The first time I had an inkling something was up with this movie was a few years ago while reading an abbreviated synopsis of "Hot Rods To Hell" on the New York Times TV page. It read quite simply, "You gotta see this one, you know what I mean?" With a brave heart and full stomach I sat down to watch. I nearly lost my lunch laughing.

Dana Andrews plays a family man who is driving cross-country with his surrealistically straight-laced family. It seems he is beginning a new life as a motel/bar owner. During the trip he and his family are harrassed by marauding hot-rodders, hell-bent on hooliganism. The hot rodder's favorite hang-out? You guessed it -- Dad's new motel and bar. So much for due diligence.

Trite situations and shameful acting give this picture a quality of madness. When the cast isn't overacting they look like deer caught in the headlights. It seems that no other cast member (other than Andrews) had a career that survived this one. Andrews seems like he is constantly looking for some way out of the movie. Watch his eyes. Look for some great lines especially, "I thought we were gonners!" and "Just what kind of animals are those anyway?" A great way to watch this is to imagine that you are the proud stage parent of one youthful actors in the movie. As the movie progresses, your pride turns to embarrassment and then to anger for all the years and money it took to get the kid an audition and call back for this movie.