Highway zur Hölle (1983)

Highway zur Hölle: Directed by Irvin Berwick. With Robert Gribbin, Russell Johnson, John Harmon, Randy Echols. Howard is a mild-mannered young man who drives a truck for a commercial laundry. He’s also a mother-obsessed psycho who picks up young female hitchhikers, rapes them and kills them. As the bodies start piling up, the police finally begin to investigate.

“Wow, talk about a pleasant surprise! I was expecting to see a terrible, bottom-of-the-barrel exploitation fodder from the seventies, but I ended up seeing a spirited cult gem that really makes the most of its minimal budget. The story introduces Howard Martin; an introvert and rather nerdy young man who lives alone with his mother since his sister ran away from home. This event somewhat messed up Howardu0026#39;s brain, since he now picks up hitch-hikers in his laundry van and savagely strangles them if it turns out theyu0026#39;re runaways from their moms. The subject matter certainly isnu0026#39;t original, since itu0026#39;s an ordinary serial killer on the road premise and the culprit is once again an oppressed mommyu0026#39;s boy (u0026quot;Psychou0026quot;, anyone?). Still, the screenplay of u0026quot;Hitch Hike to Hellu0026quot; is well thought out and features some really clever ideas that immediately gained my respect. The setting, for example, is a middle-sized town that serves as a junction for the stateu0026#39;s most important highways, which makes it extra difficult for the police to keep an eye on all the hitch-hikers. The drama-element of the story surprisingly isnu0026#39;t an obstacle and actually rather captivating. This is all very nice so far, but what REALLY sold me to this movie is the dared ending that you canu0026#39;t possibly see coming! The image of what might happen will briefly cross your mind, probably, but thereu0026#39;s no way you expect the film to actually execute it! Watch and see! There are some some dull moments and odd padding scenes to struggle yourself through, but the acting performances are quite good and the music is adorably kitschy. I really donu0026#39;t understand why some people write such harsh things about u0026quot;Hitch Hike to Hellu0026quot;…Definitely recommended if youu0026#39;re into rare cult stuff.”