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Title: Pick Me Up (20 Jan 2006)
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| Episode cast overview: | |||
| Fairuza Balk | ... | Stacia | |
| Michael Moriarty | ... | Jim Wheeler | |
| Warren Kole | ... | Walker | |
| Laurene Landon | ... | Birdy | |
| Malcolm Kennard | ... | Danny | |
| Tom Pickett | ... | Bus Driver | |
| Peter Benson | ... | Deuce | |
 |
Kristie Marsden | ... | Marie |
| Michael Eklund | ... | Cashier | |
| Paul Anthony | ... | Stoney | |
| Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe | ... | Lily (as Crystal Lowe) | |
| Michael Petroni | ... | Ambulance Attendant | |
| Mar Andersons | ... | Ambulance Driver | |
When a bus breaks down on a deserted road in the middle of a forest, passenger Stacia decides to walk the 20 km to a motel. Another pair of bus travelers - Birdy and Danny - get a lift with Jim Wheeler;a truck driver who happens to be a crazed psychotic killer. The paranoid Marie and her husband - terrified of what might be 'out there', stay on the bus with the driver awaiting help. Soon, Walker, a hitchhiker comes to the bus. Can he help, or,is he only more to fear? Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Larry Cohen's entry into the series has to do with a broken down bus and the two serial killers who happen upon it. One of the killers is an old trucker (Cohen regular, Michael Moriarty) who kills anyone he gives a ride to, and the other is a hitchhiker (Warren Kole) who murders those who pick him up. Both set their sights on the lone remaining passenger (Fairuza Balk) of the bus, which leads to a battle of wills to see who can get her first.
This story of two dueling serial killers is perfectly suited for the episodic "Masters of Horror" format, as it's merely a fun little idea with hardly enough material to sustain a feature length film. Throw in Cohen as the master behind this one, and I was expecting to sit back for one of the more entertaining episodes of the series. I have to say that I was disappointed. For starters, it had definite pacing issues. Yes, an hour-long episode dealing with an idea as threadbare as this one suffers from a poor pace. Some of the performances also really brought it down for me. All of the people from the bus (aside from the driver and Balk) were just terrible. Worst acting of the series from these folks, and I wanted them to die immediately so I wouldn't have to put up with it.
Michael Moriarty was fantastic, though. He nailed his role, and Kole was quite good too. I loved the interactions between these two and how they would try to one up each other. We also get a decent helping of morbid humor, and the skinned alive girl was a surprisingly gruesome touch in an otherwise tame episode. As for atmosphere, it was sorely lacking here. Maybe I've just seen too much of British Columbia from this series, and I know it's for budgetary reasons, but I felt that the locations weren't very fitting for the story at hand. Cohen's direction is generally uninspired with the exception of an overhead pan of the rooms during the motel sequence. The absurd ending also fails, all plausibility going right out the window.
"Pick Me Up" needed less of the bus passengers and more of the killers facing off. At least it would've been a bit more entertaining that way. Two good performances, poor episode.