dbdumonteil
Although this is a road movie ,Lenzi's screenplay (Lenzi takes an American name in the cast and credits of the version I saw)is roughly a photocopy of William Wyler's impressive "the collector" (1965) with snatches of "Psycho" (the mother) and "Vertigo" (how to turn a woman into another one)thrown in.A collector who would travel all across the country ,picking up girls and (well read the plot)...The dialog is most of the time funnier than it is scary,and acting is particularly poor.Some scenes such as the "beauty" contest are mostly filler.At times ,it seems that Lenzi is begging to be taken seriously : there is a "poetic" scene when the "hero" helps a bird to fly away.But most of the time it is Punch and Judy level with vodka,handcuffs and pills galore.One can save ,at a pinch,the scene in the drive- in where people are having fun watching a farce while horrible things happen not far from them.
Coventry
Italian director Umberto Lenzi will hopefully always be remembered for gruesome and bloodthirsty splatter films like `Cannibal Ferox' and `Nightmare City' much more than this worthless movie. Hitcher in the Dark is lame and redundant attempt to explore the mind of a disturbed psycho-killer. The 22-year-old Mark Glazer picks up young hitchhiking girls in his camper. Too bad for these girls, Mark suffers from a really bad case of the Oedipus-syndrome and goes over to torturing the girls if they don't want to take mum's place. The plot of `Hitcher in the Dark' (wrong name, by the way, the entire movie is shot in broad daylight!) isn't exactly original and elaborates on the success of `The Hitcher', with a slight Norman Bates twist. There's no tension, the characters are absolutely non-believable and there even isn't enough horror to keep you alert. Hitcher does contain a few bloody make-up sequences, but nowhere near as shocking as some of Lenzi's previous films. I don't know if Josie Bisett likes to be remembered about her starring in this film, but it did mean her debut in the world of cinema. Bisett plays the main muse of the young weirdo. Although I don't like the film at all, I prefer it over watching all the `Melrose Place' episodes, so it can't be that horrible. And at least Bisett shows a little naked flesh here
goblinhairedguy
This is a completely artless and tasteless contribution to the psycho-slasher genre, existing only as another cynical Eurosleaze rip-off of a far superior American original, The Hitcher (something done only slightly better by Festa-Campanile's Hitch-Hike). Lenzi made some serviceable paint-by-numbers giallos and cannibal epics, but never had an original idea in his head. Without the exotic background -- it seems that colourless Virgina Beach was chosen merely as an excuse to insert some topless footage of college girls -- there's nothing left but bare-bones plot, pseudo-psychology and some nasty, intrusive violence. And campers aren't exactly the most exciting vehicles on the road, are they? The young cast play it so sensitively that one feels embarrassed for them. What is most irksome is that the DVD is being sold as part of "The Giallo Collection" on the strength of Lenzi's name. This ain't no giallo, and it's frustrating to think how many truly superior films by Sergio Martino and his colleagues are desperately in need of re-release.
movieman_kev
Tedious tale of a serial killer who picks up hitch-hikers, Daniela (Josie Bisset) is his current pray and Kevin (Jason Saucer) is her boyfriend trying to rescue her.It is written by Umberto Lenzi. The guy who made Cannibal Ferox & Eaten Alive should just stick to people who eat people movie, as this film plays out like a poor man's Toolbox Murders. Heh what am i saying?? Toolbox Murders was a poor man's Toolbox Murders. But I digress, the point is you'd probably do better just waiting for the upcoming remake of The Toolbox Murders by Tobe Hooper.My Grade: DDvd Extras: Umberto Lenzi interview; theatrical trailer; trailers for Black Demons, and My Dear KillerEye Candy: Daniela (Josie Bisset) goes nude & a completely random wet T-shirt contest
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