The Hitcher: Amazon.ca: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn, John M. Jackson, Billy Green Bush, Jack Thibeau, Armin Shimerman, Gene Davis, Jon Van Ness, Henry Darrow, Tony Epper, John Seale, Robert Harmon, Charles R. Meeker, David Bombyk, Edward S. Feldman, Kip Ohman, Paul Lewis, Eric Red: DVD

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Steven Spielberg's first feature film, 1971's Duel, is set on a desert highway. It stars Dennis Weaver as a driver being pursued by a menacing truck, which is following him with all the vengeance of the ancient furies. In this spiritual update from 1984, C. Thomas Howell plays a guy taking a drive-away car from Chicago to San Diego. On a whim, in the rain, and against his better judgment, he picks up a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer). The hitcher quickly admits to being a murdering psychopath, and once Howell finally gets him out of his car, he is pursued with all the vengeance of the ancient furies. We're never sure if the hitcher is a figment of his imagination, making Howell a schizophrenic killer, or if he's real and Howell is the random victim of a wandering madman, which is how his potential new girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) thinks of him. Either way, The Hitcher is great fun, kinda scary, and teetering on the brink of "must see." --Andy Spletzer

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Customer Reviews

83 Reviews

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (83 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just A Ride!, April 26 2004

By

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Hitcher (DVD)

One of the scariest movies I have ever seen, The Hitcher is relentless in its intensity. Jim Halsey (C. Howell) picks up a hitchhiker (R. Hauer) on his way to San Diego who soon admits he killed his last ride. Hauer says, "You know that driver from that last car? I cut off his legs". It doesn't take more than that before Jim is able to trick and force the 'hitcher' out of his car. Thinking that it's over, Jim soon sees the hitcher riding in another family's car, knowing he will kill them all. Reporting him to the police is of no use and even after they capture him, he pulls a shocking twist on everyone. Jim befriends a lonely waitress (J. J. Leigh) who believes his story, but soon she ends up in the middle (literally) between them (the most revolting scene in the film). It's a suspenseful, non-stop, killer maniac fright ride. It becomes clear the hitcher is out to frame Jim for multiple murders or kill him. The ending is just as frightening as the rest, but I guarantee you won't leave this film feeling good - just shaken up. Not for the squeamish, but maybe a good date movie.

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4.0 out of 5 stars classic horror suspense that stands up well over 20 years later (4.2/5), Aug 30 2007

By

falcon "disdressed12" (canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Hitcher (DVD)

i thought this was a very good movie.it had action and suspense.it was
very intense in some scenes.i also thought Rutger Hauer was very
convincing as a psycho,while C.Thomas Howell is good as the
hero.Jennifer Jason Leigh is also good in a supporting role.there is
also a very inventive and nail biting scene that i won't give away
here.another thing i really liked was the fact that many things are
implied,but not shown,adding another dimension to the movie.this movie
certainly had me on the edge of my seat a lot.to me,The Hitcher(1986)is
a classic,and still stands up well today.it's low budget,but
effective.i give this movie 4.2/5

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5.0 out of 5 stars Where should I begin?!, Jun 12 2004

By

P. Woods (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Hitcher (DVD)

Ok, one of my favourite movies ever, this is. I know it seems strange now, it isn't an epic with outstanding performances and great set pieces and all that, it's just a plain old, fun 80s horror road movie, but I just love it all the same.

Rutger Hauer is imensely scary as a (not so freaky killer like Jason or Michael, nor a gruesome killer) but a sharp, haunting character with an icy personality. C Thomas Howell is very good as a young teenager. He starts off in the film to be a bit geeky, but once he meets Hauer he starts to get a little freaky himself. They are basically the two main characters in this.

The film -- as you probably know -- is about C Thomas Howell delivering a drive-away car (let me just say I don't like the review from Digibiong! because he says there is a mistake on the license plate of the car, but it's a drive-away car so it doesn't matter) and he has to deliver it to San Dieago, on the way he picks up a stranger on the road, he seems like a nice guy, but he turns out to be quite psychotic. Howell is able to push the stranger out of the car and carry on down the road, but the hitcher isn't done yet, he starts to play a deadly game with Howell, like getting the police onto him, framing him, killing people in front of his eyes and all stuff like that. The film doesn't drag at the start, it starts off straight away with Howell picking the stranger up and it gets darker and darker every time.

The gore in this film isn't that bad, we do HEAR a woman get pulled apart, but we don't SEE it. We never really do see a lot of deaths happen in the film, but I think that's what makes the film scary. It can be very atmospheric at times, but a lot of the scary parts happen in the day-time. When we come to the conclusion it gets a little dissapointing since it doesn't go on for long and I was expecting a great confrontation.

So, that's "the hitcher", one of my favourite movies. Road movies are my favourite genre of movies and here are a couple more good ones:

Breakdown
Convoy
Duel
Hitcher 2: I've been waiting

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely MAGNIFICENT one of the greats of the 80s
Like many, I saw this totally haunting film late night on HBO by myself as a child. The opening scene is quite simply perfectly executed, and one of the most frightening and... Read more

Published on May 7 2004 by C.J. Hustwick