The Hitcher Reviews

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to watch it. To be honest, I'm not usually a big fan of those cheesy 80's action movies. I mean, some of them are decent but most of them are rather underwhelming, in my opinion. However, I have definitely a weak spot for this one. Indeed, first of all, there was the mighty Rutger Hauer in all his greatness and, only for his performance, you ought to yourself to check this one out. Obviously, the story was just really preposterous but I thought it was entertaining enough and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. One of my fellow Listal friends compared this movie with Hitchcock's work in his review but that's a little bit exagerated... I mean, it is a fun piece of trash but that's it, nothing less but nothing more either and without Rutger Hauer who managed to get a lot from a very limited concept, I’m afraid the whole thing would have been pretty lame. To conclude, I thought it was a fun movie to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

This was released in an era where horrors and thrillers were becoming landmarks and where the older generation of cinema was slowly changing to the modern generation and as I was watching The Hitcher it did bring back memories of the older classic thrillers but also at the same time, was the start of something new and became the dawning of a new era. There were many moments that did give me chills with fright but there were some moments in the film that actually made me laugh in both a dark way and a lightly humorous way.


Driving cross-country from Chicago to San Diego, Jim narrowly avoids an accident when he falls asleep at the wheel. He picks up a hitchhiker to help stay awake, but within five minutes, the erratic John Ryder has threatened not only Jim's life, but also his manhood, brandishing a switchblade to the boy's crotch and ordering him to keep driving. Jim manages to escape, but soon Ryder begins a game of cat-and-mouse across the Texas highways, taunting the lad from the windows of passing cars, then leaving the corpses of his victims in their vehicles by the side of the road for Jim to discover. A sympathetic face arrives in the form of Nash, the waitress at an otherwise deserted truck stop in this bleak, abandoned landscape, but the local police soon arrive, intent on hanging Jim out to dry for the string of grisly murders. The stakes continue to mount in Ryder's little game until Jim finds himself embroiled in a statewide manhunt with Nash at his side.


As far as I recall, this was the first film ever that I have seen starring Rutger Hauer, let alone in a leading role. Rutger Hauer's performance as John Ryder was fantastic! I'll tell you who he reminded me of as in looks: a merged look-a-like of both Sir Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Walken. His scenes with C. Thomas Howell as Jim Halsey reminded me a lot of Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in The Silence Of The Lambs. I think in a lot of ways besides looks that Ryder had some similarities with Lecter except Ryder wasn't a cannibalistic serial killer but still a serial killer. Despite I felt really sorry for what was happening to Halsey at the hands of Ryder, C. Thomas Howell made me laugh throughout most of the film because he really was that innocent kid who got stuck into such dirty business and is trying to fight for his freedom as well as his life. If there is another film starring both Hauer and Howell again in a partnership like this, I will definitely be there to see it!


I must say, what solid directing! This film reminded me a lot of Steven Spielberg's Duel because it's like a road thriller where a guy is being stalked by a mad man. Harmon directed it really well and I think directors such as Martin Scorsese for Cape Fear and Adrian Lyne for Fatal Attraction felt slightly inspired by this and, quite frankly, I wouldn't really be that surprised. As for Harmon's inspiration, I think he could have felt inspired by Alfred Hitchcock when he did North By Northwest so I think this guy inspired both Hitchcock and Spielberg.


Overall, The Hitcher is a great thriller that I loved and even though that it may be an underrated thriller but it certainly is one of the best thrillers out there that will terrify its audiences and keep them stuck to the film from the first shot to the last. I haven't seen the remake but I can't quite see that it will be better than this one even though most remakes aren't as good as their originals anyway. Highly recommended thriller!