Overview
A truck driver on a lonely Australian highway becomes embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- offbeat
- paranoid
- late night thriller viewing
- road movie double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film to be an inventive and effective, if uneven, Australian road thriller with Hitchcockian suspense and strong genre craft.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Pat Quid's truck journey turns the Australian highways and vast landscape into a space of surveillance, uncertainty, and pursuit.
Quid pursues the suspicious van driver after Pamela disappears, drawing police suspicion onto himself.
The truck journey, imaginative games about travelers, and serial-killer investigation combine road movie atmosphere with thriller mechanics.
The film contrasts roadside figures, trucks, and ominous encounters with the immense Australian landscape.
Films like Roadgames, and why
The Hitcher
shared road movie setting, hitchhiker suspense, and escalating serial-killer paranoia
Wolf Creek
shared australian landscape, slasher tension, and isolated pursuit by a mysterious killer
North by Northwest
shared hitchcockian thriller mechanics, suspicious identities, and a protagonist under police scrutiny
Duel
shared road-bound suspense, psychological unease, and threatening encounters across a vast landscape
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Franklin
- Release Date
- 1981-02-27
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (221)
Cast
- Stacy Keach
- Jamie Lee Curtis
- Marion Edward
- Grant Page
- Thaddeus Smith
- Steve Millichamp
- Alan Hopgood
- John Murphy
- Bill Stacey
- Robert Thompson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Screambox Amazon Channel, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Roadgames about?
- A trucker's playful road games turn into a dangerous hunt for a suspected serial killer when a hitchhiker vanishes and the police begin watching him instead.
- What is Roadgames like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Roadgames as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Roadgames violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Roadgames as mild.
- What did critics think of Roadgames?
- Critics broadly found the film to be an inventive and effective, if uneven, Australian road thriller with Hitchcockian suspense and strong genre craft.
- Which films are like Roadgames?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hitcher, Wolf Creek, North by Northwest, and Duel.
- How long is Roadgames?
- Roadgames runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Roadgames?
- In United States, Roadgames streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Screambox Amazon Channel, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
