10 Scariest Car Scenes Of All Time

5. 90% Of The Movie - Duel

Urban Legend movie
ABC

Long before Steven Spielberg was a big-time filmmaker, he made a little action flick called Duel, based on Richard Matheson's short story. The plot revolves around a rundown tanker truck pursuing a businessman called David after he cut him off on the highway.

With a young, inexperienced director, a shoestring budget, and simplistic plot, no one was expecting much from this TV movie. Spielberg may have only been 24 at the time of shooting but Duel proves the director always had a knack for filming action scenes and building suspense.

Having a truck chase a car for 90 minutes may sound boring on paper but Spielberg makes Duel work. Using precise cuts, close ups, reaction shots, and seamless editing, Duel is anything but boring. Also, it was a masterstroke for Spielberg never to reveal the face of the truck driver since it helps us see the relentless juggernaut as an unstoppable force of evil rather than a lifeless vehicle.

Spielberg has gone on to make some of the greatest films of all time, but Duel is still one of his best.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows