Underplayed Gems
The whole movie catalogue

Films and series, searchable by what they are

← Back to the shop

Road House (1989)

Road House poster
Directed by
Rowdy Herrington
Genre
drama film, action film, martial arts film, thriller film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 54m
Rated
R
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 1,544 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb

How it feels

A professional bouncer with a mysterious past takes a job at a rowdy bar in a small Missouri town. He clashes with a wealthy local crime boss who runs the town with violence and threats.

grittypulpymachowryaction-packedanarchicover-the-top

What happens

Road House is a 1989 American action film directed by Rowdy Herrington. Written by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin, it stars Patrick Swayze, Ben Gazzara, Kelly Lynch and Sam Elliott. The film follows professional bouncer James Dalton (Swayze), who is hired to clean up a violent roadside bar in the small town of Jasper, Missouri, where he becomes embroiled in a conflict with a ruthless local businessman and crime lord. Road House was filmed primarily in California in 1988, primarily in Newhall, Valencia, and Canyon Country. Swayze performed many of his own stunts. The film's soundtrack featured performances by Jeff Healey and his band, with an original score composed by Michael Kamen. Released by United Artists on May 19, 1989, Road House grossed $61.6 million worldwide against a $15 million budget. Critical reception was generally negative, with reviewers criticizing its violent content, although audience polling was more favorable. It was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards, with award founder John Wilson later naming Road House as one of the 100 most enjoyably bad movies ever made. In the years following its release, Road House developed a cult reputation and became one of Swayze's most recognizable films. Its enduring popularity led to the creation of the Road House franchise, which includes an off-Broadway stage adaptation, the direct-to-video sequel Road House 2 (2006), and the remake Road House (2024). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? Tell the Catbot what you feel like watching and it picks from the whole catalogue, or browse by genre, country and year.

Lists: Korean thrillers worth the evening · Anime films beyond Studio Ghibli · Slow films for a rainy night · Horror that unsettles instead of startling · Series you can finish in a weekend · Nordic crime worth the subtitles · Good films that end in under 90 minutes · Documentaries that play like thrillers

Loading movies…

What should I watch?