Search - Hitch Hike to Hell/Kidnapped Coed on DVD

Bad b-movie trash.

Brett Johnson | 06/20/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Here is my take on the two films on this DVD:HITCH HIKE TO HELL - The movie "Hitchhike To Hell" centers around a deranged laundry deliveryman named Howard. He uses his company van to pick up hitchhikers and kill them. The reason Howard does this is because six years ago his little sister ran away from home and never returned. It completely devastated their mother and Howard is determined to punish young people who want to run away from their mommies.Not surprisingly, every single facet of this movie is atrocious. From the acting to the direction, from the cinematography to the worthless plot...this is one awful flick. Not a shred of humor is to be found in this macabre tale. It is simply a monotonous pattern of showing Howard picking up hitchhikers and killing them. Terrible!KIDNAPPED COED - You would never guess that "The Kidnapped Coed" clocks in at a mere 76 minutes. At times, it seemed like an eternity.I would like to state that I am definitely not someone who needs violent action or gratuitous nudity every few minutes in a movie. However, I do enjoy some dialogue every once in a while. The dramatic pauses in "Kidnapped Coed" are long enough that you could take a solid nap during one. It gets awfully boring sitting around for a full two minutes looking at the main characters and waiting for one of them to actually say something. With tighter editing, this film could have been cut down to about half an hour and none of the plot would have been lost."Kidnapped Coed" is about the following: Man kidnaps young woman. He holds her for ransom. Woman falls in love with kidnapper. They spend a lot of time doing absolutely nothing.The only positive thing I can really say about this little flick is that it has surprisingly good cinematography. A couple of the shots were very nicely set up. Too bad the rest of the film lacked that quality.DVD EXTRAS: As usual, Something Weird has a knack for including shorts that are more interesting than the movies. This one is no different. An arcade short, a cartoon short and an educational short are all included for your viewing pleasure."

EXPLOITATION DOUBLE FEATURE!! WILD

Kevin P. Coon | Twin Falls, Idaho USA | 02/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Something weird has put two really strange films together here. The first is Hitch Hike To Hell in which a deranged man in a dry cleaning delivery van kidnaps women who are hitchhiking and then proceeds to rape and kill them. There is a shocking murder of a child (it isn't seen on screen) that really has an impact. Russell Johnson (Professor on Gilligan's Island) is a policeman assigned to the case. Very odd, but well made film.
The second film is Kidnapped Coed, and this is a film about a kidnapped girl who falls in love with her captor, and he with her. They go on a crime spree together. A great twist ending to this one. The extras are good on this disc, but the highlight is a tour thru Harry Novac's Boxoffice International studios. That is a great 30 minutes. All in all a great disc well worth the money."

PULP THAT PURRS!

Matthew C. Pinkerton | Denver, Colorado United States | 07/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best discs yet released by SWV, this little beauty sports two awesome features and a slew of even better extras. "Hitchhike to Hell" is undoubtedly the weaker of the two features, but is nonetheless a laugh riot. The lead actor veers from one extreme to another with such scenery-chewing abandon as to be a marvel unto himself. Half the time he's acting like Lenny from an "Of Mice and Men" production staged by a particularly talentless community theater. The other half of the running time finds him screaming and going as psycho as Norman Bates would have had "Psycho" really sucked. "Kidnapped Coed" is a much better film. The acting (particularly from Friedle regular Jack Cannon) is solid. The story manages to be fairly compelling in its own pulpy way and some of the scenes are actually quite remarkable. Though pacey and far from perfect, it is a solid piece of work from an underappreciated director. As for the extras, I must crown the animated short "The Cautious Twins" as King of School Scare Cinema. This rhyme-narrated little ditty follows the titular twins as they play in the park, attend a movie and walk the streets in what has to qualify as the most depraved town in America. These poor kids can't go two feet without confronting yet another touch-feely stranger offering candy or a free ride. Hilarious!"

Something Weird delivers more of the best sleazeploitation a

Robert Buchanan | Wisconsin | 07/27/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'll never stop loving Something Weird Video. This company has amassed a larger and more fascinating collection of B-movie trash than any other, and this double feature DVD is a fine example of their handiwork.



This disc's main menu is highlighted by its two features' theatrical posters, set against a backdrop of sloppily applied faux wood grain shelf paper! The menu options are a giggle: to play "Hitch Hike to Hell" or access its scene selection menu, the viewer is encouraged to "Hop In" or view "Mama's Favorites;" "Kidnapped Coed's" options read, "Witness The Abduction" and "Seize A Selection!"



"Hitch Hike to Hell"



Whilst delivering and picking up laundry for a dry cleaning service, a chipper, middle-aged, totally inept serial killer finds the time to sexually assault and murder wayward hitch hikers as a means to avenge his overbearing mother. He still lives with her, and the interior of their house consists almost entirely of wood paneling. He also possesses an extraordinary ability to smack his victims without ever touching them, and a technique which enables him to rape and strangle a girl in less than two minutes. Nobody rides for free, but who says fast service isn't cheap?



While most of the players in this film's cast only deliver mediocre performances, its chief asset is a wealth of hilariously hammy acting, courtesy of leading nutcase Robert Gribbin and the goofballs who portray his hapless prey. Other than that, this is a prime example of exceptionally poor low-budget late-'60s filmmaking...but it's great fodder for a riffing party! Shot in 1967, it was released very briefly in '70 to little notice and then granted a widespread release courtesy of Robert Novak in '77, which elicited a thoroughly unenthusiastic response. "Hitch Hike" is one of very few B-movies that actually could benefit from a tongue-in-cheek remake, if Bruce Campbell were still young enough for the lead role!



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"Kidnapped Coed"



Desperate for cash, a rugged thug (Jack Canon) kidnaps the daughter of a millionaire (Leslie Rivers) and holds her for ransom. Quite a lot goes horribly wrong; over the course of numerous misadventures and encounters with a variety of southern weirdos, the two predictably fall for each other.



It's fortunate that Frederick Friedel knows how to pace a movie for maximum deliberation, because the hole-ridden plot of his second feature would normally sustain a forty-five minute TV movie. Though it's hampered at times by sloppy editing, his composition is excellent, and it's nicely furnished by Austin McKinney's colorful cinematography. Shot entirely on location in the Carolinas, Friedel makes the most of a variety of seedy interiors, and much of this film's rural photography is striking.



Canon is an able character actor, if not a versatile one. His ugly, vicious role is basically a retread of the punk he portrayed in Friedel's "Axe," except that this character is more complex - and that's the problem. He's great when chewing the scenery with furious grimaces and snarling menace, but when Canon attempts to plumb the emotional depths of his character, his performance deteriorates into silliness. Though she has only a handful of lines in the entire film, Rivers fares better as the titular abductee. She possesses a certain gawky charm that develops into a weirdly sensual allure, and unlike her male counterpart, she always seems believable.



This is an odd edition of "Date with a Kidnapper." In the film's penultimate dance scene, the country music from the jukebox is replaced by a cheesy synthesized version of "The Blue Danube." Also, the opening titles read "Jack Canon is" and then cut to a still of the next scene that reads "Kidnapped Coed;" in all likelihood, this print of the movie was probably one that bore the "The Kidnap Lover" title.



The extras are titled "Runaway Residue," and they are plentiful. Three trailers are included - one for "Hitch Hike" that's about as silly as the movie itself, an ominous "Kidnapped Coed" theatrical spot, and another for the alternate title, "The Kidnap Lover," in which the narrator's apparent goal is to repeat the title of the film as often as possible.



The crown jewel of the extras is a 1992 videotaped tour of Boxoffice International's offices, conducted by Harry Novak himself. Stout, rotund and garbed in a Hawaiian shirt, the veteran film producer guides us through a cluttered wealth of promotional materials, oddities and rarities in a facility decorated with art and photos from theatrical posters and press kits. He even has a crude, first-rate screening room. Nifty!



Three shorts are included that share themes with the two features. The first of these - "The Hitch-Hiker" - is the best, in which a sassy, shapely girl with skunk hair strips for a ride after hers breaks down...with disastrous consequences. "The Dangerous Stranger" is a typical, uninspired '50s educational short inspired by and created in response to the horrifying 1949 kidnapping, molestation and murder of six-year-old Linda Joyce Glucoft. This short warns children about strangers and depicts them using methods that would have them arrested in no time today. It also features a car chase and a happy ending. The worst of this lot is a crude cartoon titled, "The Catious Twins" that treads heavily on the same cautionary theme. All of these shorts were taken from very rough prints, and likely the best available. "The Catious Twins" even lacks its introduction and ending!



The last bonus feature is a slideshow of artwork and photos from Boxoffice International press kits and newspaper advertisements for films such as "Mantis in Lace," "Behind Locked Doors," "The Exotic Dreams Of Casanova," "Machismo 40 Graves for 40 Guns" and "Please Don't Eat My Mother," among many others. It's scored by cheesy period pop music and, like almost everything else on this terrific release, is more fun than you probably deserve."