User reviews

Rutger Hauer owns The Hitcher. He hitches a ride with C Thomas Howell and he soon regrets his goodwill. People are killed along the way and the good Samaritan finds himself in deep doo doo. JJ Leigh appears as a waitress who gets tied up with the events. Howell spirals into Dante's Inferno with cops on the chase. Although farfetched I was entertained by the movie.

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 normal ordinary guy picks up a stranger in the middle of nowhere so that he could drive awake. Little does he know that he's going into a road trip from hell...

Rutger Hauer give what I think is his best performance. Sure, there was that menacing Replicant in Blade Runner, but this one overshoots it by a long shot. He delivers a performance so good, that you'll find it difficult to question whether his character is believable or unbelievable.

C. Thomas Howell, one one of the kids in Steven Spielberg's ET, plays the protagonist. Here, he faces every driver's worst nightmare imaginable, and he delivers it with realism. Howell also demonstrates how an ordinary teenager can change into a helpless being who is caught between a psychopathic game of cat-and-mouse set by a brutal man hell-bent on killing him.

The nice New Mexico cinematography of which the film was filmed and set gives tranquility to the picture and makes the film looks good while delivering the thrills. Strongly supporting this topic is composer Mark Isham's gritty yet beautiful score. It;s just perfect for this kind of movie.

The action sequences are handled very nicely here. We got a petrol station blowing up, an intense police car chase, and one of the greatest endings in cinematic history. Period.

The Hitcher (1986) is one of the first films I have ever watched, and I still cherish it to this day. The 2007 remake, or rather, reDO, is a shallow and uninspiring music-videoish piece of crud that will only be liked by the MTV generation, but never the fans of the original. Why was it remade, we will never know.

Overall, it is an excellent movie and one of the best thrillers ever made. Pick this one up, guys, it's worth it.

8/10

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.

Murder Spree Road Flick. Contains many fairly stupid moments ("plot holes") and yet remains gripping throughout its length. Graphic, stunning violence; be warned.

Howell is slightly vapid yet pretty and his relations with Rutger Hauer verge on the homo-erotic. Hauer is a near-perfect villain, demonstrating the steely resolve and psychological impenetrability that have made him a favorite "bad guy" in other films.

A great movie for the paranoid who wish to feed their fantasies. Owes something to Spielberg's "Duel" but remains its own film. Relatively spare visual style well-suited to the theme. Recommended, but not for the faint of heart.

The first time I saw this movie it just about terrified me....and few films have ever done that to me as an adult. Rutger Hauer was haunting as the demented killer.

The film moves very fast in this story of a maniac stalking a young motorist (C. Thomas Howell). Two subsequent viewings have quieted the fear but it's still a very chilling film and should keep most people riveted to the screen. It's an hour- and-a-half that will fly by with action and suspense.

On the negative side, not once but twice we have to watch Howell vomit. Neither he nor female lead Jennifer Jason Leigh are likable "good guys." (Of course, when has Leigh ever been a "good person" on screen?) The police, as usual in films, are pictured as sadistic, short-tempered idiots. Finally, credibility gets stretched a bit, particularly in the last 30 minutes.

So....expect a lot of good and a fair share of bad in this film. But, overall, it will be a film that will get your attention, beginning with Mr. Hauer.

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.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Jim Halsey (C Thomas Howell) is a young man driving his car down a freeway one night who suddenly decides to stop for a man who is hitching a ride. That man is John Ryder (Rutger Hauer.) From the off-set, he doesn't make himself out to be a nice guy and he doesn't let up from there- threatening to kill Jim for no reason and making him sweat for his life. Jim manages to get rid of his twisted assailant- only to be thrown headlong into a maze of murderous mayhem as 'The Hitcher' goes on a killing spree (involving a lot of cops) with Jim getting taken as the scape-goat.

The film opens with a masterful bolt of suspense- in a thunderous rain-shower, The Hitcher holds out his thumb as a crack of thunder erupts over-head, setting the scene for the suspenseful, scary ride that's about to follow.

Hauer lives and breathes the role. In a career that sadly (because I really like the guy) declined into an endless sludge of direct to video hell shortly afterwards, this is quite possibly the role he'll best be remembered for (after all, he was only the co-star in Blade Runner.) Ryder is a cold, mean psycho whose only motivation seems to be to cause as much terror as he can. In his opening scene, he masterfully transforms very quickly from a bit of an arsehole into a threatening madman, as he explains to his charge why the last guy who gave him a ride won't get out to call for help. No clear explanation is ever discovered as to why he does what he does, the closest we get to this being a chat across a table in a diner, in which he offers "you're a smart boy...figure it out."

In the main supporting role Howell also shines (though nowhere near as much as Hauer), as the beleaguered, petrified young man whose endurance and sanity is pushed to breaking point. In an early role, Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a bit of an impression as the cafe owner's daughter love interest.

Spielberg's Duel first dealt with a man being hounded on an American highway for no reason...you are only left to guess 'The Hitcher' is meant to be the mad truck driver's brother. ****

Great film with twists and authenticity. Storyline is brilliant.

The idea for this movie was a good one and I was expecting it to be a lot better. On the positive side the desert/ghost town atmosphere is very good for a scary movie.The acting is pretty good, Hauer definitely does a good job as the killer. The problem with the movie is one that is just so damn unbelievable. Now I have this problem to a lesser extent with a lot of movies but this one just takes it so far that it totally ruins it for me. The killer manages to be everywhere with little explanation of how he got thee. Not only that, but he seems to be able to move and kill silently without anyone noticing until an opportune moment when he suddenly appears to the protagonist. His seemingly supernatural powers also allow him to take out an entire police station at one point (without waking up the guy sleeping in the jail below it) and those are just a few examples. If this kind of thing doesn't bother you then you may enjoy this movie but it seems to me the movie would've been a lot better if they had made it a bit more realistic.

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.

C. Thomas Howell stars as Jim a man who picks up a hitch hiker named John Ryder (Rutger Hauer in an effective performance) who makes life a living hell for Jim, by sticking a finger in his fries or framing him , Is Ryder really killing people or is it Jim's imagination. The Hitcher faced a critical bashing and all of it was unjust, The Hitcher is such a tightly wound thriller, that it will give even the strongest horror fans a jolt. It's certainly better then 2001's Joy Ride.

Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh give very memorable performances in this classic cat-and-mouse thriller directed by well-known TV movie director Robert Harmon.

The story is very simple. Hauer is an utterly psychotic serial killer who is hitch-hiking his way from one victim to another. Howell is a young man trying to deliver a luxury car from Chicago to California. Hauer defines creepiness, and Howell plays his perfect complement, as the unwilling hero.

Fortunately, the script remains devoid of clichés and does not over-do dialog. Instead, we are presented with one tense and disturbing action scenario after another as Howell goes to any length to avoid his hitcher-turned-stalker, and Hauer's obsessive game becomes more and more menacing. Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a nice early appearance as the one person seemingly willing to believe Howell and provide some help.

The story is similar to Spielburg's classic Duel (1971), but more flashy, slightly more human, and just a little more believable. Believability is problematic for both plots, but both films are so well made that it's easy to ignore their absurdities. The horror in The Hitcher is very strongly implied, but never fully presented. The story relies on psychological terror which both actors create with apparent ease.

The cinematography is solid, if not terribly innovative. The editing and directing are excellent - as the film maintains a perfect pace and pitch throughout.

Recommended for thriller fans.

This is an Excellent Thriller!! all the way through.

Jim Halsey (Thomas C. Howell) is transporting another car to cali, when he picks up a Hitcher along the way, the mistake of his life. At first the Hitcher seems like your average traveller with a cold, his name is John Ryder. After a few scares in the car Jim asks John to get out, but that is only giving John the upper hand of the game, John has plans for Jim. John tells Jim he's going to cut off his arms,legs and head as he done to the previous guy, but first Jim has got too say four word "I-want-to-die" after Jim pushes John out the car, he thinks he's safe, but cat and mouse has just started.

The acting is great and polished, the plot is original, and Rugter Hauers Prefromance as the Hitcher is Excellent, Scary and slick. from great settings and action holes this is a top thriller from the later 80's, The eerie music keeps you on the end of your seat.

10/10 FANTASTIC!

I don't find most horror and thriller movies actually scary. But when I'm having a really bad nightmare that is scary. The Hitcher is one of the closest movies I've seen that have a real nightmare feel. The kind of where someone is chasing you and wherever you go it's there again! And the more you run away, the more chaotic the overall situation becomes. The nightmare analogy also fits because the villain here is a mysterious character and the things he does seem sometimes random and weird like in dreams.

I wouldn't consider it a horror film but it does have a feeling of a slasher villain because there's something almost supernatural about him how he always pops up everywhere. Also the simple but atmospheric music enhances the haunting and desperate tone.

It's a well made thriller that really thrills a lot. Maybe even too stressful for my tastes but at the same time I have to give it some credit for being so genuinely effective. If you like stuff like Cape Fear and it doesn't make you want to punch the tv then this might be just up your alley.

I saw the relatively high rating and decided to give this a shot. I was going in blind, but the fact that the film was labelled as a horror and made in the 80's gave me a rough idea of what was to be expected (meaning some amount of camp and a low degree of self-seriousness). I was dead wrong, I was pretty much floored by the opening sequence alone: the lonesome car driving through the desert just before nightfall as a menacing storm is brewing in the background reminded me of the big open landscape sequences in Badlands, only exponentially more sinister. I started to suspect at this point that I had stumbled upon something special, and as soon as Rutger Hauer appeared on screen my suspicions were confirmed. I believe that putting this film into words would be doing it a disservice but I'll try to spend a few sentences on it regardless. The atmosphere is distinctly tense and dreamlike from beginning to end. The logic of the film, although reminiscent of it, is clearly separated from that of the world that exists outside of it. I would generally dismiss this as a negative aspect, but in the context of this specific picture John Ryder's perverted brand of omnipotence bestows a metaphysical quality upon him which elevates the character from a campy slasher-trope type to the incarnation of some dark, higher intent. The film feels like a fevered hallucination, the aesthetics of which are impeccably suggestive: the textures are grimy, the interiors are gloomy, the characters' skins are stained and sweaty. As alluded to previously, the logic that the characters surrounding the protagonist seem to abide by is nightmarishly slanted, leaving you feeling a deep sense of dread at the thought of being stuck in a foreign land with no allies, no reasonable people willing to lend a helping hand. Topping it all off is the soundtrack, which I wouldn't know how to even describe: although clearly a product of its time, it seemed glaringly subversive in a multitude of aspects, menacing enough to nicely complement the on-screen mayhem yet occasionally inducing highly atypical emotional interpretations of some sequences and imagery. All of the film's elements seemed to harmoniously tie into the same core concept: somewhat familiar, yet deeply foreign. As the story was approaching its climactic culmination, I started to believe that what I was witnessing must had been the turmoiled crossing of a threshold, the hallucinatory internal journey of an agonising Jim Halsey trapped in a flaming wreck after a deadly, initial collision with the truck (in the beginning of the film, he barely avoids crashing into one). This may not be the case as intended by the filmmakers, and likely so, but I'll always stand in admiration of any artwork capable of summoning such wild and enticing convictions in me.

In closure, a lot of films have tried (and many still do) to earn the right to be defined as "Lynchian", to varying degrees of merit. I believe that this film not only fully deserve such a title, but that it also contributed to expand, in my personal view, what the term could come to entail if approached radically, differently, subversively. I would strongly recommend giving this one a chance.

The story was new to me and the plot was exciting. Overall a good classic from the 80s.

A cat spends the day chasing a mouse. When he finally corners the mouse, he takes sadistic delight in batting it around, playing with it before it goes in for the kill. The cat wishes to savor the look of fear on its prey, instead of merely indulging the reward it's worked so hard to catch. This is the predator/prey relationship evidenced in "The Hitcher," one of the most relentlessly intense and mean-spirited horror films ever made.

Since the setting is the desert, I suppose it would make more sense to call John Ryder (played by Rutger Hauer) a vicious coyote, who is picked up one rainy night by a stray lamb named Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell). Ryder, who's apparently been murdering people all over the desert, is looking to do the same with Halsey, who cheats death only to be tormented for the rest of the film by this savage predator. The coyote craves a challenge--in fact, he seems to live for it.

Nothing else needs to be said. "The Hitcher" relies so heavily on a plot that weaves in and out of 'the expected' that any further description would spoil the fun. The two leads are excellent--Rutger Hauer has created one of the great villains of modern cinema, and C. Thomas Howell is a sympathetic and believable victim driven to madness. While the film isn't necessarily deep, the high-energy cast, moody desert settings and twisty script fuel this effort for 98 intense minutes. 3.5 stars out of 5.

Hitcher takes a great story and turns it into an unbelievable, frustrating mess. Murphy's Law is definitely the premise of this movie. It becomes so frustrating watching everything go wrong. And the movie is unbelievable to a ridiculous degree. The only good thing about this movie is Rutger Hauer who plays his part perfectly. And it is occasionally suspenseful when you're not too busy laughing at it.