The Hitcher (1986) Reviews

• Why did they even remake this, no one can do what Hauer did.

  Aaron13752009-07-07

  Yes, this movie would be remade years later with Sean Bean cast as the hitchhiker that likes to play some rather brutal games and one has to wonder why. Rutger Hauer was perfectly cast here as the psycho and his performance could not have been topped. Maybe they felt the need for a female lead rather than the male one because you know how females never get the chance to be the main character who survives in a horror movie (heavy sarcasm here). This is basically a story of a young man driving in the middle of nowhere who looks to have been very bored and in the need of some company. He finds some in the form of a hitchhiker and suffice to say he should have listened to all the warnings he got of hitchhikers, but on the plus side his travels in the middle of nowhere are about to be a lot less dull. You get a great scene as the two opponents as it were square off for the first time with the young man seemingly getting the better of the hitcher in round one. Unfortunately, everyone in this desert seems to be to kind for their own good as the guy sees the psycho in a car with a family. So other face-offs with this hitcher are coming up and some will be very violent indeed. A rather good thriller/horror type movie with my main complaint coming towards the end as how was he not handled better than that? Other than that you get a very good and chilling game of cat and mouse and you get a performance by Hauer that could not have possibly been beat.

• A classic in my view!

  supertom-32002-01-03

  Starring everybody's favourite Dutchman, Rutger Hauer, this superb road movie thriller is tense, thrilling and superbly atmospheric. The first scene between the Hitcher and Jim Holsey was superb, Rutger puts in a chilling performance. Mr Hauer has a reputation for pulling off some memorable bad guy performances, namely this, Blade runner and Nighthawks, but this is my favourite of his performances. The lines he has were brilliant. The pacing of the film was very good and apart from Rutger stealing the show the other actors were good. Jennifer Jason Leigh was good in her small role and of course C Thomas Howell in the lead does a good job. Overall this gets a 9/10 from me.

• "Do I look like a killer to you?"

  Backlash0072001-11-06

  The Hitcher is a marvelous thriller and Rutger Hauer is truly scary as hell. He is undoubtedly one of the best villains in cinematic history. The game that Hauer and C. Thomas Howell play out makes for a great way to spend an hour and a half of your life. You can't help but feel sorry for Howell as he can never escape the madman. Hauer has zero motive and that makes him all the more evil. And how he always finds Howell is something that is unnerving and unexplainable. It's like their paths were meant to cross somewhere out in in the desert. Eric Red's script leaves nothing to be desired. The scene where Howell is eating french fries is one of the most unforgettable in horror history. And so is the event that leads to the capture of Hauer. The end is fantastic and it's something that you want to do through the entire movie. It will definitely make you think twice before picking up hitchhikers. If you enjoyed The Hitcher, Check out Hitch-Hike (with David Hess) and Duel.

• Quick Reviews!!

  malkane3162005-04-25

  A definitive Road Movie which features some impressive stunt work, chases and crashes, as well as a storming performance from Rutger Hauer and some shocking moments and twists. One of the best underrated films of the eighties, and apparently set to be remade. Sigh. C.Thomas Howell plays a Jim, young man with the job of driving a car for his company through the desert to California. One ominous, rainy night he sees a hitchhiker at the side of the road, and decides to pick him up. 'My mother told me never to do this' he says jokingly, but it soon becomes clear that the hiker, John Ryder is a little strange. He doesn't talk much and soon becomes violent and sadistic. Jim grows increasingly worried and gets rid of the Hitcher when he gets the chance. This gets his heart pumping, and he drives on. However, later he finds that the Hitcher is following him, and that he is a murderer, getting picked up, killing those in the car, and moving on. He is a serial killer of anyone who picks him up. When Jim sees him in the back of car with a family he tries to warn them but they don't realise. Later he finds their car, empty at the side of the road. Jim reports the deaths, but Ryder makes it look as if Jim is the killer, continually framing him. Jim meets a truck stop waitress, Nash who believes he is innocent and joins him on the road, but Ryder, and the cops are on his tail. Just when Jim thinks he is safe, that the cops believe him, Ryder appears and destroys everything again with an uncanny ability to kill and survive. Eventually he catches up with Jim and Nash, and kidnaps her. The cops come too late, and see that Jim was telling the truth all along. He has Nash in a slightly dangerous position and wants Jim to come with him to save her life. Soon the pair are on the road together in one final fight and chase where Jim becomes more and more violent and unhinged. The ambiguous ending is a source of much discussion, as are many of the unanswered questions of the film. But we're smart kids, we can figure it out. We do not need to know any motive for murder- does it matter when someone is stalking you relentlessly? This adds to the tension of the chase, and the madness to Ryder's character. The reasons do not matter, it is the fact that we will spend time trying to work it out rather than facing the fact that someone is after us and trying to deal with it. You can search for reasons afterwards, if you must. Reasons are given for comfort, so that we have something concrete to hold on to, but we are not meant to feel any comfort here. It is a nightmare which seems to get worse as it continues, and there seems to be no escape, Hitchcockian in the way the falsely accused man is sought and tries to prove his innocence. In the end this does not matter either- all that matters from the start is what happens between Jim and John. Nash is a tragic figure, showing what can happen to the innocent when they get involved with something evil. A killer of Ryder's nature does not care who gets in his way, by the point where he catches Nash, all he cares about is changing and hurting Jim. Does Jim become like Ryder by the end? Is he redeemed or cursed by getting revenge? This is up to us. Some of the crashes here rank with The Road Warrior as some of the best ever filmed. They are filmed in such a way to heighten the sense of Ryder's madness and seeming immortality, and to show the growing fear and detachment of Jim. The score is also very subtle, and the dialogue, especially between Jim and John is meant to be ambiguous and give rise to questions-Ryder is looking for a reaction and thought from Jim, as the director is from us. Hauer steals the film, giving arguably his best performance, and it remains one of the best performances in a horror movie. Howell has caused annoyance amongst critics and viewers for his performance, but he portrays the fear, naivety and excitement of a teen going out on his own for the first time. His portrayal of being wrongly accused, trying to escape the cops and Ryder, trying to save others, and eventually becoming solely interested in revenge, is perfect and could not be bettered by any other actor. Leigh as Nash is also strong and we feel sympathy for her as she is drawn deeper into the game, and she offers a softer emotional content than the two increasingly frantic men give. Say what you will of her treatment, but this was the only way Ryder could get what he wanted from Jim. A cult classic which deserves much credit and respect. 9 out of 10

• Incredible achievement in the art department, but not for everybody

  Bogey Man2002-05-15

  The Hitcher (1986) was a directing debut for Robert Harmon, who had previously worked as a cameraman. The film is written by Eric Red whose other credits as a writer include brilliant Near Dark by Kathryn Bigelow. The Hitcher tells the story of an ordinary young man, who is taking his friend's car to other state/destination through the empty and deserted roads of America. He is very tired and almost collides with a huge truck. It rains hard. Soon he notices a figure standing by the side of the road raising his thumb..Our youngster unwisely stops and says the legendary line: "My mom always told not to do this." And then, the incredible and surrealistic nightmare begins... This film is unbelievably beautifully shot and it is easy to see that Harmon was cinematographer before this directing debut. Camera flows and moves so smoothly and gently that the atmosphere is guaranteed to last throughout the film. The music by Mark Isham is also extremely important element and with the exceptional camerawork, these are the greatest elements in this piece of difficult art. The scenes are very similar in mood to Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark which has the unforgettable music by Tangerine Dream, and both films are scripted by Eric Red, as mentioned earlier. The Hitcher is one of the most beautiful terror films I've ever witnessed. The Hitcher is not a realistic film and the hitcher character played by Rutger Hauer is not a realistic human being as he can follow the young protagonist (C.J Howell) anywhere and always knows where he is. He will kill the youngster no matter what and no one can tell why. Even the hitcher himself doesn't give a clear answer when he is asked why he kills and does these horrific things. My opinion is that the hitcher is a double side of Howell's personality (everyman's personality) and he is the bad and evil side of human beings' nature. The hitcher is pure evil and no one can change his thoughts and mind, because evil cannot be changed or turned into "good." It is about which side, evil or good, is one's primary personality. There are always both sides, but the both cannot influence at the same time..Howell has to destroy the hitcher/his bad and evil side in order to continue his life and recognize and accept his and others' "dual personality" in the future. There are no good persons in the world, there are only persons who can control their bad/evil side and keep it "un-active", and so they can be considered "good." Couple of scenes are totally outstanding in their virtuosity such as the scene where two police cars are destroyed by a shotgun blast and they fly and crash in a slow motion. That kind of thing would never happen in real world, but those unrealistic scenes make this film even more nightmarish and effective. Also, the end scene between these two protagonists, Hauer and Howell, is memorable and gorgeously shot. I will definitely not spoil how this one ends, but at the end, the main character is much more wiser and knows that human beings and thus himself are not as simple as one might think.. There is no point in describing the greatest scenes in the film because the whole film is so great. It is unmatchable nightmare that has no equal in history of cinema. It handles the theme of wickedness in a form of road movie and horror movie and the result is perfect piece of art. When I said earlier "difficult art" I meant that due to the film's violence (there is not plenty, but that what is on screen is brutal and disturbing) this may be too hard to take and understand for most of the viewers. So this cannot be recommended for everybody like some mainstream movie, but people with open minds and hunger for intelligent and symbolic cinema should love this film, even though it is pretty difficult to "love" ! I have seen this three times now and it unfolds more and more with each viewing time. 10 out of 10 masterpiece.