Duel (1971) Review

Duel (1971) Review

Before Steven Spielberg directed Jaws, one of the greatest thrillers of all-time, he directed Duel, a made-for-television film about a guy (Dennis Weaver) pursued by a tanker truck and its unseen driver. That’s really all the movie is about, which may sound dull, but like Jaws, it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve ever seen. 

Things start out fairly innocent. Dennis Weaver is driving down the highway, heading through the California desert on a business trip, when he notices a truck coming up behind him. It keeps coming, and at first, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but the escalation of events is damn near perfect. Every encounter gets more intense, and eventually it reaches a tipping point where the guy realizes the truck driver isn’t just screwing with him, he’s trying to kill him. 

The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, based on his own short story. He’s probably most famous for writing I Am Legend (the novel, not any of the film adaptations), and he keeps the story focused and interesting, despite the very simple premise. 

It’s often been said that a monster is scarier when you don’t see it, because your imagination creates something scarier than what reality can offer. Spielberg used that technique with Jaws and kept the shark mostly hidden. Here, it’s a similar concept, but slightly altered. The truck itself is seen pretty often, and exudes menace—it’s loud, fast, rusty, has a piece of railroad track on the front bumper—but the driver is never shown, save for a few shots of his arms or feet. We never find out who this guy is, or why he’s doing this to Dennis Weaver, and that is scary.

There are some clever techniques used to carry the narrative in place of characters having conversations and interacting, because the majority of the film is just Dennis Weaver driving in his car (though he does stop at a restaurant at one point). We hear the voice in his head, as he tries to figure out why this truck driver would be trying to run him off the road. It’s a pretty effective technique, though the scene at the restaurant goes on for what feels like a bit too long. After that, though, it’s an all-out thrill-ride to the very end. 

I don’t want to say too much more about Duel, because a lot of contemporary movie-goers have never heard of it before. It’s readily available on DVD and Blu-ray, and it’s a must-see. Duel is 90 minutes of high-octane thrills from one of the greatest directors of all-time.