By Geno McGahee
Larry Cohen, writer of the MANIAC COP series brings forth a tale of two killers that fight over territorial rights in PICK ME UP from the first season of the Masters of Horror Series. It is an interesting tale that reminds me a great deal of NATURE OF THE BEAST.
A bus with a small group of passengers gets stranded on the side of the road. Jim Wheeler (Joe Moriarty), a trucker, drives up in his semi and picks up some of the passengers, while the others wait to be rescued. Stacia (Fairuza Balk) elects to walk and make her own way, which helps her for a while. Wheeler is a serial killer and those that took the ride never returned.
A hitchhiker, Walker (Warren Kole), thumbs the roads and when somebody picks him up, he kills them brutally. He is now fighting with Wheeler over people to kill and they are on a collision course. When the two meet up with Stacia, they make her the prize. Wheeler uses her as bait to lure Walker into a showdown and it all comes to a head in a battle over territory. Amazingly, there is a mutual respect for each other and I found that very amusing.
PICK ME UP is a decent tale with a final twist that was rather fun. The two killers going head to head and competing was quite interesting and the performances were very good across the board. This isn’t an incredible movie, but it is certainly worth a watch. I recommend it.
Rating: 6.5/10
