The Hitcher (1986)

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writer:

Eric Red (written by)

Release Date:

21 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The terror starts the moment he stops.

Plot:

A young man who escaped the clutches of a murderous hitch-hiker is subsequently stalked, framed for the hitcher's crimes, and has his life made into hell by the same man he escaped.

Plot Keywords:

Roy's Motel | Route 66 | Disturbing | Very Little Dialogue | Hitchhiker

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

C. Thomas Howell	...	Jim Halsey
Rutger Hauer	...	John Ryder
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Nash
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Captain Esteridge
John M. Jackson	...	Sergeant Starr (as John Jackson)
Billy Green Bush	...	Trooper Donner (as Billy Greenbush)
Jack Thibeau	...	Trooper Prestone
Armin Shimerman	...	Interrogation Sergeant
Gene Davis	...	Trooper Dodge (as Eugene Davis)
Jon Van Ness	...	Trooper Hapscomb
Henry Darrow	...	Trooper Hancock
Tony Epper	...	Trooper Conners
Tom Spratley	...	Proprietor
Colin Campbell	...	Construction Man

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:R | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 (1986) (uncut version) | Finland:K-16 (1993) (cut version)

Filming Locations:

Amboy, California, USA

Company:

HBO Pictures

Trivia:

Screenwriter Eric Red can be seen in a cameo role toward the end of the film, playing a sheriff's deputy escorting John Ryder to the prison bus for transfer.

Goofs:

Continuity: The car that gets hit by the bus loses its bumper, but the bumper can be seen in a subsequent shot.

Quotes:

Proprietor: Well, what happened to you?
Jim Halsey: Nothing.
Proprietor: Nothing?
Jim Halsey: Nothing happened.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Far Out Man (1990)

Soundtrack:

DON'T STOP LOVIN' ME

Ryder In The Storm

Jim Morrison's foreboding lyrics say it best. "If you give this man a ride sweet memory will die, killer on the road." Traveling alone in a car on a desert highway, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) picks up a man named Ryder (Rutger Hauer), and the terror begins.

A hauntingly desolate landscape, a thunderstorm at night, and minimal dialogue make the first few minutes of "The Hitcher" a chilling atmospheric thriller. Unfortunately, although the thrills continue, the thick atmosphere soon goes away, and we're left with a long series of contrived encounters, one after another, between Halsey and Ryder. We never really get to know either man, so it's hard to care about, or understand, them. Whatever their motivations might be, their behavior seems unrealistic at best. Indeed, my biggest complaint with this film is the superhuman powers of Ryder. He's more of a nightmarish bogeyman, a psychological extension of the demon side of Halsey, than a credible film character.

"The Hitcher" has a great premise with lots of potential. But, as is, the cinematography, not the story, is the film's main strength. The script is unnecessarily weak, owing to a redundant plot, lack of realism in the action, and the lack of a character arc. If the screenwriter had made more of an effort to import a symbolic message, via more realistic action, more cryptic dialogue, and better editing, "The Hitcher" could have conveyed more cinematic force, and be remembered now as a classic, along the lines of "Psycho".