Taking a trip with a loved one can bring about all sorts of joys. It can take in nature and the beauty of wildlife. However when these loved ones take a trip they might just hit a snag. You see they hate the sight of each other, one is a drunk reporter (Nero) and the other is a grade A super bitch (Clery). She is a rich girl whose father owns his newspaper. He is washed up, as everyone thinks he married her for the job and because daddy had some influence. So cozy, loving break will be anything but. Starting in a camp near to a lake, they just cant stop hitting and hurting each other. Blows to the head, attempted rape and rifles totting in between. As they argue and fight along the course of their journey they happen upon a hitch hiker (Hess). He is the sort of guy who feels murder, rape and violence are just what any good time needs. He also has a few other secrets along the way. These include his involvement in a robbery, his gun in his pants and his taste for the bitches body. So let us join them on their trip through America’s wild frontier, as blood, bullets and breasts are shed.
David Hess is an actor that often draws a connection to all things sleazy and exploitative. Take it from the view that Hess had been a star in two very infamous films and often had a level pf nihilism in his work. This film is very much positioned at this cross road. Although it has the credibility of Franco Nero as its lead to bolster it, be under no illusion that it wants to explore the fine line between titillation and exploitation. I found the film to be often irrational in its hostility to youth, aggressively absurd in its depicting rape and concent. It is also violent in abstract ways, with clear nods to Easy Rider, Duel and Electra Glide in Blue. Overall it is a film that will challenge and for some might be a step to far. You see Italian cinema of this period can be a bridge to far and I understand that some hate sleaze, sex and violence. I don’t but only if it has something worth saying…. This does but I dont think I know what it is….
The disc is plain but 88 films have worked hard at getting a rare film out from the wilderness. This is commendable and might just deserve a purchase. This is a well worthwhile film in many senses.
