Surprisingly , this film was pretty good. The acting was fine and the facial expressions of the lead character- Howard , was outstanding. The story of a social misfit at around 30 yrs. old, still tugging to Moms apron strings. A sister that ran away from home , causes torment to Howard , trying to protect his mother in perhaps the most sinister ways, involving Crescent City Ca. runaways. There were some fine, creative twists in this film , that entertained from start to finish. There was one particular scene with a not so ordinary runaway, that had me laughing hysterically. I do not want to give away the scene; I will keep quiet. The film , though not gory was still very watchable. There are some loose ends about Howards family that took away from the film, but it took away not much. The movie did allow for the expansion of some of the other character bios , but did not overdo it.The scenes where folks were supposed to have violence inflicted, were not done well;Reminding me somewhat of the 'Batman' show of the mid 60's. I think the film wanted those scenes to be a little spoofy on purpose. Russell Johnson of Gilligan fame was the only actor of note. The rest of the cast was more than acceptable . This film passes with high marks, in my opinion.

Somewhat inspired by the "Co-ed Killer" Edmund Kemper - who shows up on Netflix's Mindhunter and now reads books on tape - Hitchhike to Hell is all about Howard (Robert Gribbon, Trip with the Teacher),a mild-mannered momma's boy whose delivery job gives him plenty of time to pick up runaways and punish them for their transgressions. Can the cops stop him before he kills again?

Irv Berwick also directed Malibu High and The Monster of Piedras Blancas, so you know he's coming from a place of pure sleaze. This movie comes from the vaults of the legendary - or infamous - Harry Novak and is one of the last movies that his Boxoffice International Pictures released. You may know them from other films like Axe (AKA Lisa Lisa or California Axe Massacre),The Child, Rattlers, Wham! Bam! Thank You, Spaceman!, The Sinful Dwarf, Dr. Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks, Toys Are Not for Children and so many more fine efforts.

At one point, Captain J.W. Shaw (Russell Johnson, the Professor from Gilligan's Island and Dr. Steve Carlson from This Island Earth) mentions several real serial killers, like the Zodiac Killer, the Skid Row Slasher and "that nut down in Houston," which refers to Dean Corll, who abducted, assaulted, tortured, and murdered at least 28 teenage boys and young men between 1970 and 1973 in Houston, Texas.

Why is Howard so nutty? Is it because of his way too close relationship with his mama? Or because his older sister ran away from home as a teenager and was never heard of again? Did his sister really have it coming, like his mother mutters to herself? Your guess is as good as mine, because this movie never reveals the answers. It does, however, have teenage runaways killed with coathangers, so there's that.

Basically, don't hitchhike. You kids don't have to worry about that. You've got Uber now.

Having once again been lured into buying a DVD from my local 'pound' shop by a delightfully trashy title and a lurid cover (this one depicts two halter-top wearing hotties thumbing a ride),I was pretty sure that Hitch Hike to Hell would be on a par with the other choice titles available from the same store ie., cheap, shoddy, and almost-unwatchable. For once, however, the film inside the box actually lives up to its packaging: this slice of low-budget 70s exploitation is every bit as sleazy and tacky as it appears to be!

Robert Gribbin stars as Howard, a bespectacled dry cleaning delivery man and mama's boy whose interests include making scale models, picking up hitch-hikers, rape, and murder. Howard, you see, has issues: six years ago, his sister ran away from home, leaving his poor mother absolutely distraught. Now, whenever Howard sees a young lady by the roadside looking for a ride, he picks her up; if, during conversation, he discovers that the girl is running away from home, his rage takes over, and he proceeds to sexually assault and then kill his unfortunate passenger!

Following the discovery of one of Howard's victims, Captain J.W. Shaw of the Crescent City Police Department (Russell Johnson) launches an investigation fearing that a serial killer is on the loose.

With Gribbin putting in a wonderfully overstated performance, leering like a demented loon through his mega-thick spectacle lenses, a steady supply of (mostly) pretty nubile teenagers all willing to get their knockers out to play the helpless victims of his frenzied attacks, this film, distributed by legendary exploitation producer Harry Novak, is a real treat for fans of down 'n' dirty drive-in fodder.

Howard's nasty attacks are naturally the dubious highlights of the film, with our psycho opting to choke or strangle his victims (having first ripped open their tops, of course),before callously dumping their bodies in the dirt; however, there is also much fun to be had from our nutter's strange relationship with his overprotective mother, who constantly worries that her boy is not eating enough, gives his boss an earful whenever he gets told off at work, and even hops into bed with her son for a cuddle when he has nightmares!

On the other hand, the movie's final death is not quite so funny: Howard loses his temper with an 11-year old runaway in a scene that one cannot quite believe is happening. I kept expecting director Irvin Berwick to wimp out, and allow her to escape, but, to his credit, the little girl gets it (the actual killing isn't shown, but we do get to see Captain Shaw taking a look at the girl's body in a dumpster whilst her mother screams hysterically in the background). This punch-to-the-gut scene is truly disturbing, and more than makes up for the film's lacklustre finalé, in which Howard is finally arrested and committed to a looney bin.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the hilarious inclusion of an extremely camp gay man who also falls prey to Howard (although I think Howie leaves out the rape on this particular occasion!).