Marathon Killer

This comment below sums it up quite well

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An overlooked film, 14 September 2000

Author: goya-4 from PA USA

About long distance runners who are kidnapped by some vigilantes in the desert in New Mexico. This movie was one of those late night finds..it is a very suspenseful film that you will not change the channel from.. A very worthwhile rental that will keep you engaged from start to the bitter end..on a scale of one to ten..8

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At the least this is what it is , in fact its sort of like that Dennis Weaver film "Duel" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/

In time it could possibly become a cult classic like Duel. I remember reading Leonar Maltin's review or should I say LACK OF REVIEW. Because its obvious that he never saw this movie. Because if he had ... I'm sure that he'd pass favorable comment on this.

Basically .... If you like action with some pretty good performance , this move will entertain you. Ronny Cox is a very good actor and plays his part very well. There is some real action and suspense in this movie. And i you can pick up a DVD at a reasonable price , its worthwhile to have in your collection.

For sure I have watched countless movies that made me sleepy, but "Raw Courage" is the first one that made me feel tired. Three long distance runners running and running and running through the New Mexico desert. Their flight was initiated by M. Emmet Walsh and his ruthless brigade of weekend mercenaries playing war games. After one of the runners is killed, it's a battle of wits (the runners) vs. the nitwits (the brigade). While I enjoy these variants on "The Most Dangerous Game", I would have preferred more character development and less running. This is certainly watchable, but expect nothing more than a relentless desert chase. - MERK

About long distance runners who are kidnapped by some vigilantes in the desert in New Mexico. This movie was one of those late night finds..it is a very suspenseful film that you will not change the channel from.. A very worthwhile rental that will keep you engaged from start to the bitter end..on a scale of one to ten..8

I saw this for the first time on a vhs in the early 90s.

Revisited it recently.

It is one of the finest survival thriller where three marathon runners are tormented in the desert by a hoard of vengeful wannabe soldiers.

This movie has amazing settings, scorching sun, white dunes, barren landscape/desert, steep rocks, dusty terrain n deadly snakes.

The rock climbing scenes are tension filled n there is a wonderful aerial photography from the rock.

There is good amount of chase sequences n as viewers we all rejoice whenever any of the demented soldier gets killed.

This movie has lots of flaws, none of the soldiers had any guns or explosives, who organized the marathon, the soldiers background story is nada, there were no checkpoints throughout the trail, how will one come to know if the marathon runners cheated or not, etc.

But all these are forgiven by me cos i enjoyed the movie as it has plenty of tension, amazing sun soaked settings, heart pounding rock climbing scenes, etc.

Comparisons with Deliverance, Rituals n Southern Comfort will crop up but that's ok cos this movie succeeded in maintaining tension throughout.

There is another underrated survival thriller from the 90s known as Judgement Night and luckily i own a dvd of Judgement Night.

I am a fan of Emmet Walsh, and the movie did not disappoint. Its enjoyable thriller with great tension. If you like Deliverance/ Sothern Comfort then you will like this. Some good performances, and you really get routing for the marathon runners. Good setting and pace, with never a boring minute. Not sure if it was a TV movie, with the 4:3 aspect ratio. May have suited a wider format, but likely budget constraints restricted what they had to work with. Its one of those virtually unheard of movies you come across, and that adds to deriving pleasure out of finding it. Highly recommended. I found a copy on Youtube, but luckily the copy was watchable.