With a cast that includes Italian icon Franco Nero in the lead, 'Mr. Evil Psycho' David Hess as the villain, and the stunningly beautiful Corinne Clery in the female lead, a fan of Italian 70s cinema simply cannot go wrong. "Autostop Rosso Sangue" (aka. "Hitch Hike"/"The Naked Prey") of 1977 was my first venture into the filmography of director Pasquale Festa Campanile. Campanile, who directed mainly comedies, succeeds very well in the Thriller/Exploitation field with this nasty Road Thriller. Before seeing this, many people might expect another imitation of Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left", but these are unjustified preconceptions, as this is a very tense and original film of its own right, that doesn't have much in common with Craven's film other then David Hess as the bad guy.
The constantly drunk Italian journalist Walter Mancini (Franco Nero), and his sexy wife Eve (Corinne Clery) are making a cross-country tour of the United States, and constantly fighting while doing so. When they pick up a Hitchhiker named Adam Konitz (David Hess), their marital disputes soon turn out to be the least of their problems...
Franco Nero is one of my favorite actors, and once again delivers an excellent performance here. However, his character Walter Mancini is such a sleazy scumbag himself that it is often a bit hard to care for him. Mancini's favorite activity seems to be humiliating his wife while drunk. Corinne Clery is gorgeous, and fits very well in the role of the seductive, overtly submissive and masochistic wife Eve. It seems odd that a goddess like her would fall for her scumbag husband, but the fact that she bares it all several times makes the film all the more recommendable. David Hess shines as the sadistic psycho he always plays, and he once again does so with devilish greatness. Apart from the top credits, the film also features another regular of Italian cult-cinema, Joshua Sinclair ("Keoma", "Il Grande Racket",...), who plays a rather forgettable role as one half of a couple of homosexual gangsters. In good Italian tradition, the film is excellently filmed and accompanied by a great, tension-increasing score (with the exception of an annoying Hippie-song in the beginning). The film is set in California and Nevada, but was shot in Italy; as Italian films tend to do, this one is very successful in making European landscapes look American. The level of violence and sleaze is genre-typically high, though not exceptional for Italian Exploitation standards. There are several brutal outbursts, as well as scenes of rape and sadism, and beautiful Corinne Clery gets naked on several occasions.
In many ways, this film resembles Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabbiati" ("Rabid Dogs", 1974), which, in my opinion is one of the most essential Italian cult-masterpieces of the 70s. Claims that this film was inspired by "Rabid Dogs" cannot be true, as Bava's film wasn't released to the public until the 90s (due to legal difficulties). While "Autostop Rosso Sangue" is a good film, however, it isn't nearly the masterpiece Bava's film is. "Cani Arrabbiati" simply is one of the most intense, breathtaking and suspenseful cinematic experiences one can have; while also a gritty and tense film, "Autostop Rosso Sangue" pales in comparison, as one simply doesn't terribly care about the protagonists (except for maybe Corinne Clery). Campanile is no director en par with Bava, of course (in my humble opinion, no other director is en par with the ultimate Italian Horror pioneer and cult-cinema deity Bava). For this being Campanile's only notable Suspense film, it is a very good and intense one indeed! Overall "Autostop Rosso Sangue" is highly recommended to my fellow fans of Italian Exploitation cinema. Just make sure to watch Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabbiati" before watching this one. My opinion on "Autostop Rosso Sangue": 7.5 out of 10
The constantly drunk Italian journalist Walter Mancini (Franco Nero), and his sexy wife Eve (Corinne Clery) are making a cross-country tour of the United States, and constantly fighting while doing so. When they pick up a Hitchhiker named Adam Konitz (David Hess), their marital disputes soon turn out to be the least of their problems...
Franco Nero is one of my favorite actors, and once again delivers an excellent performance here. However, his character Walter Mancini is such a sleazy scumbag himself that it is often a bit hard to care for him. Mancini's favorite activity seems to be humiliating his wife while drunk. Corinne Clery is gorgeous, and fits very well in the role of the seductive, overtly submissive and masochistic wife Eve. It seems odd that a goddess like her would fall for her scumbag husband, but the fact that she bares it all several times makes the film all the more recommendable. David Hess shines as the sadistic psycho he always plays, and he once again does so with devilish greatness. Apart from the top credits, the film also features another regular of Italian cult-cinema, Joshua Sinclair ("Keoma", "Il Grande Racket",...), who plays a rather forgettable role as one half of a couple of homosexual gangsters. In good Italian tradition, the film is excellently filmed and accompanied by a great, tension-increasing score (with the exception of an annoying Hippie-song in the beginning). The film is set in California and Nevada, but was shot in Italy; as Italian films tend to do, this one is very successful in making European landscapes look American. The level of violence and sleaze is genre-typically high, though not exceptional for Italian Exploitation standards. There are several brutal outbursts, as well as scenes of rape and sadism, and beautiful Corinne Clery gets naked on several occasions.
In many ways, this film resembles Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabbiati" ("Rabid Dogs", 1974), which, in my opinion is one of the most essential Italian cult-masterpieces of the 70s. Claims that this film was inspired by "Rabid Dogs" cannot be true, as Bava's film wasn't released to the public until the 90s (due to legal difficulties). While "Autostop Rosso Sangue" is a good film, however, it isn't nearly the masterpiece Bava's film is. "Cani Arrabbiati" simply is one of the most intense, breathtaking and suspenseful cinematic experiences one can have; while also a gritty and tense film, "Autostop Rosso Sangue" pales in comparison, as one simply doesn't terribly care about the protagonists (except for maybe Corinne Clery). Campanile is no director en par with Bava, of course (in my humble opinion, no other director is en par with the ultimate Italian Horror pioneer and cult-cinema deity Bava). For this being Campanile's only notable Suspense film, it is a very good and intense one indeed! Overall "Autostop Rosso Sangue" is highly recommended to my fellow fans of Italian Exploitation cinema. Just make sure to watch Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabbiati" before watching this one. My opinion on "Autostop Rosso Sangue": 7.5 out of 10