Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
The_Void
I'm a big fan of Umberto Lenzi; he is the king of Italian 'Polizi' flicks and also made a handful of brilliant Giallo's, not to mention some decent stuff in other genres; but the man obviously didn't know when to quit as almost everything he made post-Cannibal ferox (Nightmare Beach excluded) is terrible, and Hitcher in the Dark is no exception...though it has to be said that it's better than the likes of Ghosthouse, Black Demons and House of Witchcraft. As the title suggests, the film is based around the common thriller of theme of hitchhikers, and the plot reminded me a lot of the solid seventies exploitation flick 'Hitch Hike to Hell'...mostly because they're essentially the same film (although the fact that this came out just a couple years after The Hitcher should be noted). We follow Mark: a disturbed young man who drives around in a camper van picking up young girls and killing them. It's not long before he comes across Daniela; a pretty young girl who Mark decides not to torture and kill immediately because of her resemblance to his mother...Yes, if Alfred Hitchcock taught us anything, it's that there's no such thing as a young psychopath who isn't obsessed with his mother, and clearly Umberto Lenzi subscribes to that view as well...which isn't much of a surprise. The fact that the film greatly lacks suspense doesn't do it much of a favour at all. The way that the plot is portrayed actually isn't that bad; but we're never made to care for the characters and it's always obvious where it's going (or at least it is to anyone who has seen more than a couple of films like this one) and the film never really manages to shock or surprise; two key elements of a thriller! The characters are all incredibly clichéd and positively wafer thin, which helps to make the film less interesting. Content with torturing his audience, Lenzi ensures that the film does not feature a great deal of blood or gore either, which often made me wonder why I was watching. Still, I can't completely condemn this film. Hitcher in the Dark is better than I was lead to believe it would be before seeing it; and at least I didn't fall asleep before the finish.
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
Dr. Gore
*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*A psycho and his Winnebago. So a nut travels up and down the Virginia Beach coastline looking for hitchhikers. Seems lonely boy has a fixation on his mother. Don't they all? He wants to mold the hitchhikers into his hot, saintly mother's image. Lurid mind games follow.This movie could have been good. The problem is the acting. Since most of the movie is spent having the psycho converse with his prey, it is imperative that the psycho be believable and, if at all possible, scary. He is none of that. In fact, he's awful. One of the worst acting performances ever. Since the camera is on him through most of the flick, he starts to wear you down with his lazy psycho routine. The hitchhiker he picks up, (Josie Bissett), was good. All of the other actors stunk. The music was also horrible. Late 80's synthesizer cheese.On the plus side, the movie did have an authentic, grimy feel to it. The filmmakers knew the right deranged words to put in the psycho's mouth. He just couldn't deliver them convincingly. There are some good exploitation scenes in his camper. Here's the psycho party mix: A girl, chloroform and an instant camera. It makes for a happy psycho. I did enjoy the completely unnecessary wet T-shirt contest as well."Hitcher in the Dark" may just be sordid enough to warrant a viewing. I can't say that I loved every second of it but it does have its seedy moments.
sxyboy169
One of Umberto Lenzi's finest films. This underrated movie goes deep inside the mind of a deranged serial killer/rapist. Excellent acting From Josie Bissett. I highly recommend this film. If you may happen to know where i can get this movie please Email me. Excellent Directing. Needs a little better Setting.
