CULTPIX MONTH: Road of Death (1973)

The film follows two couples — Frank (Frank Birch), a man of impressive physique, and his partner, Lisa (Carol Connors), alongside another pair, Joe (Joe Banana) and Dena (Lea Vivot) — who head into the Florida Everglades for a quiet picnic. This is not a good idea at all.

Their afternoon of leisure is violently interrupted when a gang of sadistic, grease-stained bikers descends upon them and subjects the group to a series of humiliations, brutal beatings and sexual assaults, including one of them carving his name into Lisa’s “turkey ass.”

While the others are left traumatized and broken, Frank isn’t interested in a slow recovery. Fueled by a singular need for vengeance, he equips himself with a bulletproof vest and a high-powered .44 Magnum. Frank transforms into a one-man army, tracking the biker gang through the swamps and backroads of Florida. What follows is a low-budget, gritty crusade where Frank systematically hunts down each member of the gang to deliver his own brand of eye-for-an-eye justice.

If their names aren’t a hint, Jack Birch and Carol Connors are real-life parents of actress Thora Birch (American Beauty, Hocus Pocus). They also made adult films, including Sweet Savage and Deep Throat

Depending on the region and the home video release, the film has also been distributed under the title The Hunted. As for the bikers, well, Jack Miller (Robert Bourassa) is the leader, getting that title by kicking the asses of Mac O’Connor (Mike McGaughey) and Al Douglas (George Hoefler Jr.). Now, he leads people like Cat Eye (Nelson Reed) and Fang (Charles Ockerman) while pursuing Sherry (Kathy Mandeville) as his woman. He forces her to pleasure each of the gang while looking for new women.

So yeah, this may not have the stunts of a more mainstream biker movie, but it certainly has the sleaze.

Director and writer Rene Martinez Jr. also made Temptation and SinThe Sexiest Story Ever ToldThe Guy From Harlem and Supersoul Brother. This was produced by Joseph Fink, who also put up the money for the Florida regional movies Sting of DeathDeath Curse of TartuThe Devil’s SistersThe Wild Rebels and Hell’s Chosen Few, nearly all of which were directed by William Grefe. On camera? Gary Waldman, who also shot the regional films CockfighterScalpelThe Farmer and the bigger budget Tim Conway and Don Knotts movie The Private Eyes.

There’s a lot of sandwich-making in this, and as someone who loves sandwiches, that makes it a better film.

You can watch this on Cultpix.

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