The Hitchhiker: Nightshift

release year: 1983
genre: suspense
viewing setting: home DVD, 8/7/05

synopsis: A mean nurse rules the night shift at a retirement home...until she gets a strange new resident.

impressions: This is a 30-minute episode of a mid-1980s series on HBO. Each tale is bookended by the coming and going (with some narration to the viewer) of the hitchhiker, a mysterious drifter who knows it all. This episode, while a little slow at times, had a great twist at the end. It just goes to show you, you should never be mean to old people.

things to watch for: The payoff at the end.

something this movie has that no other movie has: I could tell you, but I'd spoil it for you.

acting: Margot Kidder was the rude, uncaring nurse. Darren McGavin was the weird old homeless man.

final word: This one was good, with a supernatural element that made for a nice ending.

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