The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

"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.

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.

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.