Pick Me Up 

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.

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writers:

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

Stars:

Fairuza Balk, Michael Moriarty, Warren Kole

Cast

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

Storyline

When a bus breaks down in a desert road surrounded by woods, the passenger Stacia decides to walk ahead 20 km to a motel. The travelers Birdy and Danny get a lift with the deranged serial-killer truck driver Jim Wheeler to return to a dinning place and are killed. The paranoid Marie and her husband stay in the bus with the driver waiting for help. When the sadistic serial-killer hitchhiker Walker comes to the bus, he kills the trio. Later in the motel, Stacia is disputed by the two psychopaths.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | truck driver | motel | hitchhiker | psychopath | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2006 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IDT Entertainment, Industry Entertainment, Nice Guy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first and only film Larry Cohen directed that he did not write. He took the job in part to prove to people that he could direct someone else's material.

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Goofs

When the punk women is tied to the bed in the motel room she is wearing red underwear, the scene cuts to the TV being turned off, then the women is now wearing white underwear.

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Quotes

Walker: Now, our judgmental trucker friend here, he's the type of guy who likes to hunt. He likes to theorize about prey, and he likes to think about worthy opponents and fair game, and just with all that bullshit. He loves it. Very romantic. Now, he thinks he ain't a predator. You should have seen him back at that bus.
[inhales]
Walker: [pause] You see all these little trinkets? These little souvenirs? Look at that. He never saw the Horrible Thing. He just kept the button.
[chuckles]
Walker: Now, your genuinely ...
[...]

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Connections

References The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

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Soundtracks

Snakes in the Snow
Written and Performed by Michael Moriarty.

User Reviews

good alteration on the hitcher series

Pick Me Up is from the Masters of Horror collection and is about a hitcher / road kill hugger that takes offense to a bus drivers desire to spice up the traveling by hitting animals trying to cross the road. The hitcher finds the bus and takes his anger out on the driver and those on board. A young girl in the bus just misses being hitcher bait several times until… A trucker also looking for the hitcher to exact some revenge comes into the act and uses the young girl as bait. Great acting makes this well directed film a big success in my mind as the pain of the actors comes through loud and clear. Not for anyone who doesn't like some blood and partial nudity.