HITCHER IN THE DARK

(Umberto Lenzi, 1989)

Mark Glazer (Joe Balogh), a serial killer with unresolved mommy issues, passes the summer by cruising the Virginia Beach coastline, offering lady hitchhikers a ride in his Winnebago of Doom. After luring them inside, he drugs, rapes, and kills them, photographs their nude corpses, then feeds them to the gators.

After a fight with her boyfriend, Kevin, PYT Daniela (Josie Bissett) accepts a ride from Mark. His intentions become clear when she awakens, handcuffed in the back of the RV: Daniela bears a strong resemblance to Mark's absentee mother, and he has a bone to pick with her. Thus begins a game of psychological and physical torture, from which Daniela must escape or face certain death.

To sum up my feelings about Hitcher in the Dark, I have one word: Filmirage. Joe D'Amato's production company put out some of the cheapest, campiest Italian horror films of the late 80's, but HITD is one of the better ones. Like it's kin, HITD is heavily padded-out, this time with many pointless scenes of college kids enjoying Summer break. Well, I'm not sure that you could call standing around and clapping your hands to cheap-ass synthpop enjoyment, but they seem happy enough to do so. Oh, and there's even stock footage of frolicking squirrels, in case the viewer grows weary of all the wet T-shirts and other beach-related shenanigans. The camerawork is also a tad bland, as it lacks most of Lenzi's endearing visual style.

Storywise, HITD brings nothing new to the table. The writing's not half bad, and one may be surprised to find the characters not behaving quite as brainlessly as in other like films. Lenzi does manage to create a bit of suspense with the cat-and-mouse antics between Mark and Daniela, as well as her various attempts at escape and their repercussions.

Shoddy dialogue aside, the acting herein is also surprisingly decent... for a Filmirage feature, that is. HITD contains little in the way of bloodshed or hardcorer violence, and so relies heavily on the actors' performances. Josie Bissett, known for her roles in The Doors and Melrose Place, plays her part competently, switching from softspoken victim to clever escape artist a number of times. Joe Balogh, who also appeared in Lenzi's Black Demons, also gets a passing grade. His character mirrors Bissett's, in that he too switches from softspoken momma's boy to raging psycho at the drop of a hat. HITD is a fairly pedestrian thriller, and it's unsatisfying ending will likely frustrate even the hardiest of viewers. I don't really recommend it, but can't say that it's a terrible film either. It's just...sort of there.

BLACK DEMONS

(Umberto Lenzi, 1991)

College kids Kevin (Keith Van Hoven), his girlfriend Jessica (Sonia Curtis) and her brother Dick (Joe Balogh) are in Brazil researching the rites of Macumba/ black magic. After getting lost and running into an old blind man and his assistant, Dick is invited to a ceremony that night. He records the procession, is given an amulet by the old man, and imbibes fresh chicken blood, whereupon he faints and is somehow taken back to his hotel room.

The following day, our three adventurers take off into the jungle. Their vehicle breaks down, but they are rescued by Jose and his girlfriend Sonia, owners of a nearby plantation house where they live with their maid Maria. They are invited to stay the night, much to the chagrin of Maria, who takes an instant disliking to Dick and his amulet.

That night, after everyone has fallen asleep, Dick, obviously possessed or in a trance, wanders out to the graveyard on the property where he proceeds to play back the Macumba recording and raises the corpses of 6 African slaves who were tortured and buried there. It seems that once risen, the slaves will not rest again until they have killed 6 white people. Yet again, more political incorrectness on behalf of Mr Lenzi!

Black Demons is an all-Lenzi affair replete with his trademark skulls, spiders, gouged eyeballs, random explosions, and perky-nippled girls who scream far better than they run. The film itself looks, sounds, and feels like it might have been made in 1981, despite the 1991 release date. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as most late 80s Italian horror films look really bright and washed out, whereas Black Demons makes great use of light and shadow.

As with any Umberto Lenzi film, Black Demons is bogged down by some long, talky stretches and the usual hammy acting. I actually found the non-white cast members far more convincing in their roles than the protagonists (zombies included). That aside, the film does contain some genuinely creepy aspects, such as the faint rattle of chains that hint at the slaves' approach. The zombie slaves are very ghoulish and effective, if a little well-preserved given their age. My prime complaint here is that, despite the heavy amount of gore, the death scenes are few and far-between. It's a dreadfully slow film. I'd only recommend this to Lenzi completists, not the uninitiated. Buy it here.