J.W. Williamson, author of "Hillbillyland: What the Movies Did to the Mountains and What the Mountains Did to the Movies," writes, "Perhaps no other movie has been as influential as this one in shaping what people think they understand about the southern mountains, and also what they think they understand about themselves and the way they confront such threats as the southern mountains are supposed to be" (157).
When four urban businessman decide to skip golfing for a weekend canoeing down the river, they realize too late how dangerous the backroads can be. This portrayal of the hillbilly as a violent, backwards creature frightening. Rape and murder are at the top of these monster's agendas.