Umberto Lenzi was one of the great directors of Italy who didn’t pander to the arthouse crowd. He made dozens of films that were part of the various genres that swept from studios around Rome into grindhouse theaters around the globe. During the ’60s and ’70s, he helmed movies that fed into the waves of sword and scandals, Spaghetti Westerns, super spies, Giallo, horror and cannibal. He was up there with Lucio Fulci and Sergio Martino when it came to genre hopping. They were directors who went where the producers could find a budget. The act of finding production funds began to get tougher in the ’80s when the way Italians enjoyed cinema began to change. The usual routine of dinner out, a movie and a drink before heading home stopped being usual for many Italians. Why the change? There were two big reason: terrorist organizations and television. The Red Brigades and others were kidnapping wealthy people and bringing violence to the streets of the major cities. This meant going out wasn’t a good option for people who didn’t want to be collateral damage in the movie line. After decades, Italian TV stations finally got their act together and began running more movies during their broadcast day. People stayed home. So what were Italian directors and producers of exploitation films to do? Quite a few made trips to America to make co-productions that could tap into the ’80s straight to video craze. Thus in the late ’80s, Umberto Lenzi showed up with his crew in Virginia Beach, Virginia to make Hitcher In the Dark.
This is the classic tale of why hitchhiking is dangerous enough without getting a lift by a stranger in a Recreational Vehicle. Mark Glazer (<I>Black Demon</i>’s Joe Balogh) seems like a nice clean cut kid driving his RV around the coast. But he’s got issues. Behind his mirrored sunglasses, he’s scoping out young women who need a ride to their next stop and if they need to, they can just take a nap on the big bed in back while he drives. It’s like a hotel with wheels. Except Mark is more like that creepy roadside motel with wheels. Your stay might be marked by being tied up, cut up and tossed into an alligator pond while Mark takes Polaroids of the event. During his prowl of a camper park, he comes across a dancing Daniela Foster (Melrose Place‘s Josie Bissett). She becomes his next passenger. She does her best to delay the visit to the alligator pond. She hopes that her boyfriend will discover them. But can he really find her in an area dominated by RVs during vacation time?
You’ll probably notice that Umberto Lenzi isn’t listed in the credits. He went by Humphrey Humbert on this production since part of the point of making the film in the USA was to make people renting the film think they’re seeing an American low budget flick and not a dubbed Italian movie. Video audiences feared a foreign film might sneak in more culture than carnal gore. Hitcher In the Dark wasn’t going to to be playing your local arthouse.
Unlike other productions that shot the exteriors in America and took the English speaking cast back to Europe for the interior studio work, Hitcher in the Dark was shot around the Tidewaters area of Southeast Virginia. Since so much action took place inside the RV, there wasn’t much call for elaborate interiors such as a haunted mansion or creepy basement. Is there anything more creepy than an RV being driven by a psychopath in mirrored glasses?
What’s odd is that this wasn’t a massive sensation on home video. You’d figure having Jane from Melrose Place in R-rated action would be a big rental hook. But Bissett wouldn’t move into the prime time soap opera address until nearly three years after Hitcher In The Dark was released. And since all of this was before the internet exploded, how were you going to find out about the film?
Recently Lenzi has been given a bit of a legacy boost with the arrival of the boxset containing the four giallo films he made with actress Carroll Baker. Finally getting to see a high resolution transfer of Hitcher In the Dark also elevates his work. It shows he could go across the ocean to make uncomfortable cinema even if he had to become Humphrey Humbert.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer was taken off the original 35mm negative so it looks much sharper than the previous DVD. You’ll see all the gory details from the back of the RV. The audio is DTS-HD MA mono. Even though this was an Italian production, all the actors are speaking English. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary featuring Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger of Diabolique Magazine. The duo give context to the film and a bit of background on Lenzi. They are fans of Hitcher In the Dark even though they describe the film as downbeat.
Archival Interview with Umberto Lenzi (10:20) has him talk about making the film. The director gets into his approach to serial killers. He goes into how Bissett wasn’t up for doing too much nudity and he didn’t force it. Lenzi passed away in 2017.
Original Theatrical Trailer (3:12) has a simple “do you want a ride” turn into a nightmare for the girl who thought she was saving on cab fare. They also include footage of the wet t-shirt contest.
Vinegar Syndrome presents Hitcher In the Dark. Directed by Umberto Lenzi. Screenplay by: Olga Pehar. Starring: Joe Balogh, Josie Bissett, Jason Saucier, Robin Fox, Thomas Mitchell & Fay W. Edwards. Rated: Unrated. Running Time: 95 minutes. Released: March 30, 2021.
