Just received the new DVD release of this Greydon Clark drive-in movie goodie. I've been reading reviews of these type of B-movies and actually watching videos of the movies for over 20 years now, and believe me, this number was rather obscure. I never heard of it until recently. But now it's available, and fans of 70's action flicks are the better for it.This movie is very similar to the biker movies of around 1966-72, and I have seen almost all of them. Except here, the biker gang is a hot rod gang. Because none of the cars are newer than 1971, and all the gang members are dressed the same as bikers, this has a real 1972 vibe to it. I was very surprised to find out on the commentary track on the DVD that this film was actually lensed in the summer of 1977. The Farrah Fawcett hair-do on Lynn, the lead female character, should have tipped me off.The hot rodders race for pink slips with a "local boy." The race gets out of hand, and both parties blow up after hitting a handy dynamite shack at the side of the road. Great gag, but come on! Did Wile E. Coyote live nearby? This is just a little too right out of a cartoon. Such cheesy elements only add to the fun to be had here, actually.Anyway, the "local boy" turns out to be the son of a local bigwig, a scary dude who is "retired from back East." Supposed to be Mafia? I'm not sure. But anyway, the scary dude vows revenge. His well-paid henchmen (SPOILER ALERT!) wipe out most of the car gang, with only the two leads and their girlfriends left behind, to go on the run and be shot at by just-as-scary rednecks in beat-up pickup trucks. Our heroes regroup for a psychotically dangerous assault on Scary Dude at his house. Will they take him out and get revenge for wasting "the brothers"?? Anyway, this is not Bergman. You folks know the drill by now. What you want from a movie like this is car chases, gunplay, and fist fights. And the occasional cute chick. And this movie delivers! Great stunts, silly plot twists, cool Seventies tunes, awesome muscle cars, and hokey dialog. I love it! If you liked Smokey and The Bandit, or the original Gone in Sixty Seconds, or Macon County Line, or other car chase flicks from the 1970's, then this is your cup of motor oil. And if you like those Sixties biker movies, then this is a worthy addition to that canon. Silly fun.

HI-RIDERS is a little-known film, but when I finally got to see it I was not disappointed. I knew the movie would feature great car action, and it does indeed. The cars all look brilliant and the racing and chase sequences are filmed excellently. The performances range from okay to atrocious, the worst offender being Stephen McNally as bad guy Mr. Lewis. Then again, his character is genuinely unpleasant. He seeks revenge on the gang for the death of his son, which was pretty much an accident. Then again, the film is probably just trying to show that rich guys like Lewis are all scum. A bit preachy, considering our heroes drink and drive. Even so, the cars are excellent. There's a Firebird, a Dodge Charger and a Mercury Cougar all on display.Darby Hinton is good as Mark, the latest member of the Hi-Riders and so is Wm J. Beaudine as Hi-Rider leader T.J. (according to IMDb, this was the only film Beaudine ever did. If that's true, it's a shame because he's very good here}. I know Neville Brand was a big star in the 40s and 50s, so I think it's a shame that he has a part here that could have been mailed in.The ending of the film is very abrupt, though, as the surviving Hi-Riders get revenge on Mr. Lewis for killing their friends, but it just ends there. That said, HI-RIDERS is a very enjoyable picture and I'm glad to have seen it at long last. And I'm glad that a fellow IMDb user feels the same way about it as I do.

Yeah man!! This is like, so cool!! We got this gang of kids, yeah, who set up a club for those who like to build up some speed on the road. We challenge each other to super fast races, and the winner gets to keep the stakes in a big-stakes gambling game. Radical!! But in one of these recent contests, the son of a rich guy got killed, and now the father wants revenge. Bogus!! And as our number gets picked off one by one thanks to his totally heinous hired assassins, will we survive long enough to ever hit those most excellent highways ever again? Watch and find out, my brothers!! You're gonna love this movie!! It's got the lot: Dudes burning rubber, chicks taking their tops off, teens getting blind drunk, fat guys dancing, cops being blown up.. and all in the space of 90 slammin' minutes!! This is totally the best film ever!! Rent it today!! It's bodacious, peeps..*COUTH* *COUGH* oops sorry.. I lost control of my senses there for a minute, I don't know what came over me. Anyway, what I REALLY wanted to say was: this movie sucks the big one. Every performance bar none is dire, the much-hyped race sequences are rendered boring thanks to sloppy camera-work and the soundtrack is so loud and obtrusive it will have the climbing the wall in seconds.But what really puts the final nail in the coffin is the 'moral' which seems to be: no matter how many people die in this little group, as long as the survivors stick together.. nothing else matters because its all about 'street cred'. What a sad excuse for conformity, and if the government wants to know why there are so many individuals out there who can't think for themselves and can only function as a unit, my answer would be: take a look at this screenplay, and draw your own conclusions. 2/10

"Hi-Riders" is definitely a film all lovers of "car" movies should definitely seek out! It's pretty rare, lucky for me I duped it a long time ago! The plot goes as such: a California couple named Mark and Lynn in their souped Firebird (awesome) goes on the road searching for action, and scams one tough guy in a drag race, losing on purpose to him for a little bit of cash, but then turning on the power in the rematch for much higher money. The guy turns out to be a member of The High-Riders car and bike gang, and after he takes off without paying, the couple seek him out straight to the gang's hangout.Fortunately for them, the Hi-Riders leader is a nice, reasonable guy who suggests one final drag race for the cash. Mark wins, and after some heated discussion, Mark and Lynn join the High-Riders for some beers, while Mark becomes good buds with the gang's leader.From then on, the couple hang with the gang, and the gang get into some big trouble when the tough guy who lost to Mark in the beginning races the son of the most powerful man in town, and both die in a big crash. Then the man's father is out to get his revenge on the gang.There's a lot of action and never a dull moment. The direction is great and really keeps up the pace. And of course, you see some great cars all over the place, cruising, drag races, and car chases, and even a chicken run with the gang leader's wild Dodge Charger! If your video store rents older releases, look for this one because it's a B-flick that definitely never lets up. One of the best of it's kind!