aka Autostop rosso sangue
aka Death Drive
aka The Naked Prey

Director: Pasquale Festa Campanile
Cast: Franco Nero, David Hess, Corinne Clery

Blue Underground / Color / NTSC All Region / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 (16×9) / Not Rated / 104 min. / Purchase from DiabolikDVD.com

Walter (Nero) and Eve (Clery) are a troubled couple. Their trouble is that Walter alternates between raping his wife and threatening to kill her. He’s a real charmer. She, on the other hand, is a seething sexpot that wishes death on him with every smoldering look. What do you do when you are married and hate each other? Go camping and hunting (where there are lots of guns) in Northern California, of course!

On their way home, they encounter a hitch-hiker named Adam (Hess) who turns out to be a murdering thief that double-crossed his two partners and took off with the two million dollars they stole. Adam and Walter butt heads right away because of both of their mean streaks, especially after Adam makes sexual advances toward Eve. Adam kidnaps the two at gunpoint and plans on riding with them to Mexico.

Role reversals between Walter and Adam are a focal point in the movie because both are bad men. One just hasn’t let it all out… yet. Throughout the entire picture, there is a macho struggle for power. Power over the situation and power over the woman (who we all know has all of the real power). The story movies along at a good pace due to the story itself but also due to the fantastic main actors and actress.

Hess, Nero and Clery are all fantastic in their roles and play them with tons of intensity. With his maniacal laugh, Hess eats up every scene he is in. His character is an extension of his characters in Last House on the Left and House on the Edge of the Park… pure evil. When you add the hateful Nero and the supernaturally sultry Clery to the mix, it’s just the cat’s ass (what the hell does that mean anyway?).

There isn’t any gore or really much blood to speak of outside of a couple of shoot-outs, but it works on a much more tense level. It’s one of those “thrill rides” you always read about on the covers of DVDs. If you know anything about the actors in the movie (Franco Nero and David Hess in particular), it isn’t too hard to understand what I mean. This is Italian exploitation through and through. Add this to your collection soon.