"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:

Laurene Landon not only plays a small role in this episode, but also wrote the lyrics to the ending credits theme song.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Decent enough, but not vintage Cohen

Well, I have to say that I haven't been overly impressed with what I've seen from the Masters of Horrors series, with only Lucky McKee's Sick Girl and William Malone's The Fair-Haired Child really standing out up until episode 11. Larry Cohen's effort was one of the episodes I'd picked out as the most promising, as even though Cohen hasn't directed much worth seeing since the mid-eighties (with the excellent 'The Stuff'), he certainly has an eye for entertainment; as shown by scripts for the likes of Cellular and Phone Booth. The plot for Pick Me Up sounds like it will lead to an entertaining thriller; as we follow a young girl who inadvertently finds herself in the middle of a turf war between two sick serial killers. The casting of Michael Moriarty as the older of the pair was an assured move, as Moriarty is a sadly underused actor that does well with offbeat roles like this one. However, other than Moriarty's performance; there really isn't much to say about this instalment. Fairuza Baulk is given nothing to do, and despite the dark potential of the plot line; Cohen has put the focus squarely on black comedy, and while it's sometimes funny...more often than not it just reminded me how good this could have been. The fact that the story is somewhat unpredictable makes it worth watching; but it never really gets going, and the ending comes out of nowhere and pretty much reminds you that this series is only meant to give the viewers a quick horror fix. Overall; not terrible, but hardly great either.