Some movies are good.
Some movies are bad.
And then there are movies like She-Devils on Wheels — a roaring, leather-clad fever dream that seems less like a planned film and more like something that escaped from a roadside biker bar sometime around 2 a.m.
Directed by exploitation legend Herschell Gordon Lewis, the movie follows a gang of motorcycle-riding women who run their own violent little society somewhere in the American South. Their rules are simple: ride hard, fight harder, and treat men like disposable accessories. If a guy wants to date one of the She-Devils, he has to win a motorcycle race first — basically a Darwinian dating system powered by gasoline and bad decisions.
Now, let’s be honest. This is not a masterpiece. The acting ranges from stiff to “did they just grab someone from the parking lot?” The dialogue feels like it was written on a napkin between beer orders. And the plot? It kind of wanders around until it remembers it’s supposed to end.
But that’s also the weird magic of it.
This film runs entirely on raw exploitation energy. It’s loud motorcycles, petty rivalries, chaotic fights, and a gang hierarchy that feels half biker club and half high-school clique. The She-Devils themselves are fascinating in a scrappy, low-budget way. In 1968, seeing a gang of women acting just as reckless, violent, and unapologetic as the men in biker movies was actually a little shocking — even if the film doesn’t exactly know what to do with that idea.
Visually, it’s rough. The camera work is clunky, the pacing is uneven, and some scenes feel like they go on forever. But there’s a gritty authenticity to it too. Nothing here feels polished or studio-approved. It’s pure drive-in cinema: dusty roads, cheap thrills, and the sense that the filmmakers were making things up as they went.
Watching She-Devils on Wheels today is like opening a time capsule from the wild west of exploitation filmmaking. It’s messy, awkward, occasionally ridiculous — and strangely entertaining if you’re in the right mood.
Is it a great film?
No.
Is it a weird, fascinating slice of 1960s grindhouse culture that’s fun to experience once?
Absolutely.
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Films
Available on Blu-ray - November 10, 2020
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Video: 1080p
Audio: LPCM Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; seven-disc-set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
When Arrow resurrected the Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast Blu‑ray box set, it wasn’t just a re‑release — it was a full‑scale archaeological dig conducted by maniacs who love cinema too much to let its weirdest artifacts rot in the swamp. Bursting with lurid color, outrageous performances, and scalp-crawling special effects, She-Devils On Wheels delivers exactly what its title promises — a gleefully gruesome spectacle that only Lewis could conjure. Presented by Arrow Video in a stunning restoration as part of The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast, this cult classic remains an essential slice of splatter history — shocking, hilarious, and absolutely hair-raising! The packaging is a riot of lurid artwork, the extras are deep‑cut academic fever dreams, and the whole thing feels like a lovingly curated museum exhibit dedicated to the moment American cinema shrugged off good taste and said, “Let’s see what happens if we show EVERYTHING.” It’s not just a box set — it’s a blood‑drenched celebration of outsider filmmaking at its most gloriously unhinged.
Video
The Arrow Video release of She-Devils on Wheels significantly improves the film’s presentation compared to older DVD versions by using a new high-definition restoration sourced from the best available film elements. While the movie itself remains a rough, low-budget exploitation picture, the Arrow Video upgrade makes the visuals noticeably clearer, with better contrast, sharper detail, and more stable colors that bring out the gritty biker aesthetic of the late-1960s production.
The improved transfer also helps preserve the work of director Herschell Gordon Lewis, presenting the film in a way that more closely reflects how it would have looked in theaters during the era. In addition to the upgraded image and sound, Arrow Video’s edition typically includes bonus features and contextual material that highlight the movie’s place within exploitation and biker film history, making the release valuable for cult film fans and film historians even if the movie itself is not considered a classic.
Audio
The Arrow Video release of She-Devils on Wheels also improves the film’s audio compared to earlier home-video versions. Arrow restored the original mono soundtrack and presented it in a cleaner, lossless format, reducing background hiss and distortion that were common in older DVD transfers. While the dialogue and sound effects still reflect the limitations of the film’s low-budget 1960s production, the upgraded track makes voices easier to understand and gives the motorcycle engine sounds and music a fuller presence. These improvements help modern viewers experience the film with clearer sound while still preserving the gritty, drive-in style audio typical of director Herschell Gordon Lewis and exploitation cinema of that era.
Supplements:
Disc Five of the Arrow Video set highlights both She-Devils on Wheels and Just for the Hell of It, providing several special features that help explain the films and their place in exploitation cinema. The disc begins with an introduction from director Herschell Gordon Lewis, where he discusses the background and production of the films.
An audio commentary for She-Devils on Wheels allows Lewis to share stories about filming, the low-budget production process, and his approach to making independent exploitation movies in the 1960s. Other featurettes include “Garage Punk Gore,” in which filmmaker and musician Chris Alexander talks about Lewis’s influence on underground film and music culture, and “The Shocking Truth!” where editor and filmmaker Bob Murawski explains his admiration for Lewis and what he learned from studying his work. The disc also includes a segment of Lewis discussing his film The Alley Tramp, along with archival promotional material such as a radio spot and original trailers for both films. Together, these extras provide historical context and insight into Lewis’s filmmaking style and the era of low-budget drive-in exploitation cinema.
Commentary:
- See special features
Special Features:
DISC FIVE: SHE-DEVILS ON WHEELS (1968) & JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT (1968)
- Introduction to the films by director Herschell Gordon Lewis
- Audio Commentary on She-Devils on Wheels with Lewis
- Garage Punk Gore – filmmaker and musician Chris Alexander discusses the films and music of Herschell Gordon Lewi
- The Shocking Truth! – Bob Murawski on his lifelong love for Herschell Gordon Lewis and what he has learned from Lewis’ films
- Lewis on his 1968 film The Alley Tramp
- She-Devils on Wheels Radio Spot
- Trailers for She-Devils on Wheels and Just for the Hell of It
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