A Winnebago, a mommy complex, and a Virginia Beach road trip you’ll regret accepting.
HITCHER IN THE DARK
A sick young man drives around in his daddy's camper, looking for lone stray females to kidnap, torture, rape and murder.
Not all family vacations go as planned—especially when Lenzi’s at the wheel.
Umberto Lenzi ditches the jungle for the Winnebago in this sleazy slice of late-80s psychodrama. Joe Balogh chews the scenery as Mark, a sunglasses-clad, mother-obsessed predator who turns Virginia Beach into his own personal hunting ground. Josie Bissett adds some fight to the formula, but make no mistake: this is pure grindhouse fuel, polished with a Euro exploitation sheen.
— SassyFlix Programmer
Hitcher in the Dark is a 1989 American crime-horror-thriller film directed by Umberto Lenzi about a disturbed young man with a deadly fixation who prowls Virginia Beach in search of female hitchhikers to kidnap and murder.
- Director
- Umberto Lenzi
- Writers
- Olga Pehar, Umberto Lenzi
- Release
- 1989
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Country
- Italy, United States of America
- Language
- English, Italian
- Also Known As
- La estela del crímen, A Stopposok Reme, Fear in the Dark, Страх в ночи, La ruta de un psicópata, Return of the Hitcher
Synopsis
Misogynistic psycho wackjob Mark (a creepily manic and intense performance by Joe Balogh) wears mirror shades, suffers from a severe mommy complex, drives a fancy expensive Winnebago, and has a nasty penchant for picking up stray foxy young female hitchhikers whom he likes to rape, debase and brutally murder. Mark chooses the feisty Daniela (gorgeous blonde hottie Josie Bissett, who went on to slightly more respectable work as a regular on the trashy nighttime soap opera “Melrose Place”) as his next victim and abducts her. Daniela’s obsessive boyfriend Kevin (woodenly played by Jason Saucier) gives chase.
Directed by spaghetti splatter specialist Umberto (“Nightmare City”) Lenzi (Play Motel and Eyeball), this movie has some things going for it. It features some really beautiful scenery of the American South. It features some really beautiful scenery of a young, lovely Josie Bisset, as well as totally gratuitous nudity (as well as Bissett in the buff, we get to see various other victims and Lenzi even manages to work in a beachside wet t-shirt contest for no reason whatsoever!).
Why Cult
Mark’s severe Oedipal complex isn’t just subtext—it’s the motor driving his murderous spree across the back roads.
The killer’s weapon of choice is a plush, expensive camper—turning a family road trip staple into a mobile house of horrors.
Italian cult director Umberto Lenzi brings his exploitation expertise stateside, trading cannibals for creeps on the Eastern Seaboard.
Future TV star Josie Bissett holds her own as the feisty target who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mark’s late mother.
Trailer
Scene Gallery
Questions from the Vault
What is Hitcher in the Dark about? +
Hitcher in the Dark follows a disturbed young man who cruises Virginia Beach in a Winnebago, seeking female hitchhikers to kidnap, torture, and murder, all fueled by his obsession with his deceased mother.
Who directed Hitcher in the Dark? +
Hitcher in the Dark was directed by Umberto Lenzi.
How long is Hitcher in the Dark? +
Hitcher in the Dark has a runtime of 95 minutes.
What genre is Hitcher in the Dark? +
Hitcher in the Dark is a crime, horror, and thriller film.
When was Hitcher in the Dark released? +
Hitcher in the Dark was released in 1989.
