The Night Riders (1990)
A well known model of the action thriller genre, The Night Riders is a film directed by Andrew L. Stone where motorcycle gangs meet criminality. It is set in the underground world of urban America where a gang called ‘Night Riders’ takes to robbery, drug peddling and other vices. A major conflict between the outlaws –night riders’ and the police, in particular a police officer, played by Michael Pare who is an actor former stuntman who becomes a mole in the outlaw gang aiming to unearth them operates the plot. Michael works as a bouncer in a bar.
Another of the weaknesses of The Night Riders is depicting the interior factors of the gang such as friendship and unity in contrast to the discipline and criminal activities which in the end however dominate the story. Yet, the true picture of glamour is shown without blurring out the poisons of the glamour. Rave bike action and chased around the action populated image content about.
The aspect of The Night Riders that intrigues me is the analysis of the themes of fidelity, treachery, and the gray area dominated by people, who live ‘between the law and the crime’. Though it could easily be classified as a B-movie, the heartfelt representation of the actors and the fight gives base to the story. The Night Riders is relatively unheard of, but if rather fond of action-crime thrillers, it serves up some amusing sights of the motorcycle gang culture of the late 80s 90s boom period.
