PopHorror Let's Get Scared
This cautionary tale about a young, cross country driver picking up the wrong passenger at the wrong time builds from a simmer to a rolling boil over the course of ninety-seven white knuckle minutes. It grabs hold of the viewer, shakes them violently, and never lets them go until, at last, the credits mercifully roll. Mix up equal parts of Steven Spielberg’s Duel and James Cameron’s The Terminator and add in an unforgettable, tour de force performance from Rutger Hauer, and you’ve got The Hitcher.
Come take a look back with us on this incredible horror gem, 35 years later. I promise you, it’s a road trip you won’t forget!
The Hitcher (1986) Synopsis
While transporting a car from Chicago to San Diego, Jim Halsey picks up a hitchhiker named John Ryder, who claims to be a serial killer. After a daring escape, Jim hopes to never see Ryder again. But when he witnesses the hitchhiker murdering an entire family, Jim pursues Ryder with the help of truck-stop waitress Nash, pitting the rivals against each other in a deadly series of car chases and brutal murders.
The Hitcher is screenwriter Eric Red (Near Dark, Body Parts)’s first feature film. It is also Director Robert Harmon (They, Nowhere To Run)’s feature debut. The film stars C. Thomas Howell (Red Dawn, Beast Mode), Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Split Second), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Single White Female, The Hateful Eight).
Check out the iconic, chilling, oft imitated poster art below!
Release and Reception
Silver Screen/HBO and TriStar Pictures released The Hitcher to 794 theaters on February 21, 1986. The film opened in 8th place, taking $2.1 million its opening weekend, behind a slew of holdovers including The Color Purple, Wildcats, The Delta Force, F/X, and Out of Africa. The following weekend it fell to 11th place, adding just over $1 million before disappearing from the top of the charts. At the end of a nearly one year theatrical run, The Hitcher grossed $7.9 million against a $5.4 million budget.
Critics at the time weren’t kind. Roger Ebert called it “diseased and corrupt” and “reprehensible,” offering a 0 star, Thumbs Down review. In an appearance on The Tonight Show, when asked if the film should be censored, Ebert replied, “The film should be made, it should be shown, and it should not be attended by anybody.”
Ebert’s cohort, Gene Siskel, was similarly unimpressed, calling it “a nauseating thriller.” Siskel suggested that The Hitcher “may satisfy the mentally deficient” and, after spoiling Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character’s on screen fate, said he was “appalled.” Another 0 star, Thumbs Down review. Interestingly enough, at one point Siskel sarcastically quips “What a boost to home video this film is going to be.” He obviously didn’t mean that with the same love and reverence I do!
The years and reviews have been kinder to The Hitcher than critics in 1986 were. IMDB user reviews rate it a solid 7.2 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes reviews have climbed to 62% positive (Fresh) over the years, with a 75% audience score. Forget Siskel and Ebert. This movie rules.
“My Mother Told Me Never To Do This…”
The Hitcher opens with Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) driving his car in the pouring rain in the middle of nowhere. He’s tired. Alone. He can’t see. His cigarette isn’t helping. Anyone who’s driven in zero visibility or fought to stay awake on a long haul can relate to how stressful this situation is. Halsey falls asleep at the wheel and is nearly killed by an oncoming truck. This is an interesting development, because what follows certainly feels like a surreal nightmare. In an alternate reality, The Hitcher might very well be simply Halsey’s behind-the-wheel dream. But no. This is all very real, and it’s terrifying.
Halsey stops the car to pick up a mysterious stranger at the side of the road. That stranger is John Ryder, played to sinister perfection by Rutger Hauer. It seems like a harmless enough gesture. Surely this stranger will be grateful to get out of the rain. And certainly having some company on the trip might help Halsey stay awake. What could possibly go wrong?
As it turns out, a lot.
It isn’t long before Halsey realizes John Ryder isn’t just a down on his luck hitchhiker. He’s creepy, he’s intimidating…he’s a killer. The duo pass a car on the side of the road. Ryder informs Halsey there’s no need to stop to check on the driver, “Because I cut off his legs…and his arms…and his head…and I’m going to do the same to you.”
Shit!
With some quick thinking and a little luck, Halsey manages to get Ryder out of the car. He escapes into the night after an incredibly intense exchange. Unfortunately for Halsey, this nightmare is just beginning.
“I Want You To Stop Me”
Following his narrow escape, Halsey thinks he’s in the clear, but before long he realizes getting away from a killer like Ryder is no easy feat. What follows is a series of ever-escalating encounters, each crazier, and more terrifying than the last. You really feel Halsey’s hopelessness as you realize, as he does, there’s just no escape.
At the highest level, this film works because of Rutger Hauer. He’s played some great villains over the years, but John Ryder might very well be his most sinister turn. He’s like the Terminator: relentless. Unstoppable. Incredibly resourceful. And he absolutely will not stop…ever, until you are dead!
As great as Hauer is, this film wouldn’t work without an equally impressive performance from C. Thomas Howell. Howell’s Halsey character is relatable and believable as an everyman who’s strong enough to not be helpless, yet sensitive and vulnerable enough to make the audience feel the fear his character is most certainly feeling this entire journey.
Jennifer Jason Leigh’s “Nash” is tough and equally believable as a crucial cog in The Hitcher machine, but it’s interesting, and frankly refreshing, to see Halsey as the “final boy” of this film, which doesn’t succumb to making Nash a helpless, screaming cliché or an unrealistic, eye candy love interest.
The journey is wild. It goes to 11. And just when you think it can’t get any crazier, it does. I mean it when I say you’ll be on the edge of your seat from start to finish. I can also guarantee you you’ll never look at a plate of French Fries the same way again.
Trivia and Minutia
- Earlier choices for “John Ryder” include Sam Elliott, Terrence Stamp, Sam Shepard, Sting, David Bowie, Michael Ironside, and Harry Dean Stanton
- Emilio Estevez, Matthew Modine, Charlie Sheen, and Tom Cruise were considered for “Jim Halsey”
- The original script called for an “eyeball in the hamburger” at the Diner
- Screenwriter Eric Red cites The Doors song “Riders On The Storm” as the story’s inspiration.
- C. Thomas Howell admits he was genuinely afraid of Rutger Hauer while filming The Hitcher because of the Dutch actor’s crazy intensity.
- The film inspired a sequel in 2003: The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting, which also starred C. Thomas Howell, and a 2007 remake starring Sean Bean
Final Thoughts
People like to throw the word “masterpiece” around. I don’t care. I’ll say it: this movie is a masterpiece of tension and dread. I loved it as a teenager, and it was an absolute pleasure to revisit it. If you want to watch the movie, it’s rarely on streaming, but you can find copies on VHS, DVD, and Blu/4k pretty easily. I hear it might even be on YouTube if you get desperate.
“You wanna know what happens to an eyeball when it gets punctured? Do you got any idea how much blood jets out of a guy’s neck when his throat’s been slit?” Of course you do. If you’ve never seen The Hitcher, do yourself a favor and check it out. If you’re like me and it’s been years since you last saw it, you owe it to yourself to watch it again. In an era when cell phones and GPS and fuel injection ruin a lot of older horror films, The Hitcher still holds up. This is one road trip you absolutely need to take.
What do you think, Horror Fam? Any fans of The Hitcher out there in PopHorror land? Tell us in the comments!
