STEVEN SPIELBERG'S DUEL (1971): STILL ALIVE AND DRIVING AT 55!!

DUEL (1971) d. Steven Spielberg (USA)

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Before Steven Spielberg became STEVEN SPIELBERG, he was a young television director searching for an opportunity to prove what he could do behind the camera. That opportunity arrived in November 1971 with Duel, a lean, nerve-shredding thriller produced for ABC’s Movie of the Week. Made on a modest budget and shot in just under two weeks, Duel remains one of the most astonishing directorial debuts in American cinema—not just because of its spectacle or scale, but also how masterfully it transforms an ordinary situation into sustained terror.

RAGE (2010) movie review

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Rage (2010) d. Witherspoon, Chris

When philandering novelist Rick Crawford snatches the parking spot of a masked motorcyclist, it sparks an ever-escalating asphalt-based jousting match. Writer/director/editor/cinematographer/co-star Witherspoon whips up a pretty terrific riff on Steven Spielberg’s Duel, but sabotages himself, first by having a minor character literally reference the film out loud (come ON, Chris) and then taking the show off the road for a home invasion/rape sequence that feels needlessly cruel as well as gratuitous. Even so, I’ll be happy to see what future tricks Witherspoon has up his sleeve, as he clearly knows how to navigate the high tension ropes.

October Horror Movie Challenge 10/5

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Freeway Killer (2010) (1st viewing) d. Murlowski, John (USA) 85min
Biopic on titular serial killer William Bonin who, after murdering numerous young men in late 70s/early 80s SoCal, became the first person to be executed by lethal injection. The film succeeds largely thanks to a genuinely unnerving lead turn by Scott Anthony Leet, who plays Bonin as a social misfit, charismatic without being charming (though a little “Hollywood crazy” at times). While the performances tend to be a little rough and/or mannered, but it’s the awkward, unschooled nature of things that hits closest to the bone. It’s clear that they’d like to emulate Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (even to the point of securing Michael Rooker for a cameo), but it’s closer in tone to that film’s less-realistic, more movie-like sequel. The main narrative focuses on Bonin’s schooling of young recruit Cole Williams in his murderous ways, then forced to choose between his new protégé and old partner Dusty Sorg. Eileen Dietz shows up as Bill’s mom, talking about her “demons.” (Cute, guys.)