The Hitchhiker: Ghostwriter

Unfortunately writers are not like painters. When they die, the value of their work does not necessarily increase. Trust me, my old house lost plenty of authors and hardly saw any bump afterwards. Somehow, that happened for gothic writer Jeffrey Hunt, except he is not really dead. He faked his death to reap the anticipated benefits. In contrast, movie fans always valued the recently departed M. Emmet Walsh, who invariably brought plenty of sly attitude to every classic character performance, like Det. Underhill, who is investigating Hunt’s death. Fans know it will be dangerous to underestimate him in the “Ghostwriter” episode of The Hitchhiker.

Hunt was reasonably well-reviewed, but he just never sold. However, his slimy agent Tony Lynch never dropped him, presumably because he was sleeping with Hunt’s wife, Debby. Naturally, Debby assumes she can finally be with Lynch when her husband reportedly drove his car into the ocean, to his watery death. She is therefore quite surprised and alarmed to find Hunt back home, having witnessed their passionate embrace.  Of course, she and Lynch quickly figure out since the world thinks Hunt is already dead, they have a free hand to murder him for real.

Originally, The Hitchhiker was supposed to be HBO’s slightly naughty dark thriller anthology, but the sex and nudity seem relatively mild today. The small ensemble is also packed with talent. Naturally, the drawly insinuating Walsh is reliably entertaining. Willem Dafoe is also quite satisfyingly creepy as the bug-eyed Hunt. Frankly, we do not see enough of him playing sinister characters.

Likewise, Barry Bostwick is aptly sleazy as Lynch. Former model Dayle Haddon has not had a dramatic screen credit since the last 1990s, but she was clearly cast to fulfill HBO’s requirements. She cannot match the flamboyance of the other two, but she rounds out the Body Heat-ish trio well enough.

This is not Walsh’s most important role, but it is a great example of how he elevated everything he appeared in. Frankly, Det. Underhill is not always so observant, but he always projects a sense of sardonic craftiness. It is a shame The Hitchhiker is not currently streaming online, but it is available on DVD (and “findable” on the internet). Highly recommended for fans of Walsh, Dafoe, and vintage anthologies, “Ghostwriter” is still a lot of fun to watch.