Devil Rider!

Quick note: The girl's FATHER hires the private detective, not the mother. This error has been carried over from the synopsis in Michael J. Weldon's THE PSYCHOTRONIC VIDEO GUIDE.

Basic impressions: It's a Brad Grinter movie. For those who know that name, you know what you are walking into. For those who don't, run far, far away, unless you like groaning at a movie for moving slow, having low-to-no acting and action scenes that make you question the use of the word "action". It is inept, poorly lit, uneven in tone and basically awkward in most respects. The two highlights are the mother's overacting that makes you wonder if she is on the verge of hysterical laughter or if she found out just how little money she was getting for her one scene, and the father is played by the director/writer himself in a performance that makes soggy white bread seem perky in comparison.

Story: Pointless twaddle about a girl who is looking for kicks taking a ride from some local biker gang because she's bored. A bad movie ensues.

Questions: If everyone seems to be aware of this local biker gang, their members, AND the ___location of their camp, how is it that no one seems to have a clue about what the bikers do? Why would they stick a fairly competent back story for a fairly minor character in the middle of this mess when it would have made a better movie than this wreck? Why have the only reasonably smart character in the film pull one of dumbest moves, in the most ghastly disguise no less? (Yes, I know it was to move the plot, but, jeez, they could have done it a dozen other ways.)

Final comments: I have a soft spot for Brad Grinter films. No, it isn't the patch of quicksand referenced in film. There's just some element about his movies that compels me to stick around, just to see what weirdness he will throw in next. This is not as much fun as his BLOOD FREAK, but it still works well enough. Credit is due to him for making the biker gang act more like you would expect a gang to act during the final confrontation. Seriously, folks, do NOT go into this film expecting ANYTHING. Even then, you might still be disappointed.

"Kathy Holiday" (Sharon Mahon) is a young woman who wants to have fun. So after an argument with her boyfriend "Jim Aldridge" (Ridgely Abele) she goes for a walk to a nearby beach and while contemplating the situation meets a small group of motorcyclists led by a man named "Champ" (Ross Kananga) who invites her to go with them for a ride. They then proceed to where some other members of the gang are gathered and when one of the motorcyclists sees Kathy he immediately challenges Champ for the right to have her. After Champ beats him in a fight he and Kathy get high on drugs. Meanwhile, Kathy's parents get worried and talk to a private detective to find her. Unfortunately, what nobody realizes is just how bad this motorcycle gang actually is. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this isn't a great movie by any means. The acting is poor but the fight scenes are decent enough with a surprise twist at the end which surely counts for something. In any case, I rate it as just below average and recommend it only to those who might enjoy a film of this sort.

A young woman named Kathy (Sharon Mahon) decides to take off with a biker gang. Her worried parents hire a private detective to locate her. Part of the detective's master plan includes his joining the gang. This would be brilliant if he didn't happen to be about 65 years old and didn't wear a wig!

The bikers, no geniuses themselves, somehow see through the detective's subterfuge and beat him to a pulp.

Things get more interesting when Kathy decides that the biker chick life isn't her cup of tea. Incredibly, the gang won't let her leave. Luckily, her karate expert boyfriend arrives to save the day. Unfortunately, one of the bikers has a very big knife.

DEVIL RIDER! Is a clumsy, goofy movie loaded with non-thespians trying to remember their lines. It could have been a schlock classic if it wasn't so mind-smashingly boring! It does get a point for the -scant- unintentional chuckles it provides...

Devil Rider is a real stinker, unless you're a "native-born" south Floridian. Filmed around Dade County Florida in 1970, it is nothing-more than a "Z" biker flick. If you were old enough to remember, the motorcycle gang films were decent money makers in the last 1960s and this film was made in the hopes of "cashing-in" on this popularity. My guess is it didn't. I remember seeing this "turkey" at the Thunderbird Drive-in in 1970, and the only reason I saw it was because my karate instructor the legendary Johnny Pacivas had a part in the film. The weird part however, was that a local Florida girl did vanish a few-years later, never to be found again, and it was said she was abducted by an out-law biker gang. There are some decent shots of the local south Florida community during that time, and it's a big shock to see how Dade County has developed in the past 30 years. The acting is fair, the fight scenes "funky", and the over-all feel of the film is out-dated. However, if you're a native-born Floridian it's a fun trip down memory lane. If you're not, I'd skip this stinker.

This is a z-grade biker movie from Florida which goes under the a.k.a. Master's Revenge. Its lo-fi stuff all the way and despite only clocking in at 75mins it still has a fair bit of padding. The story is threadbare and simple - a girl runs away with a scummy biker gang and some people try and get her back. Its bargain basement origins mean that it is chock full of terrible acting and an off the shelf score, which is made up of light folk, elevator music and some intense piano action. There's several punch-ups, a catfight, a karate expert boyfriend and a private investigator who tries to infiltrate the gang by wearing a wig (needless to say, that ends in tears). Objectively, it shouldn't be entertaining at all but it gets by on its era vibes and time-capsule cred.