It's Halloween next week! You know what that means? Scary movies!
You'd think that "car themed horror movie" was a pretty niche subgenre, right?
Well it is!
That said - there are way more out there than you'd probably think. Which is why I'll be suggesting a few top flicks for you over the next few days. Movie night, anyone?
But first - a few disclaimers:
Yes. I know that in Australia the holiday of Halloween is not traditionally celebrated.
- Yes. I understand that it's mostly an American thing and that its celebration in Australia is reflective of a kind of American pop-culture imperialism.
- No. I myself am not American, I just like American pop-culture, spooky stuff (I wrote an entire article on ghost cars!), and dressing up in costumes. So I heckin' LOVE Halloween.
Boring stuff out of the way? Good.
So buckle up kiddies, and if you have to cover your eyes, that's just fine.
I mean... except maybe not, because... you know... reading?
Duel (1971)
Duel is one of those movies that sticks with you - not because it's particularly gory or violent - but because you ponder about the possibility of it actually happening.
Duel is the ultimate road rage horror story. It follows a travelling salesman named David Mann (played by Dennis Weaver) as he travels across the Mojave Desert. During his trip he overtakes an old, filthy, fume spewing Peterbilt 281 tanker truck. A scary looking one at that.
Unfortunately for David, the truck driver is a bit of a sore loser and ends up taking road rage to a whole new level. The truck begins to harass David, starting by overtaking him and then slowing down, waving to David for a fake overtaking gap, to flat out trying to... uh... flatten him out.
It's one of those great, 'what would you do' horror scenarios, like trying to figure out what steps you'd take to survive a zombie apocalypse.
Duel was an ABC (the American one) movie of the weekend and the first big break into film for Steven Spielberg, who at that point was a little-known TV director.
The whole film was shot in fourteen days. Fourteen! For comparison, Jaws took 55 days to complete, and even that was pretty quick. It's Steven Spielberg guys - he knows what he's doing.
Dennis Weaver's performance as Mann is great; you see the bored salesman gradually slip into a state of all-consuming paranoia as he desperately tries to survive his ordeal.
This is where we get into what I mentioned earlier. It's one of those great, 'what would you do' horror movie scenarios. It's like trying to figure out what steps you'd take to survive a zombie apocalypse, or trying to plan a Halloween costume two hours before the party.
Weaver's co-star also gives a great performance. His co-star being the vehicles, of course. Well... one vehicle specifically. The truck. The only requirement for Mann's car, eventually chosen to be a 1970 Plymouth Valiant, was that it be red (so that it stood out in the desert).
A lot more attention was paid to the truck. In a making-of documentary, Spielberg talks about how the truck was 'cast'. The director was shown a lot full of different trucks and he took a tour through them all before 'casting' one.
According to Spielberg, he chose the Peterbilt because it was one of the only ones with a "face". Most of the other options were newer cab over engine trucks with flatter fronts. The Peterbilt on the other hand had a big grill "mouth" and eyes, making it more threatening.
Not only that, but the truck was put into makeup every day to turn it into a deadly, backroad roaming serial killer.
Spielberg also mentions that for the duration of the shoot they only had the one truck.
This meant that any big stunt moments had to be done carefully and in a specific order so that one of the movie's focal points wasn't put out of commission too early.
It's closer to a slow burn thriller than a flat-out horror movie.
This also meant that during the finale of the movie there's a certain stunt they did, and they only had one shot to get it right. I won't spoil it for you, but when you watch it keep that fact in mind.
For a car themed horror movie night, I'd recommend putting Duel second or third in your watch order. It's a great movie, and also one that's influenced a bunch of other movies that you've probably already seen.
Not to mention it's closer to a slow burn thriller than a flat-out horror movie, and if you or your friends are after something a bit more... uh... let's say 'schlock-y' then, well, stay tuned...
What would you do if you were chased through the desert by an evil truck? Tell us what you'd do in the comments below.
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