The Visitor (1979)

It started life as a planned rip-off of The Exorcist (1973), but along the way it crashed into a WTF train and derailed everything in its path. The end result is closer to The Omen (1976) with added aliens (maybe?), bald disciples and a single blonde Jesus. It throws you in at the deep end from the very beginning so you don't have to wait to be bewildered. The story is confused, as are some of the cast. Characters disappear for long periods of time or disappear completely for no discernible reason. The camerawork and editing are either intentionally unconventional or the product of a deranged mind. The use and timing of music is reminiscent of Dario Argento, as are some of the spiralling narrative threads. Overall, it's a mostly incoherent mess of a film that somehow managed to hold my attention throughout.

3 angry birds out of 5

The Osterman Weekend (1983)

A government agency seeks to use one man to catch a group of others in a game of cat and mouse. Or is it cat and cat? Maybe it’s mouse and mouse?
It’s an adaptation of a Robert Ludlum novel, so there are the usual scenes of important men getting nervous over dodgy dealings and a twisty-turny ending. It makes you aware that not everyone sees friendship in the same way, and may even stir you to question if the people who claim to be your friends really are when they aren't beside you.
There’s an unusual car chase and a few scattered moments where Peckinpah piqued my interest technically, but, despite a strong cast his cinematic swansong isn't as memorable as much of what preceded it.

2½ trophy hunters out of 5

Convoy (1978)

A film based on a song doesn't exactly fill a viewer with confidence, but Convoy is a real gem; and thankfully it's the kind of sharp-edged diamond that cuts, not the kind that buys you a wife.

Rubber Duck and his cohorts spend life on the open road, under blue skies, answerable to no one except the law. Unfortunately, sometimes the law is crooked and action needs to be taken to defend personal freedoms.
Replace the trucks with wagons and the diner with a saloon and you have the kind of Western situation where men are men and anyone not part of the clique is considered suspicious. Logic says the thin plot and recycled motivations shouldn't work, but somehow they do.

3½ mad brother truckers out of 5