EJ: “Ha. Ha. Wise guy.”
Randy: “Yeh, if we feel like pumping some gas.”
We watch as the boys banter on for a few minutes. We learn that Jesse is a bit of a juvenile delinquent, but with a good heart. The four girls, a whirlwind of giggles and chatter, run back and forth into the restroom, to the soda machine, and so on.
1) Two hot rodder couples in leather jackets, juvenile delinquent types. Randy and Debbie, Jesse and Amy. The boys are driving. Darks features and strutting jaws. The girls are blonde and pretty, boisterous and outgoing. We learn as the movie unfolds that though they affect a JD manner, (drinking beer and staying out late) they have hearts of gold.
2) One couple, teenage friends of the hot-rodders. More responsible, but they enjoy adventure and a good time, as well as they can get it in this small town. Dan and Sarah. They both wear sweaters. She a pretty brunette with her hair cut short. He is tall, clean-cut and rather gawky. They ride in the back seat of the car driven by Randy. Debbie, Randy’s girlfriend, rides in the front seat.
3) One couple, the young brother of Randy, Curt, and his new girlfriend, Wendy. They are both just fifteen years old. She is thrilled and terrified to be out driving fast on the desert roads. Is worried what her mother will say, but wants to have fun with the `grown-up’ crowd. They ride in the back seat of the car driven by Jesse
Cut to a two-lane desert road at night. The two hot rods are roaring down the road side by side, their lights blazing, engines thundering.
A series of quick cuts to the interiors of each car, and we become more familiar with the four couples.
All eight teenagers laugh, joke and banter, as their cars speed down the desert road. A series of shots, interior to the cars, and exterior, on the desert road, contrast the carnival within the cars with the dead silence of the desert outside.
Cut back to a long shot above the desert road, looking toward the oncoming headlights. Silhouettes of mountains on the horizon. As the headlights draw nearer, the camera drops slowly to the ground. We see the dark forms of strangely writhing shadows upon the desert road. The view is unclear, but we sense a crowd of things moving slowly across the desert, over the road.