Director Richard Franklin, who also made Psycho II, is a self-confessed Hitchcock fanatic, and this scary thriller is full of references to The Master. Truck driver Stacy Keach has in his cab a magazine called Hitchcock, and the leading female character is not only called Hitch but is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Psycho's Janet Leigh. The resulting mix of murder and mystery, seen entirely from Keach's point of view, is a combination of Duel and Rear Window. The device of Keach talking aloud to himself (and being answered by his own thoughts) is faultlessly done, and the two leading performances perfectly balanced. The audience is continually kept guessing, but Franklin finds time for one or two demonstrations of flair: such as the flashing lightning that suddenly reveals the 'killer' van and its owner, as if from nowhere; or a suspicious Keach, training binoculars on the van-driver, only to turn away again just as the man looks up and straight at him. The climax is a nerve-grinding affair and includes a glorious twist when everyone who suspects Keach closes in on him, while the actual killer begins to recede into the crowd.

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