In the opening of Robert Harmon’s The Hitcher, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), who is delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego, finds himself very early one morning on that dreaded West Texas long haul most drivers would rather avoid. To keep himself awake, he makes a classic and dreadful (at least in movies) mistake by picking up a hitchhiker who goes by the name John Ryder (Rutger Hauer).
Buy The Hitcher Blu-rayMost scary about Rutger Hauer is his disarmingly charming smile, and that glint in his eye that could be friendly and could also be very, very unfriendly. It takes time for Hauer to break through the charm and into the diabolical demon that harbors his murderous nature. When Jim and Ryder see a broken down car at the side of the road, Jim wants to help, but Ryder presses down hard on Jim’s right leg and forces the car to race by. Instead of being coy, Ryder flat out tells Jim they cannot stop because he murdered and dismembered the driver. Ryder says he plans to do the same to Jim. Ryder has left his car door ajar and is not wearing a seatbelt. Jim sees his opportunity, swings his leg around to kick Ryder out onto the highway, and the game of cat and mouse begins.
And it really is a game of cat and mouse. Jim meets a waitress who believes his story. He also runs into conveniently unintelligent police who are effectively deceived by Ryder into believing Jim is the actual killer on the loose. So Ryder does something terrible and convinces the police that Jim is the bad guy; then Jim escapes the police through the help of Nash; Ryder gets one over on Jim; and Jim gets one over on Ryder. Repetitive but interesting, parts of the process loop two and three times.
C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh are both very young in The Hitcher and their inexperience shows, especially the scenes where Howell and Leigh have to carry the picture by themselves while mostly looking surprised to find themselves in yet another movie. Hauer, on the other hand, is more than enough actor to carry the film for the entire distance and then some. His charm and disarming creepiness help turn The Hitcher into a classic of ’80s horror thrillers.
Bonus Features:
- Archival Commentary with Director Robert Harmon and Writer Eric Red
- Bullseye: An Interview with Director Robert Harmon
- Theatrical Trailer
