As he remembers it, “Hearing the crowd roar with enthusiasm after a particularly grisly smash-up, I realized the onlookers weren’t there to see who won … but who died. Written by celebrated Hollywood ‘scenarist’ and later successful author of war fiction, Ib Melchior (most famous in sci-fi circles for his helming of the 1959 B-movie The Angry Red Planet and co-writing 1964’s classic Robinson Crusoe On Mars) – the inspiration for ‘The Racer’ came from an experience Melchior had while attending a local speedtrack. The story’s protagonist, a seasoned racer named Willie Connors begins to feel pangs of guilt after (uncharacteristically) stopping at the scene of ‘an accident’ he was responsible for and witnessing first-hand the pain and suffering of the innocent victims whose lives he has destroyed. Entitled ‘The Racer’, it told of a transcontinental road race across America in which the participants are encouraged to run down pedestrians in order to gain points and win the race. In 1956 a ten page story appeared in the little-known men’s magazine Escapade. Starring: Luke Goss, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Dougray Scott, Fred Koehler and Tanit Phoenix. Based on characters created by Robert Thom and Charles B. A franchise run off the road returns to form and rediscovers its former potential – but where to from here?ĭirected by Roel Reine.