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3.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 3.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Riding Speed remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for the kind of B-movie westerns that feel like they were filmed in a single weekend. If you need tight logic or big budgets, skip it. If you like the smell of old film stock and horses kicking up desert sand, you might actually have a good time.
The whole thing feels like a fever dream of mid-century border tension. Victor Adamson is doing the heavy lifting here as our undercover hero, and he plays it with that stiff-jawed determination that makes you think he forgot how to blink. 🏜️
There are long stretches where nothing happens except people riding horses toward things that are far away. It’s hypnotic, really. You can almost feel the grit in your teeth.
The smuggling ring plot is paper thin, but does it really matter? Not when you have these wide, sweeping shots of Arizona that look like they were pulled from a completely different movie. Sometimes I wonder if the actors were just lost and the camera crew caught them by accident.
It definitely lacks the polish you’d find in something like The Italian, but that’s kind of the point, right? It isn't trying to be high art. It’s just trying to fill an hour of your life with guys in spurs and low-stakes chases.
The pacing is a total mess, but the energy stays high enough to keep you awake. You can tell the director was just winging it half the time, which is charming in a weird way. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s definitely not as dry as Prohibition. Watch it with a cold drink and don't think too hard about the plot holes. They are big enough to drive a wagon through. 🐎