Rating: 3/5
Oh My Horror 2025 | 28/52 | Horror in the Desert
Frank says his goodbyes to his staff at Cycle World, his motorcycle dealership. His co-owner, Roger, is at the track racing motobikes. So, Frank takes the RV to the track, along with their wives, Kelly and Alice, to pick Roger up on their way out of San Antonio for their ski vacation in Aspen. Oh, and Roger and Kelly’s cute little dog, Ginger.
Roger wants to stop at an RV park for the night, but Frank wants to rough it, as much as one can in an RV. So, they stop in a ravine just beneath a rocky meadow. Frank and Roger go riding while Kelly and Alice go for a walk. Ginger barks, freaking Kelly out — apparently, Ginger never barks.
That night, Frank and Roger sit outside, reminiscing over a bottle of whiskey. Across the way, they see a large fire erupt and several people stand around it in cloaks. Because they’re morons, they sneak to get a closer look. They witness robes drop, a guy in a mask, and a woman stabbed in the heart over the fire.
Alice calls for Frank, alerting the ritual participants to the presence of our protagonists. Will they be able to escape? Yeah, they do immediately. So what’s the movie about? You’ll be able to guess pretty quickly once the police get involved.
The film is a typical example of “middle-class American values versus counter-culture fears,” but it doesn’t do anything with that idea beyond offering vapid reflections on purchased goods. Part of the film feels like an advertisement for the RV as Frank goes over every feature, and the vehicle successfully navigates through shallow rivers and other idyllic settings. Of course, when it gets stuck during the chase, that feeling subsides.
The movie pulls a few “No one saw me do this” moments — things they could have easily filmed, but instead feel like the screenwriter made them up on the spot to get out of a corner. Even though you understand what’s happening way before the characters do, it still doesn’t make much sense. Henry Fonda and Warren Oates nearly quit the movie when they switched screenwriters mid-shoot.
It isn’t until the last 30 minutes that the movie starts to have any fun with its premise. You could cut the entire second act, and it would do nothing to the story, well, except for a couple of great shots with Kelly looking around at normal people’s faces, worried that one of them might secretly be a Satanist.
I wouldn’t say the ending saves it, but it emphasizes that this film is about spectacle, not consideration. So, I consider it fine.
** Stray Thoughts **
- The score has the idle bounce of something generic or made-for-TV. It doesn’t necessarily match the mood most of the time, but I’ve heard worse.
- The motorcycle races aren’t terribly exciting, probably because the actors are actually riding them.
- I’m not sure if the movie itself is censored or just the version I found, but it was unusual.
- The Kraft Mac-n-Cheese jump scare.