AllMovie

This drive-in quickie is a modest but energetic example of 1970's exploitation filmmaking. Hi-Riders cleverly cross-breeds the car-chase genre that became popular in the 1970's with elements of the biker movie and Southern action/thrillers in the vein of Macon County Line. The characterizations tend to be stock stuff and the script makes the occasional odd choice (like having our heroes stop off to lounge by a lake in the midst of being hunted) but the majority of it plays well in a drive-in movie style. In terms of acting, Darby Hinton and Diane Peterson make solid leads while Mel Ferrer and Ralph Meeker offer professional turns as the town's law enforcement figures. Director/co-writer Greydon Clark knows his audience is there for four-wheel action and he keeps the film focused on it, delivering a steady stream of well-choreographed chases and stunts that are shot in an effective, wide-screen style by cinematographer Dean Cundey. In short, Hi-Riders is a drive-in programmer through and through but it's got the right kind of retro-charm to please cult film aficionados who pine for the golden era of the drive-in.