Leofwine_draca Fans looking for standard slasher elements (i.e. nudity, gore, marauding and unstoppable killers) will undoubtedly be disappointed by this refreshingly different attempt at a serial killer film, which keeps the gore and violence to a minimum and mainly off screen (aside from the nasty but cheesy 'shock' scene at the film's close). Instead this is a film which concentrates on a battle of minds between the protagonist - taking the form of truck driver Quid - and the killer, played by a mysterious, little seen man in a green van. Franklin throws lots of ambiguity into his film, forever asking whether or not the green van man is the killer, and keeps us guessing right up until the end. It's one of those films where the protagonist ends up being blamed for the crimes and chased by the police, a plot element always overused but handled nicely here.With most Australian films I've seen, there has always been an element of quirky humour, and ROAD GAMES is no different. It's positively bursting with humour, most of it stemming from Stacy Keach's droll hero and his encounters with various bizarre folk on the road. I've always enjoyed Keach's performances and he gets to shine with a meaty role here, as the befuddled, yet obsessed truck driving hero, and he enjoys some fine interplay both with Jamie Lee Curtis, his pet dingo, and himself, chattering away on long distances of empty road. Keach's performance makes the film and cannot be undervalued. Curtis, on the other hand, only appears somewhat briefly in the movie, for about half an hour at most, and although her performance is as strong as always, her character is somewhat light on development. The film does have its fair share of plot holes and slow stretches, but the suspense, the script and the atmosphere keep it together nicely.Director Richard Franklin is obviously a big Hitchcock fan (no surprise that he made PSYCHO II a couple of years later) and litters his movie with Hitchcockian devices and references, which can be slightly overwhelming at times but which are for the most part entertaining. The set-piece that concludes the film, which sees Keach's truck, the villain and a police car driving into smaller and smaller roads before getting stuck, is ingenious and wildly different to anything else I've seen in a while, so it deserves kudos. Viewers who can get past the off beat humour and who can appreciate the mix between dark thrills and light-heartedness will enjoy this thriller, which is always good if not a great piece of entertainment. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.

Shosanna Dreyfus Roadgames is a wonderful Australian thriller, directed by Richard Franklin (who also made Psycho II - my personal favorite Psycho movie), written by Everett De Roche (whose credits include Long Weekend and Razorback) and starring Stacy Keach (Fat City and the Mike Hammer TV series) and Jamie Lee Curtis. I first saw this movie on TV in the 1980s and then again a few years later, which was when I really became impressed with it's cult movie qualities and I recently saw it again on DVD.Stacy Keach is wonderful as a man who drives a truck (but doesn't consider himself "a truck driver") and passes his time on his long haul road trips with various games. He talks both to himself and his "dingo", passing the time with attributing his own names, identities and even dialog to the other motorists on the road (he also likes to quote poetry). Like other fans of the film, I think this is part of what makes the movie so likable and I loved his little nicknames for people like "Sneezy Rider". Early on, Stacy Keach notices a driver in a green van offer a lift to a hitchhiker and observes the same man intently watching the garbage bags being picked up the following morning while Stacy's dingo seems very interested in what's inside one of them. Later Stacy sees the same driver digging a hole in the desert, presumably for the picnic box he has beside him, stops when he sees that he is being watched. Stacy has heard talk on the radio and from a fellow road traveler about the Jack The Ripper style killer who is responsible for bits of bodies popping up in different locations. As the film goes on, Stacy becomes more and more absorbed with the idea that the green van driver is probably the killer, but has to decide whether and how to follow this train of thought. Along the way, Stacy picks up a young female hitchhiker (Jamie Lee Curtis) that he dubs "Hitch" (for hitchhiker, but Stacy himself is shown to own a Hitchcock book and the film itself is often cited as being Hitchcock influenced). Hitch disappears while investigating the green van, adding to Stacy Keach's troubles as he becomes unsure if Hitch is in mortal danger or if she was a willing accomplice of the killer all along.This film is a fine example of Australian made cult thrillers and horrors and stands very well alongside other classics like Mad Max (except without a Nuremberg dodger in the title role), Long Weekend and Razorback. It also stands well alongside other road movie horrors like Duel and personally I much prefer it to The Hitcher. It has wonderful performances, some nice humor and a quietly absorbing storyline. It's not a film to look for gore or big action scenes in, but it is a great thriller and road movie with a great script. Stacy Keach later played a truck driver after a killer in the 1992 TV movie Revenge On The Highway. Much better than the rubbish that Goebbels churned out! More films like this please!

manicman84 Richard Franklin's potboiler "Road Games" is quite an accomplishment of Australian cinema. That's right Quentin. I know we agree. While transporting pork to Perth trough the whole Australia, American truck driver Pat Quid (Stacy Keach) traces a serial killer who tries to get rid of the body of the girl he's recently murdered. In the meantime, Pat meets Pamela (Jamie Lee Curtis) who decides to help him capture the dangerous psycho. Due to its tone, the movie feels like Hitchcock's "Rear Window" on the road. Screenwriter Everet De Roche presents travellers as some kind of integral community comprising of totally different people connected by accident. It's to director Franklin's credit though that the movie is so frantic and suspenseful throughout. There are moments of sheer genius when the movie gets almost unbearably tense in its crucial scenes including unique finale. All in all, "Road Games" is a cleverly scripted, refreshing thriller that just waits to be rediscovered and admired. 8/10 (B+)

jeffronthi I would not recommend you wait on this if you are a fan of suspense. There is also an early role for Jamie Lee Curtis, as well. There are decent performances all around, save for the horrible police officers. They must have been the real thing.Pros: High suspense, well-written characters, great use of a low budget, good plot twist, keeps you guessing, fine ending.Cons: Drags in spots, dialogue can be pretentious and unrealistic, a few continuity issues, with respect to sequencing.For a PG rated movie, this is rather adult themed and creepy, if not scary. I recommend this film to all.