During the filming of Patrick (1978), director Richard Franklin handed writer Everett de Roche the script of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Rear Window (1954). After reading the script, de Roche was inspired to write Roadgames, a film with a similar plot to Rear Window but set in the Australian outback instead of an apartment. Although it pales in comparison to Hitchcock’s original (a flawless work of art), the film is nevertheless an excellent cat-and-mouse thriller that will keep you engrossed.
While driving across Australia with his dingo named Boswell, truck driver Patrick Quid (Stacy Keach), an American, develops suspicions about a man in a dark green van. Quid starts believing that the man is a serial killer (mentioned on the radio) who abducts women hitchhikers, murders them, dismembers them, and then dumps the parts in various locations. On his way to Perth to deliver pork meat, he picks up a hitchhiker named Pamela (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is also American, hails from an elite family (her father is an influential American diplomat), and is on the run for some excitement. Both of them get along pretty well and form an unlikely bond. After stopping at a gas station, they spot the exact dark green vehicle and decide to investigate. However, when Pamela disappears, a cat-and-mouse game starts and Quid’s pursuit of the man driving the van draws the attention of the police, who begin to suspect him.
Throughout its running time, the film faithfully adheres to the narrative structure of Rear Window. The first two acts focus on Quid’s doubts about whether the man he suspects is the serial killer. The screenplay expertly portrays the situation’s duality by indicating that the van driver could be the killer, yet implying that Quid might be overly imaginative and full of theories. By the end of the second act, we learn the killer’s true identity. Then, in classic Hitchcockian fashion, the film moves into the suspense category, making the audience anxious about Pamela’s survival and the eventual capture of the perpetrator.
Roadgames greatly benefits from Quid’s thorough characterization of a truck driver. He is a well-read person who talks to himself, examines other people, and makes up stories about them as they pass him on the road. He has made peace with the trucker’s lifestyle, and the film refrains from portraying his character as someone leading a miserable life plagued with regrets and sorrows. Instead, he is an engaging, charming, curious, humorous, and intellectual person who is easy to get along with. There are also scenes in the film that give you the impression that something bad will happen, but nothing does. One such scene is when Quid discovers the rear door of his trunk ajar in the middle of nowhere at night and assumes the murderer is inside, only for it to be a false alarm. Not only do a few of these “False Alarm” scenes add to the tension and the eerie atmosphere, but they also deepen Quid’s character, increasing his doubts about the killer’s true identity.
However, a few creative choices do not work in the film’s favor. The most prominent one is the screenplay’s concerted effort to cast Quid as a suspect, which feels superfluous (as any film viewer can tell you, Quid is never the killer) and adds zero value to the plot. Additionally, the villain comes across as dangerous and crazy in his introductory scene, which is depicted with lights behind him in a low-angle shot, as he emerges from the bathroom clutching a garotte and strangles his victim while she is playing guitar nude. Having said that, the killer’s actions throughout the film—beating Quid’s Dingo, keeping a victim alive in his van instead of killing it, etc.—come across as clumsy and incompetent, failing to make him a formidable villain and undermining the film’s effectiveness.
Stacy Keach’s phenomenal performance as Quid binds the film together, making the character endearing and likable, and is reason enough to watch the movie. His scenes with Jamie Lee Curtis are the film’s highlight, as they quickly establish a lovely rapport and charming chemistry. Based on his impressive work on Roadgames, Richard Franklin was hired to direct Psycho 2 (1983), which you can read about here.
Roadgames movie links: Letterboxd, IMDB
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