Rollercoaster

A Wild Ride

Main Cast: George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms, Henry Fonda

Director: James Goldstone

I decided to raid my library and pull out this gem of a thriller, still exciting even if a bit dated in dress and style.

The plot chronicles the killing spree of a psychotic (Widmark) who gets his kicks by fastening a bomb to the underside of a rollercoaster track and blowing a hole, thus derailing the cars in a horrible and blood-soaked manner. Watching it I was surprised how effective it was in detailing a horrifying crash, with mangled bodies and terrified park goers running from the carnage. Just goes to show that you don’t need the latest CGI to be effective.

Our hero, (Segal), is an investigator who has family problems. Divorced from his wife, he still takes care of his precocious daughter (a young Helen Hunt). He slowly tracks the killer down, unfortunately after multiple rollercoaster disasters.

Rollercoaster still packs a punch and is highly enjoyable – a worthy addition to your video library.