She-Devils on Wheels (1968)* 1/2 (out of 4) A female motorcycle gang known as the Man Eaters cause destruction wherever they go. Their leader loves to party with men but the group is also known for destroying them. One member of the crew decides she wants out but doesn't know how to do it.Herschell Gordon Lewis adds the motorcycle flick to his endless genres that he managed to work in during his career. After the success of THE WILD RIDE we got a whole slew of low-budget motorcycle pictures but there's no doubt that this here isn't one of the better ones.As with a lot of Lewis' other films, their low-budget charm is on full display but it just doesn't add up to what you'd consider a good movie or a very entertaining one. It's really amazing that he started off in rougies before moving to nudies and then his infamous gore films. Later in his career he would make films like this, which were rather lame and tame. Sex is a big subject here yet we only see people kiss. There's no sex or nudity to be had.The film offers up the type of performances that you'd expect. There are some bloody bodies on display, although they don't reach a BLOOD FEAST type of level. The group of women add a little fun to things but SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS just doesn't have enough going for it.

Okay, I was just 5 when this was released (and I hope Mom & Dad didn't view this cinematic dreck at a Drive-In), but, at age 47, I've got to say that this "film" is the cheesiest, most poorly executed, abominable piece of garbage that I have EVER witnessed!!! Dave Friedman was associated with Mr. Lewis for a time (and David was a subscriber to my Drive-In Theatre Preservation newsletter "Drive-In Speaker" at one time, so, now that I'm happily retired at age 47, I figured I'd purchase some HGL DVD's from ebay (a collection of 7, or so) and see what's what) .... UGGGGGHHHHHHHH, bad, bad, bad move ....... She Devils is so entirely horrid ... poor acting, poor cam work, poor editing (and the spinning cycle collage -- WTF???????) ------- I'm sorry, I just cannot believe that I wasted over an hour of my life witnessing this piece of utter garbage!!! Granted, I star in a "slightly similar" abomination titled "Slaughter Weekend," (2010) but at least its watchable ........ Gee, I hope some of the other titles in the set (of HGL vids) I purchased are at least marginally palatable!!! Looking into my mirror ball, I can see myself re-listing this collection on ebay for some other unsuspecting sucker to purchase!!! Sorry, but I tell it like it is, baby!!! DaveLounder.com

She-Devils on Wheels (1968) was Herschel Gordon Lewis' entry into the "hot" bikersploitation film craze that was occurring in the B-movie circuit. I guess the gory set piece movies were out and the biker films were in. This movie is something else, what is it I still haven't a clue. A man hating motorcycle club called The Maneaters drive around looking for trouble, getting in trouble with other clubs and fighting amongst themselves. But there's trouble a brewing within in the club. Can these She-Devils rule the road? Will the law catch up to them? Why does that camera shake so much? You'll find these answers when you watch "She-Devils on Wheels".Not an entertaining film. But if you're a die-hard Herschel Gordon Lewis fan then you'll want to grab a copy of this flick. Others need not apply.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Ahh...It would be no exagerration to liken "She Devils On Wheels", an epic HG Lewis tragedy, to the writings of Shakespeare. It is quite possibly the "Godfather of Gore"'s masterpiece, his "Hamlet" and his "Romeo and Juliet" in one.The plot revolves around the Maneaters, a gang of motorcycle riding women, bent on smashing their gender roles, treating their menfolk like slaves and riding hard on 'the strip' (they may ride hard but certainly not fast... the girls' bikes move at a leaden, snail-like pace - no doubt a sly metaphor to represent that although the girls may appear to be riding fast, their lives are, essentially, going nowhere). There are many deep-running conflicts within the Maneaters, too complicated to go into here in full detail, but most notably the feud between leader Queenie and fairly recent member Karen is the one that creates the most tension. It's obvious that Queenie is jealous of the younger, more glamorous Karen and when Karen keeps winning the Maneaters' races, Queenie decides to put her in her place with a scene easily as devastatingly powerful as anything from Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus". Karen, it seems, has fallen in love with one of the 'Studs' (a group of highly inbred-looking 'men' that the Maneaters keep at their shack as sex slaves) and when Queenie finds out, she ties him to the back of Karen's bike and issues the ultimatum - either Karen rides across the strip with her lover tied to the back of her hog, or Queenie rides across the strip with Karen in tow! As the bewildered Karen drives across the strip, her lover turning to a bloodied pulp in gruelling detail, I swear there isn't a dry eye in the house. It tugs at the heartstrings, readers, let me tell you that... Christ, I'm choking up just writing about it.As the plot unfolds from this pivotal scene, a rival gang, led by the evil misogynist Joe-Boy, get into a fierce argument with the Maneaters over who owns 'the strip' which escalates into a war of violence, betrayal and eventually, murder in clearly a homage to Shakespeare's Montague/Capulet feud. What makes it more complicated is that one of the male gang's brothers is Karen's ex-boyfriend who still holds a flame for her and is heartbroken to see her throw her life away with the Maneaters. As I say, we're talking a seriously tangled web of complexed, strong emotions here - the parallel to the Bard's work is especially hammered home as a variety of scenes are delivered using poetry and verse. Whilst Shakespeare will be forever renowned for his masterly sonnets, Lewis prefers to use the more unorthodox, less highly rated poetic technique - the limerick. Witness one Maneater recount a slightly modified version of a classic, as Lewis pays tribute to great limericks of a forgotten age - "There was a young girl from Calcutta / Who covered her (cough cough) in butter / She thought it too greasy / But it slipped in easy / It's a trick that she learnt from her mutha"... ahh, the greats.Despite being rife with stark imagery (who can forget the sight of the seemingly endless footage of the girls "trippin'" down a single carriageway at 30mph in a zone clearly marked 55mph?) and clever, sharp dialogue ("We ain't no daisy pickin' broads, we're the Maneaters!"), Lewis' film is ultimately nihilistc, carrying a very dark tone as it explores the fractured psyches of its tortured lead characters. It touches on the emptiness of sexual relations; a recurring theme enforced by the clever directorial trick that no-one even gets into any state of real undress, let alone actually has sex, despite constantly talking about it. Again, it reinforces the point that the shallow goals which drive the main characters to their actions will essentially be disappointing and leave them with nothing - the sheer futility of it all is presented as bleakly as possible with the stunningly grim finale - a horrific centrepiece in the form of a surprise decapitation followed by an ambiguous 'ending' which makes us ask the question: "WHY!?" WHY, DAMNIT, WHY!? There is no triumph of good or evil; no heroes in this film... Two of the girls return, post-credits, with what may well be the answer, in the form of a limerick, naturally. Truly one of the great classics of 20th century cinema, "She Devils on Wheels" holds its own easily against the works of Kurosawa, Godard and Bergman.