So, when She-Devils on Wheels came across my desk for a potential review, I will admit that the title had me somewhat intrigued. I had never heard of Herschel Gordon Lewis and was not familiar with his other work, but I enjoy a good B-movie now and then, and the promo material certainly did its job: “Have you ever heard the saying it’s a man’s world? Well don’t dare repeat that to The Man-Eaters, a raucous, rowdy, and randy gang of female bikers who ride their men just as viciously as they do their motorcycles. When they’re not racing each other to get first pick of the stud line-up , these female hellcats are busy terrorizing the town and clashing with the rival male gangs.”
Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s so bad it’s good”? Well, She-Devils on Wheels certainly is bad. Made on a shoestring budget, in a matter of weeks, and coming in at 82 minutes, we find no one you have ever heard of riding around on motorcycles for no apparent reason, because there does not appear to be a script. Other than that, She-Devils on Wheels has nothing going for it.
Now, I am confident that there are people that will tell me that I just didn’t get it. They’re right. The Blu-ray, which now has a special place in my home, was released on May 21, and currently has 26 reviews on Amazon, of which more than half gave it 5 stars. Clearly, some people found it good in a really bad way. Perhaps it’s all the bonus material that raised the rating.
The key piece of bonus material is the feature “Just for the Hell of It!” which actually contains somewhat of a plot. Unfortunately, the story includes date rape, gang rape, child abuse, elderly abuse, abuse of the blind, and more. Little insight into the motivation of the antagonists exists here, which justifies the title. The rest of the bonus material includes H.G. Lewis talking about his films and other people talking about the films of H.G. Lewis. So clearly there are people out there that “get” and appreciate the work of Mr. Lewis, and perhaps if I saw some of his more famous work, such as Blood Feast or Two Thousand Maniacs, I might “get it”. So, when there is a new release of the famous films of Herschel Gordon Lewis, sign me up. Until then, I’m good.
Recommendation: In the past I have made the following recommendation on a very select group of films. Wait for it to show up on TBS and then don’t watch it. There is no chance that She-Devils on Wheels will ever show up on TBS, so I recommend that you find another source on which to not watch the film.
