"Masters of Horror" Pick Me Up (2006)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
David J. Schow (teleplay)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

20 January 2006 (Season 1, Episode 11)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

In the middle of nowhere, with only a two-lane highway to connect it to anywhere--probably upstate New York--a recently divorced female traveler, who is a passenger on a bus that has broken down, gets caught in a bizarre and violent turf war between serial killers.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Truck Driver | Hitchhiker | Psychopath | Truck Stop

Cast

Fairuza Balk	...	Stacia
Warren Kole	...	Walker
Michael Moriarty	...	Jim Wheeler
Laurene Landon	...	Birdy
Malcolm Kennard	...	Danny
Tom Pickett	...	Bus Driver
Peter Benson	...	Deuce
Kristie Marsden	...	Marie
Michael Eklund	...	Cashier
Paul Anthony	...	Stoney
Crystal Lowe	...	Lily
Michael Petroni	...	Ambulance Attendant
Mar Andersons	...	Ambulance Driver

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Italy:VM14 | Germany:18 | Argentina:16

Company:

British Columbia Production Tax Credit

Trivia:

The van in which Walker hitches a ride with Stoney and Lilly has Wyoming license plates. The first digit before the Wyoming Bucking Bronco denotes the county in which the vehicle is registered. In this case, county #1, which would be Natrona County.

Quotes:

Jim Wheeler: They're not human beings... They're just snakes in the snow...

Movie Connections:

References It's Alive (1974/I)

Cohen: Pick me up-brilliant

So far, this is the best M.O.H. produced story yet. I never heard of Cohen but he made a good impression on me with this presentation.

If you don't know what this story's about well, it's about two serial killers (one a drifter and another one who's a truck driver) who cross paths in the midst of their killing sprees and then decide to compete for the one remaining person (Fairuza Balk) who was the only one willing to walk 14 miles to the motel instead of waiting for help along with the rest of the passengers once their charter bus broke down.

The story takes place way up in N. America in which I believe to be the greater Washington area because I've either seen a sign that said "Spokane" or heard it in one of the character's dialog. I also believe the truck driver character was once a mafia hit-man because of some said references to New York and the surrounding Borroughs and something about witnesses. Pretty good and the ending is even great.