This cult classic of bad hair, bikie gangs and their molls, drugs and revenge was shot for cheap in and around the streets of Sydney using a few stunt motorcyclists and a take on rebel culture that seems almost quaint nowadays.

The 1974 flick is almost an exploitation movie worthy of Tarantino, and with a little more blood and nudity it could have been right up there with Turkey Shoot and The Man From Hong Kong.

Meshing elements of both bikie and hippie culture that couldn’t be more different today, with multiple references to drugs and ‘taking the trip’, it’s less a story and more a love letter to a subculture.

The plot deals with a motorcycle gang called the Gravediggers who are being knocked off one by one by an invisible killer. The cops send an undercover man — Stone — to learn the ways of the gang and get to the bottom of the murders.

You might not have heard of Stone but then you might not be a biker. As the extras on the two-disc edition explain, 30,000 bikers gathered in 1998 to recreate the film’s iconic expressway rally scene.

An interesting entry not just into bikie culture but no-budget Australian filmmaking in the early 70s, it’s a well-documented historical piece.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 7:22 pm and is filed under DVD Reviews, Film, Xpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.