"Hitchhike" is a remarkably harsh and startling example of the back-roads killer thriller genre. It's a truly harrowing homicidal hitchhiker opus with a stand-out psycho perf by the ever-intense David Hess as a dangerous highway bandit who forces both Franco Nero and Corrine Clery as a bickering unhappily married couple to give him a ride. Pretty soon everyone in the cramped confined car are pushing each other's buttons. Nero especially falls prey to Hess' toxic influence; he slowly, but surely starts tapping into his heretofore repressed wild animal side as Hess helps himself to Nero's gorgeous wife (Clerry deserves special props for her very brave and unabashedly open performance). Things reach a full boil as the film progresses, leading to a truly jolting conclusion which I will not reveal. Trust me; this one is a true shocker with some nice'n'nasty nihilistic surprises and an unsparingly rough tone. It's expertly directed by Pasquale Festa Companile, with uniformly excellent acting from the whole cast (Hess in particular is wonderfully repulsive in his finest screen scumbag role to date),a tasty Ennio Morricone score, and several jarring outbursts of blood-curdlingly brutal violence, this unsung gem is well worth picking up. It's done in that slick'n'sleazy style that's a true marvelous hallmark of 70's Italian exploitation cinema. It even comes complete with a disturbingly dark, yet provocative point about human nature: We all have a latent capacity for extreme evil; all we need is the right negative stimulus to activate it. My only gripe is this horrendously sappy hippie folk tune that occasionally plays on the soundtrack; it's a simply irritating ditty that hurts the pic more than helps it. That minor criticism aside, this one overall rates as a real hair-raising winner.

A bickering marriage : Franco Nero, Corinne Clery after spending a night at a RV camp, they pick up a man whose car is broken down at a deserted stretch of California . Along the way things go awry , the couple is tormented by the fateful hitchhiker : David Hess . Hitch a Ride..Hitch a Date with Death!

Ferociously surprising film with thrills , chills , graphic violence , nudism , plot twists and anything else . The plot is plain and simple , as a pleasure trip becomes a journey into hell , as all of them attempt to encounter a way to deal with each other when they are tempted for a sum of money , the loot from a heist . The film is as hard as its characters , all of them are unkind , ambitious and unpleasant roles . Trio of protagonists give acceptable performances . Franco Nero is nice , though overacting at times, as an alcoholic reporter with no much success , while his spitful wife well played by Corinne Clery in the best performance of her lousy career . And Davis Hess gives a grim and threatening interpretation as the sadomasochist delinquent who is taking them as hostages to get his purports . Along with brief appearances from some usual secondaries from B-Italian genres as Pedro Sánchez or Ignacio Spalla , Mónica Zanchi , Benito Pacifico and Joshua Sinclair .

It contains a thrilling and suspenseful score by Ennio Morricone, adding catching songs in American style . As well as colorful and evocative cinematography by cameraman Giuseppe Ruzzolini who photographed some Sergio Leone films . Being shot on location Campo Imperatore L'Aquila , Abruzzo , where was filmed Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ, it was chosen because the outdoors looked like California and Mexico territory , though assistants put gas station, marks , and road signs to make an Americanized look . Furthermore , the classic Falls from Monte Gelato where time before shot hundreds of Peplum of Sword and Sandals movies . The motion picture was decently written/directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile , though it has some flaws and gaps . He was an expert on comedies , writing and shooting a lot of them until his early death at 58 . As he made the following ones : When women lost their tails , When women had tails , Rugantino, Bingo Bongo , The Naked Cello , The Chastity Bell, La Ragaza di Trieste , Manolesta , The Libertine , among others . The film will appeal to Franco Nero and Corinne Clery fans.

"Hitch Hike" is one of the best road movies I have ever seen. The legendary David Hess pulls off another great performance as the brutal hitch-hiker whilst the loving couple Franco "Django" Nero and Corinne Clery as Walter and Eve make for compulsive viewing.

Involving and always engaging. Some great twists, wonderfully nasty minor individuals complete with decent characterisation make this essential for any video collection.

8/10