The Devil at Your Heels

Devil At Your Heels, or DAYH, is an amazing piece of work. Some argue it is fact, others fiction. I prefer to sit on the fence and simply marvel at the beauty that is the life of Ken Carter, the self-proclaimed world's best stuntman. He is good, if your definition of good is overweight, underprepared and gutless. In DAYH, Ken wants to jump a car from the USA to Canada. Why, only God knows. But he manages to get a ramp built and get his hands on a dodgy looking rocket car. All he has to do now is drive it up that ramp...which is the tricky part. A truly life-changing production, DAYH comes highly recommended. By me, anyway. And my mate Adam. He loves it too.

This film is incredible. The hilarity comes from the fact that the viewer isn't laughing with the characters in the movie, but at them. Ken Carter is a comedic genius, without even realizing it. When thought about too much, this movie is incredibly sad, but in the midst of the movie one is caught up too much in the hilarity to be contemplating the pathetic stupidity of humanity. Not only is the movie humorous, but also highly suspenseful, more so than the majority of scripted movies that I have see. I would recommend this movie to anyone, even those who claim to not enjoy documentaries. This is a documentary that you won't have to struggle to keep awake for. Once again, the NFB makes a winner!

Maybe it is all a big hoax. If it is this is some of the best mockumentary making ever and If it isn't then Ken Carter's miserable struggle to get his rocket car to jump a mile is one of the most amazing tales I have ever seen.

Ken Himself, like pretty much his whole support crew is a misguided man, but his heart is in the right place and it seems God definitely ain't on his side.

This is a hard film to find but totally worthy of its cult reputation. As a comedy of errors it is unbeatable.

Oh no, it's real alright. It reads like a classic mockumentary, but no, Ken is a real man and these are real attempts to make a real stunt.

The filming style is the classical 80s documentary format that was so well parodied in Spinal Tap, but this is the real thing.

Make popcorn. Watch the whole film - you can find it on you-tube if you make a cursory search. DO NOT FAST-FORWARD AT ANY POINT! The tension builds towards the end BRILLIANTLY as real-life strangeness takes over where scriptwriters dare not go. No writer of fiction could have written the ending of this film, only the laws of physics and aerodynamics combined with an extraordinary man like Ken Carter could create this work of art.

Warning: Read the wikipedia article on this film AFTER you see the whole movie.

You can watch it on you-tube.

Whether a hoax or the truth, this movie is incredible. If it is a hoax, the story and filming is one of the best mockumentaries ever. If the story is true, it is Don Quixote in the flesh.

The film does drag at times, so you'll have to be in the right mood to let the story play out. I first watched this film about 25 years ago and now I am anxious to watch it again.