If you’re looking for high-brow cinema, you’re in the wrong place. Seriously. We’re talking about She Devils on Wheels, the 1968 biker flick that basically slapped the face of every "polite" social convention of the late sixties. It wasn't just a movie; it was a loud, greasy, gasoline-scented middle finger directed at a world that thought women belonged in the kitchen or, at the very least, on the back of a man's motorcycle.
Director Herschell Gordon Lewis is usually the name people bring up when they want to talk about "The Godfather of Gore." He gave us Blood Feast. He gave us Two Thousand Maniacs!. But with She Devils on Wheels, he swapped out the buckets of stage blood for leather jackets and a gang of women called the "Man-Eaters."
The Man-Eaters: Not Your Average Social Club
Most biker movies of the era followed a predictable script. You’d have a group of tough guys, maybe a "good girl" who gets corrupted, and a lot of posturing. This movie? It flipped the script entirely. The Man-Eaters are the ones in charge. They aren't just tagging along with the boys. They are the boys. Well, they're the men, but better. They have a clubhouse. They have races to decide who gets to pick their "man for the night." It's aggressive. It’s kinda messy. And honestly, it’s a fascinating look at gender dynamics before the second-wave feminism movement really hit its stride in mainstream media.
Betty Connell plays Queenie, the leader of the gang. She’s not some Hollywood starlet playing dress-up. She looks like she actually knows how to handle a bike. She’s got this icy stare that tells you she’d just as soon run you over as look at you. The rest of the gang—Honey, Whitey, and the others—follow a strict code. Men are for fun. The bikes and the sisterhood are for real.
Why 1968 Needed This Chaos
Think about the context here. 1968 was a heavy year. You had the Vietnam War, the assassination of MLK, and the Tet Offensive. People were angry. They were tired of the status quo. While the "Summer of Love" was fading into a harsher reality, Lewis was out there in Florida filming a bunch of women riding around on loud motorcycles and causing trouble. It wasn't "preachy" feminism. It was "we're going to do whatever we want and if you don't like it, tough" feminism.
The movie doesn't bother with deep character arcs. You won't find a three-act structure that would satisfy a film school professor. It’s episodic. One minute they’re racing for a guy named "Joe," the next they’re getting into a brawl with a rival male biker gang. It’s visceral.
The Lewis Aesthetic: Cheap, Fast, and Loud
If you watch She Devils on Wheels today, the first thing you'll notice is the color. It’s that hyper-saturated, almost sickly bright film stock that Lewis loved. Everything feels raw. The dialogue isn't polished. A lot of the actors were locals or non-professionals, which gives the whole thing a weirdly authentic, documentary-style vibe—even when the plot is totally over the top.
- The bikes are real.
- The locations are real Florida backroads.
- The "gore" (what little there is compared to his other films) is hilariously low-budget.
There's a scene involving a wire across the road—I won't spoil the "decapitation" for the uninitiated—but it’s legendary in the world of cult cinema. It’s the kind of practical effect that looks ridiculous now but was genuinely shocking to a drive-in audience in the sixties.
The Enduring Legacy of the Biker Babe
Why do we still care? Why are we even talking about a movie that mostly consists of women riding bikes in circles and occasionally hitting people? Because it paved the way. Without the Man-Eaters, you don't get the "exploitation" boom of the 70s that eventually led to more nuanced portrayals of tough women in film.
The movie captures a specific kind of freedom. There’s something inherently cool about seeing a group of people reject society’s rules. Even if those people are fictional "She Devils." It’s about the open road. It’s about the noise. It’s about the fact that Queenie doesn’t need a husband; she needs a fresh tank of gas and a road without speed limits.
How to Appreciate the Grindhouse Style
To really get the most out of She Devils on Wheels, you have to turn off the part of your brain that looks for "good" filmmaking. This is "exploitation" cinema. Its goal was to get butts in seats at drive-ins by promising something scandalous.
- Look at the fashion. The outfits in this movie influenced punk and rockabilly styles for decades. The patches, the boots, the hair—it’s a time capsule.
- Listen to the soundtrack. The theme song is a garage-rock masterpiece of simplicity. It tells you exactly what the movie is about in the first thirty seconds.
- Appreciate the audacity. Lewis didn't care about critics. He cared about his $15,000 budget and making sure the film was "colorful" enough to keep people from falling asleep in their cars.
What Most People Get Wrong About Exploitation Films
A lot of folks dismiss movies like this as "trash." And yeah, technically, it is. But it’s important trash. It shows us what people were afraid of at the time. The idea of women being sexually aggressive and physically dominant was terrifying to a lot of people in 1968. By turning that fear into a movie, Lewis was tapping into the collective subconscious of the era.
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It's also worth noting that unlike a lot of male-directed "tough girl" movies, the Man-Eaters aren't constantly being rescued. They handle their own business. When a rival gang shows up to cause trouble, the She Devils don't run for help. They grab their gear and deal with it. It’s refreshing, even fifty-plus years later.
Actionable Steps for the Cult Film Enthusiast
If you're ready to dive into the world of Lewis and his motorcycling Man-Eaters, don't just stream it on a tiny phone screen. That’s not how it was meant to be seen.
- Find a high-quality restoration. Companies like Arrow Video have done incredible work cleaning up these old prints. Seeing the Florida sun in 4K makes a huge difference.
- Watch the "Extra" features. Usually, these releases include interviews with Lewis before he passed away. He was a marketing genius who happened to make movies.
- Host a double feature. Pair this with Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! by Russ Meyer. It’s the only way to truly understand the "tough women on a mission" subgenre of the sixties.
- Check out the soundtrack. If you can find the original garage-rock tracks from the film, they are perfect for a long drive or a workout.
She Devils on Wheels isn't a masterpiece of dialogue or pacing, but it is a masterpiece of attitude. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best way to make a point is to just start the engine and ride.
Next Steps for Your B-Movie Journey:
Start by sourcing the Arrow Video Blu-ray release of the film. It contains the most accurate color grading to Lewis's original vision. Once you've watched the film, look into the history of the "South Florida filmmaking" scene of the 1960s to understand how these low-budget crews outproduced Hollywood. Finally, explore the discography of the musical acts featured in the film to get a sense of the regional "garage" sound that defined the era's underground culture.