Hitch Hike to Hell (1977)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Irvin Berwick

Writer:

John Buckley (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Plot:

Howard is a mild-mannered young man who drives a truck for a commercial laundry. He's also a mother-obsessed...

Plot Keywords:

Hitchhiking | Mother Son Relationship | Serial Killer | Van | Sex

Cast

Robert Gribbin	...	Howard Martin
Russell Johnson	...	Captain J.W. Shaw, Crescent City Police Department
John Harmon	...	Mr. Baldwin
Randy Echols	...	Lt. Davis
Dorothy Bennett	...	Mrs. Martin
Mary Ellen Christie	...	Mrs. Burke
Kippi Bell	...	Evelyn Davis
Sheryl Lynn	...	Lisa
John Grant	...	Mr. Burke
Jacqueline Poseley	...	Sharon
Beth Reis	...	Pam
Jane Ratliff	...	Gail
Don Lewis	...	Gay Boy
Gail Bowman	...	Lydia Welles
Vincent Lucchesi	...	Mr. Lathrop

Runtime:

UK:84 min | USA:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

A.B.A. Film Corporation

Trivia:

Filmed in 1967, released briefly in 1970, re-released in 1977.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Extra Weird (2003) (V)

Vaguely watchable no budget oldie exploiter

Hitch Hike to Hell, though certainly not a terribly good film, does have a few worthwhile things about it and is probably worth at least a look for fans of this kind of dirty, rare stuff. The plot is as simple as can be, a nerdy guy kills hitchhikers, while the police investigate. Fortunately, the unheard of Robert Gribbin gives a highly entertaining performance as Howard the strangle happy geek, putting his all into the various freakouts and thus giving off a great air of amateur craziness that is even kinda sympathetic cause the guy tries so hard its difficult not to find him a least a tiny bit endearing. The dialogue is often funny and there's even a bit of social commentary as well as the general anti hitch hiking attitude. Of the acting, Russel Johnson gives the only other notable performance, as the police chief, delivering occasionally pretty silly lines with a good deal of po faced dignity. I found this film watchable, yet by the final third I was starting to slightly lose interest. There isn't really a plot, which hurts things, but worse for this kind of film, nothing too shocking happens. Sure, there are some sleazy moments and the film has a cruel grindhouse feel to it but its all repetitive and not too interesting. The score is pretty cool, with a fun title song that I find myself humming as I write this but I think that may be among the most memorable aspects. As a big fan of this kind of cinema I certainly don't regret watching this, but there are many more exciting examples out there so I think this is mostly for the obscure grindhouse completists.