Hitch Hike to Hell

Wow, talk about a pleasant surprise! I was expecting to see a terrible, bottom-of-the-barrel exploitation fodder from the seventies, but I ended up seeing a spirited cult gem that really makes the most of its minimal budget. The story introduces Howard Martin; an introvert and rather nerdy young man who lives alone with his mother since his sister ran away from home. This event somewhat messed up Howard's brain, since he now picks up hitch-hikers in his laundry van and savagely strangles them if it turns out they're runaways from their moms. The subject matter certainly isn't original, since it's an ordinary serial killer on the road premise and the culprit is once again an oppressed mommy's boy ("Psycho", anyone?). Still, the screenplay of "Hitch Hike to Hell" is well thought out and features some really clever ideas that immediately gained my respect. The setting, for example, is a middle-sized town that serves as a junction for the state's most important highways, which makes it extra difficult for the police to keep an eye on all the hitch-hikers. The drama-element of the story surprisingly isn't an obstacle and actually rather captivating. This is all very nice so far, but what REALLY sold me to this movie is the dared ending that you can't possibly see coming! The image of what might happen will briefly cross your mind, probably, but there's no way you expect the film to actually execute it! Watch and see! There are some some dull moments and odd padding scenes to struggle yourself through, but the acting performances are quite good and the music is adorably kitschy. I really don't understand why some people write such harsh things about "Hitch Hike to Hell"...Definitely recommended if you're into rare cult stuff.

As female runaways turn up dead in a town of Greater Los Angeles, the chief of police and his partner (Russell Johnson and Randy Echols) zero-in on an unassuming delivery man for a laundry cleaning business (Robert Gribbin).

"Hitch Hike to Hell" (1977) is a 'B' flick with a simple story and prosaic delivery featuring an antagonist reminiscent of Clark Kent and the police chief played by The Professor from Gilligan's Island.

Speaking of whom, the captain makes a reference to three serial killers that were popular at the time: The Zodiac Killer in San Francisco (who has never been identified), The Skid Row Slasher in Los Angeles (who turned out to be Vaughan Greenwood) and The Houston Mass Murderer, Dean Corll. Yet, the movie is actually loosely based on Edmund Kemper, The Co-ed Killer whose victims in 1972-1973 were six female students hitchhiking in the vicinity of Santa Cruz County, which is an hour's drive south of San Francisco.

The movie was originally advertised as a fun Crown International hot-chicks-and-cars flick, but it's nothing of the kind. Despite its modest budget and pedestrian technique, it's a serious take on a psychologically messed-up serial killer in which sympathy is worked up for the murderer. Don't get me wrong, there's no excuse for what Ed Kemper did in real-life or what the fictitious killer does here, but it all comes down to the consequences of serious mental-spiritual illness, not to mention a questionable relationship with one's mother.

The tone is similar to "Targets" meshed with "The Toolbox Murders." While it's easy to look down on these kinds of films, there are some well-done parts here that are respectable and even moving, such as the lieutenant's hesitancy about bringing children into a world where such wicked things happen. Then there's the climatic depiction of the shock/grief of the girl's mother, which is actually moving.

Russell Johnson's role in Gilligan's Island ended a decade before this, but he looks basically the same, just slightly older.

It runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in Encino, Los Angeles, which is located 7-12 miles west of the iconic Hollywood Sign.

GRADE: B-

Hitch Hike to Hell certainly can't be considered a 'great' slice of seventies exploitation, and while this type of film has been a lot better; there are far worse examples to choose from also. The film's influences are wide and largely obvious, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and, of course, Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left standing out the most. It's also obvious that the film didn't have the greatest scriptwriter on board, as while the tacky dialogue can easily be ignored, the numerous coincidences and obvious plot devices stick out too much, and lowered my enjoyment of the film. For example, just how many runaway girls can one man run across? Anyway, the plot focuses on Howard Martin, a weird shy man that drives a laundry truck. Beneath his harmless exterior, the man is a raving lunatic who is obsessed with his mother and can't stand to hear that a young girl is running away from hers. This leads him to begin killing the runaways by strangulation, but it's not long before the police catch on and begin hunting for the mysterious stranger murdering women on the highway.

Hitch-hiking is a common theme within horror cinema, and has lead to some of the greatest genre movies of all time. The main problem with this movie, however, is that it gets a bit monotonous after a while. Basically, the central psycho picks up a woman, she tells him that she's run away from home - and then he kills her. It's clear that the film was shot on a low budget, and indeed; it looks very, very cheap. But despite that, director Irvin Berwick manages to create a great country atmosphere, which is built up by the spacious locations and a relaxed soundtrack. There's not a great deal of violence in the film, and the style of the movie is such that we never really get the impression that the lead character is a bad man. He commits acts of violence, and then in the next scene everything seems OK. It's a rather odd tone for a movie like this, but the mean spirit comes in at the end with a climax that really is quite shocking, as well as being unexpected given what we've seen of the character earlier. Overall, I can't give this film a high recommendation as it really isn't all that good; but in spite of that, it's worth seeing for the exploitation fan.

Anyone out there looking for some honest-to-God quality B-horror that not only holds your attention but is just inept enough to be funny? Well, look no further, because Something Weird Video and Harry Novak have brought us yet another unknown, Drive-in obscurity from the 70's. About a mama's boy named Howard, who, of course, lives with his clingy, over-protective mother. Mama hasn't always been this bad, you understand, but since Howard's sister ran away (moved out) , Howie is all she has, so it's understandable why she would treat a 20-something year old man like a total infant. Howard has mama, he has Root Beer, he has his hobbie, hell, he even has a job, one would assume Howard is doing OK, considering he's a man-child and all. Unfortunately, Howard has so much repressed rage against his sister for abandoning the family, that every time he picks up a hitchhiker, he ends up blacking out, and killing them. Unfortunately, Howard likes to pick up hitchhikers every single day, probably more than once. What I find odd is that every single time, the hitchhiker turns out to be a girl who's running away from home, which would kinda clear up as to why Howard always kills them, although, it's still odd.

One of the most entertaining and all-around best movies Something Weird Video has to offer. Some may think that that's not saying much, but it totally is, that is, if you dig vintage exploitation, if not, then you're definitely wasting your time here. Hitch-Hike To Hell isn't necessarily a frightening horror movie, but rather a quality movie with a good story that happens to be horror, hence the killing, and if you can't get enough grainy, unintentionally funny 70's B-charm, then Hitch-hike To Hell should make you extremely happy. If the antics of Howard the mama's boy seriously doesn't do it for you, then I would recommend checking out the other half of the double-feature, Kidnapped Coed, just to see how inept B-horror can really be, although, I kinda liked that one too, God help me. Unless we're talking about a Herschell Gordon Lewis gore-epic, or something else awesome like The Psychedelic Priest, then I can't think of anything more worthwhile from Something Weird Video than Hitch-Hike To Hell. Check it out. 9/10

Surprisingly , this film was pretty good. The acting was fine and the facial expressions of the lead character- Howard , was outstanding. The story of a social misfit at around 30 yrs. old, still tugging to Moms apron strings. A sister that ran away from home , causes torment to Howard , trying to protect his mother in perhaps the most sinister ways, involving Crescent City Ca. runaways. There were some fine, creative twists in this film , that entertained from start to finish. There was one particular scene with a not so ordinary runaway, that had me laughing hysterically. I do not want to give away the scene; I will keep quiet. The film , though not gory was still very watchable. There are some loose ends about Howards family that took away from the film, but it took away not much. The movie did allow for the expansion of some of the other character bios , but did not overdo it.The scenes where folks were supposed to have violence inflicted, were not done well;Reminding me somewhat of the 'Batman' show of the mid 60's. I think the film wanted those scenes to be a little spoofy on purpose. Russell Johnson of Gilligan fame was the only actor of note. The rest of the cast was more than acceptable . This film passes with high marks, in my opinion.