Line #25 Film/RoadGames


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roadgameshalfsht.jpg]]
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3	''Road Games'' is a 1981 Australian thriller directed by Richard Franklin.
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5	Eccentric trucker Pat Quid (Creator/StacyKeach) is dispatched to drive a load of pig carcasses to Perth. As one of many “games” he plays to entertain himself on the long road trips, he gives nicknames to fellow drivers and hitchhikers on the road, and guesses at their occupations and stories from clues he sees.
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7	When Pat learns that severed body parts of young women have been turning up in various locations, however, he suddenly realizes from what he’s seen of a man driving a green van (Grant Page) that the man may be the killer he calls “Smith or Jones”. The stakes get higher when Pat picks up and grows close with “Hitch” (Creator/JamieLeeCurtis), a young woman hitchhiking away from an unpleasant family situation, and she becomes a possible target of the killer.
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10	!!This film provides examples of:
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12	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Subverted. The biker Pat encounters is scared of his dog.
13	* BeardOfEvil: The serial killer's beard and mullet give him a bestial appearance.
14	* BigBadassRig: Pat's truck, the largest and sturdiest vehicle shown in the film.
15	* CulturedBadass: Despite his tough appearance Pat listens to Mozart, writes poetry, and plays two musical instruments.
16	* DamselInDistress: Hitch is abducted by the serial killer, and Pat must rescue her.
17	* DidNotGetTheGirl: Pat rejects Hitch's attempt to seduce him, considering himself too old for her.
18	* DisposingOfABody: Smith/Jones chops his victims into pieces, puts some body parts in the trash, and buries the rest in the desert.
19	* DogsAreDumb: Subverted. Pat's dingo alerted him to the extra carcass in the trailer and protected him from the biker.
20	* TheDrifter: Pat is always on the move and relaxes by playing his harmonica at a campfire.
21	* DrivingIntoATruck: The cops pursuing Pat end up wedged into the trailer's tailgate.
22	* EightiesHair: Pat has a moustache and short back and sides. Hitch has the feathered hair typically worn in the early years of the decade.
23	* GoodOlBoy: The employees of the slaughterhouse.
24	* GoodHairEvilHair: Pat is clean-cut and Smith/Jones is hairy and unkempt.
25	* HeManWomanHater: Pat theorizes that Smith/Jones' murders are motivated by misogyny.
26	-->'''Pat Quid:''' I'll tell you what he thinks of women, he despises them. He thinks they're pigs.
27	* HeroesLoveDogs: Pat has a pet Dingo called Boswell and becomes positively ''murderous'' when Smith/Jones hurts him. [[spoiler:He eventually learns that Boswell isn't actually a full dingo, being capable of barking]].
28	* HeroicDog: Boswell saves Pat's life several times.
29	* LandDownUnder: The roads of the Outback are dirt tracks, settlements are very remote, and there are few working telephones.
30	* LetsMeetTheMeat: The mascot of the meat packing factory is a cartoon pig dressed as a butcher. The Slogan on the side of the trailer? "Pleased to meat you!"
31	* MysteryMeat: Pat's cargo is pig carcasses. Later, [[spoiler:the butchered corpses of two of Smith/Jones' victims are possibly planted in the trailer.]]
32	* OldSchoolChivalry: Pat is a perfect gentleman to Hitch, even turning down her advances because he considers himself "too old."
33	* PoliceAreUseless: The cops believe Pat is the real killer.
34	* RazorFloss: Smith/Jones strangles his victims with a guitar string.
35	* SerialKiller: Smith/Jones is the hedonistic type who preys on young female hitchhikers.
36	* ShellShockedVeteran: Pat has nightmare flashbacks caused by his time in the navy.
37	* ShovelStrike: Smith/Jones uses one to smash Pat's truck.
38	* SpoiledBrat: Hitch is the runaway daughter of a wealthy diplomat.
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Context Film / RoadGames