A small intimate film that explores the interactions between a desparate criminal posing as a hitch-hiker and kidnapping two friends. The tensions that mount are revealed excrustiatingly, we come to like the victims and care for their suffering. The killer kid-napper is presented as ruthless and cruel, making us hate him all the more. A film with no set-pieces and the desert as its set is allowed to concentrate on the faces at each stage and the police gradually tracking them down. As the tension mounts and the insane edges of the killer come to the surface the film reaches a taut climax. If the climax is too quick and underplayed, it is realistic. The film rises above humble b-movie status and provides an excellent character study. 8/10.
Special Thanks to Mark Coyle for this Movie Review.