“The Hitcher” (Rogue Pictures)
Never Pick Up A Stranger
In 1986 there was a horror movie that appeared on the scene by the name of “The Hitcher.” It starred Rutger Hauer, C Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was not a monster movie with fictional ogres but the role Rutger Hauer played was horrific enough to give teenagers and even adults bad dreams for weeks after viewing it. I know it certainly stayed with me.
Now “The Hitcher” has been remade and stars Sean Bean, Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton. Knighton in a sense takes the Jennifer Jason Leigh role while Bush takes the C Thomas Howell one. Bean steps in for Hauer with chilling results.
The movie concerns two college kids, Grace and Jim (Bush and Knighton), who are taking a short vacation in New Mexico. They are headed to see some of Grace’s friends. Being good kids they pick up a hitchhiker who says his name is John Rider (Bean). After only a few short miles they regret they picked him up.
Rider is a psychopath and has murder on his mind – gruesome murder. You never learn his motivations but believe me they are bad. He also seems to know exactly where the two college kids go to hide. It is that uncanny sense that weakens the overall impact of the movie. It isn’t logical and it isn’t believable.
What is believable is that the movie is intensely scary. The drama and the gore are unceasing and after one bad thing happens, well here come two more. There is no letup until the very end. Even then you aren’t sure something else isn’t going to jump out at you.
Knighton is weak in the role of Jim while Bush makes Grace a capable and believable heroine. But it is Bean who steals the show. If you saw the first movie you probably thought no one could be as scarily evil as Hauer. Think again, because Bean seems to have gotten the evil aspects of Rider’s character down to perfection. The man can chill you with just a look
One of the scenes best remembered from the first film was one involving two semis. That scene has been transposed into this film and it is just as horrifying as ever. When you see it you will know which one I am referring to. In the original Jennifer Jason Leigh was in the scene; in this remake it is Knighton.
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
“The Hitcher” is not a great movie in any sense of the word. I don’t even think it compares that good with the original. Still it does haunt you long after it is over, and Sean Bean is a worthy successor to Hauer’s role.
I scored “The Hitcher” a thumbs up 6 out of 10.
