Hitch-Hike (1977) | The Italian rape and revenge road thriller in 4K UHD

Indicator in the UK adds another ‘little seen but ripe for rediscovery’ 1970s Italian thriller to their 4K restoration catalogue, Hitch-Hike (AKA Autostop rosso sangue), starring cult favourites Franco Nero and David Hess, along with the Story of O’s Corinne Cléry. (Available now on UHD and Blu-ray in limited edition releases).

This 1977 rape and revenge road thriller kicks off with alcoholic journo Walter Mancini (Nero) on route to Los Angeles with his wife Eve (Cléry) after a hunting trip in their caravan. Their abusive relationship is challenged when they offer a ride to hitchhiker Adam Konitz (Hess), who turns out to be a psychopath on the run with the $2 million he stole from his criminal cohorts. Forcing the Mancinis to head to Mexico, Konitz takes out his former partners and sexually assaults Eve – but he hasn’t counted on the couple turning the tables on him.

Directed by commedia all’italiana specialist Pasquale Festa Campanile, Hitch-Hike was a prestige Italian picture with a top crew, including cinematographer Franco Di Giacomo (Four Flies on Grey Velvet), and features another top score from Ennio Morricone.

Tapping into the exploitation genre, which Hess was known for after his breakout role (as an escaped rapist and serial killer, of course) in Wes Craven’s 1972 graphic horror, The Last House on the Left, this is a deeply pessimistic thriller, whose main themes are toxic masculine power and consumerist greed.

Nero is at his most unsympathetic as the misogynistic husband, while Hess makes for a repellent protagonist. Cléry, meanwhile, capably manages the difficult task of taking the emotional and sexual abuse meted out to her, while also showing her survival instincts.

The climax might be a bummer to some, but five decades on, the film manages to touch on issues that are very – Now! Also, the Abruzzo and Lazio scenery may look nothing like California, but they do give the film a lift.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

• Two presentations of the film: Hitch-Hike, the English-language version; and Autostop rosso sangue, the Italian-language version
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with Italian genre film experts Eugenio Ercolani and Marcus Stiglegger (2025)
• Road to Ruin (2025, 90 mins): newly updated documentary by filmmaker Federico Caddeo delving into the production, release, and reception of Hitch-Hike, featuring extensive interviews with actors Franco Nero, Corinne Cléry and David Hess, and assistant director Neri Parenti
• Neil Parenti: Adventures in Abruzzo (2025, 25 mins): expansive interview with Parenti
• Eugenio Ercolani: The Novelist’s Revenge (2025, 29 mins): critical appreciation by Ercolani contextualising Hitch-Hike within director Pasquale Festa Campanile’s wider career
• The Coldest of Dishes (2025, 63 mins): in-depth documentary by Ercolani exploring the sub-genre of Italian rape and revenge films
• The Devil Thumbs a Ride (2002, 19 mins): archival making-of documentary, featuring interviews with Nero, Cléry and Hess
• Original theatrical trailers
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English-language soundtrack, and English translation subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Limited edition collector’s book with a new essay and archival interviews with co-writer Ottavio Jemma, composer Ennio Morricone, and actors Nero, Cléry and Hess