected by exhaustion, especially as Quid drives the long, lonely highway at night. Maybe I’ve just played too many tabletop RPGs where players refuse to slow down even long after the point their characters should be nodding off, but it stood out.

Boswell, Quid’s dingo companion, is the real star of this film. All right, he doesn’t actually do much, but I was more concerned for his wellbeing than that of any of the humans around him.

Verdict

I was a little disappointed by Roadgames. It’s a perfectly fine thriller, but it was never as tense or dark as I wanted it to be. Everything simply felt too safe, from the lack of blood to the far-too-neat resolution (although there is a fun little sting at the very end). It seems so concerned with being palatable to broad audience that it just ends up as bland. A shame, as the opening seemed to be setting up some kind of sun-drenched giallo, complete with a faceless, gloved antagonist.

Even so, this is a well-made film that blends inventive cinematography, beautiful landscapes, and a handful of striking action sequences. The climactic low-speed chase where an articulated lorry forces its way through narrow backstreets is a particular highlight.

If you’re a fan of paranoid thrillers, you may find something to entertain you in Roadgames. Honestly, however, you’d be better off just watching Rear Window again.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

Heretic (USA, 2024)
The Sadness (Taiwan, 2021)
The Uninvited (USA, 1944)
The Lodge (UK/USA, 2019)
WolfCop (Canada, 2014)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia, 1970)
The Monkey (USA, 2025)
Sister Midnight (India/UK, 2024)
Roadgames (Australia, 1981)
Nightmare City (Italy, 1985)
Dangerous Animals (Australia, 2025)
Dead Talents Society (Taiwan, 2024)
Winterbeast (USA, 1992)
Byzantium (UK/Ireland, 2013)
The Ugly Stepsister (Norway, 2025)
A Page of Madness (Japan, 1926)
Heart Eyes (USA, 2025)
Grafted (New Zealand, 2024)
Arrebato (Spain, 1979)
Hatching (Finland, 2022)
Abigail (USA, 2024)
Ganja & Hess (USA, 1973)
The Devil’s Bath (Austria, 2025)
Pieces (Spain, 1982)
Infested (France, 2023)
Best Wishes to All (Japan, 2022)
A Cat in the Brain (Italy, 1990)
Enys Men (UK, 2022)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (USA, 1954)
Perewangan (Indonesia, 2024)
Bring Her Back (Australia, 2025)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.