Hitcher in the Dark (1989)

The suspense classic by Umberto Lenzi is finally here. A young man traveling the Virginia Beach coastline picks up hitchhiking women in his camper. He forces them to take on the role of his dead mother, and if they cannot, he tortures and rapes them

Oedipus In A Winnebago

I don't like Italian horror movies as much as some others, but I had heard that this was a worthwhile effort from director Umberto Lenzi. Although the film did have some suspenseful scenes they were few and far between, and many of the plot "twists" let me thinking "yeah, right" (especially the scene where the evil rich kid with the motorhome takes it to a drive-in movie with his two chained and shackled victims in the back). Interestingly, I was very intrigued with the film being shown at the drive-in and had to wonder what on earth it was. If it was a real movie (which seems likely) and not a contrivance for this film, then the reactions of the crowd are completely inappropriate given the very, very poor quality of the clips seen. I actually found that quandary more interesting than the central plot of the film, which doesn't speak well of Lenzi's handiwork.

The film does have high points, notably Josie Bissett, who turns in a very credible performance (although the conclusion can be seen coming a mile away) and a couple of well crafted plot twists. The problem is that anytime a genuinely scary twist occurs, it has an unbelievable resolution (especially the "road block" scene which made me roll my eyes and groan audibly).

The movie would have been much improved if Lenzi had done two things: reduce running time by about 15 minutes (it is 90 minutes long, and includes a lot of extraneous filler, most of which involve very bad dancing at truck stops) and recast the role of the evildoer with anyone other than Joe Balogh, who is good at the empty-eyed stare of a genuine lunatic, and, unfortunately, nothing else. His performance irritated me more as the film progressed, and for watching such a "taut thriller" I found myself very bored, the worst possible condemnation of a film of this nature.

I decided on two stars overall: Bissett is very pretty and is very good in her role, but that is the only thing to recommend "Hitcher in the Dark." January 8, 2007

anyone for a ride

This is a campy killer.The dude picks up hitchhikers (babes of course) and teaches them a lesson of their life. It has some excitment and suspense that are very spooky. I personally liked the movie and makes me and my wife a special event every time we go camping. Take a look if you can find it well worth it.Lenzi is a far out and off the wall director that has done some pretty scary stuff. October 30, 2005

Yes, it's that bad.

Hitcher in the Dark (Umberto Lenzi, 1989)

Directed by Umberto Lenzi under the name Humphrey Humbert and produced by Joe D'Amato. I mean, come on, doesn't that just scream "Emmanuelle meets Cannibal Ferox" to you?

Keep screaming. It ain't even close.

A rich kid (Joe Balogh, who also worked with Lenzi in Black Demons) has his father's camper and is taking it down the coast. Along the way, he happens to be picking up hitchhikers and killing them. Until, that is, he meets Daniela (Josie Bissett in her screen debut) and becomes obsessed with her. Her boyfriend is following them, the cops are turning up bodies, and Daniela, of course, keeps spurning his advances...

By that synopsis, vague as it is, you may be wondering what all this has to do with the title. Nothing. It would have been like taking Henry V and calling it "Please Don't Eat the Daisies." Second, Joe Balogh may be the world's worst actor. (And even scarier, in the DVD extras, Lenzi says in an interview that Balogh was much more involved in his character here than he was in Black Demons-- THERE'S one to avoid!) His voice barely registers any emotion, and then only when he's angry. Bissett does well enough to have gotten her a career, but is the only highlight in the otherwise uniformly atrocious acting. The movie looks very dated, as well, from the hairstyles to the clothing to the godawfully cheesy music that wanted desperately to be a Goblin soundtrack. By the time you get to the two "bikers," you'll have already figured out this movie doesn't even rate as a cheesefest. Lenzi's carping that the production company changed the ending has nothing to do with the film's being bad. * January 30, 2004

Anybody read "The Collector"?

This interesting film is rather difficult to review. It tells the story of an RV driving serial killer who picks up unsuspecting women and who also has some serious issues concerning his mother. The acting of the male lead is rather poor and rarely demonstrates why anyone would actually want to enter this guy's RV, let alone be anywhere near him. This is the main problem as only the most unobservant person would think this individual is safe to get a ride from. That said, the film works on a tension level as the viewer truly wants to see the main female character find a way out of the situation. The film borrows rather freely from John Fowles novel "The Collector" with many scenes being lifted almost exactly. The DVD contains an interview with the director, Umberto Lenzi, in which, no mention of this connection is made. In all, "Hitcher in the Dark" is worth seeing if you are a fan of Italian Giallo, the director, or early eighties fashions as they are in full display here. The DVD presentation is acceptable with only very mild color saturation issues at one point. The extras include the director interview and three trailers. One warning; do not watch the director interview before the film as he explains why the ending is so dumb and how it had originally ended, which is much better. July 16, 2003

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