Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The Hitcher is a movie I meant to get around to seeing a long time ago, but for some reason it was just the other night I finally saw, despite the fact I have owned the DVD for weeks now.

The movie follows a young man named Jim Halsey (C.Thomas Howell - The Outsiders) who is driving a car from his home in Chicago to San Diego via Texas. After a near miss with a truck due to his tiredness, Jim picks up a Hitchhiker to help him stay awake. The man says his name is John Ryder (Rutger Hauer - Redline), after initially being creeped out by Ryder, Jim spots a car looking like it's in trouble up ahead, but Ryder forces his hand onto the accelerator so he cannot see the car.
After trying to throw Ryder out, he pulls a knife on Jim, who eventually figures out how to get him out of his car. But escaping Ryder isn't that simple, and what follows is Ryder constantly finding a way to catch and terrorise Jim and killing anyone he comes accross on the desolate stretch of road. The police blame Jim, and his family cannot be reached, so the only person who believes him and takes him seriously is a girl who he meets in a roadside diner named Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh - Fast Times at Ridgemont High). But no matter what he does, Jim cannot escape the Hitcher, and realises that even the police are powerless against him, and the only way to truly escape is to kill Ryder.

It's hard to define exactly what genre the Hitcher fits into, because while there is undoubtedley a thick horror element running through it, it isn't really a straight up horror movie, and has a lot in common with survival movies like Straw Dogs, in that the main character is clearly a different person at the end of the movie than he is at the start. When Jim first pulls over to let the Hitcher in and he says "my mother told me never to do this", he is textbook sheltered innocence. By the end of the movie he has seen and experienced more hardships than he ever will again, and is both physically and mentally much stronger. Fairly early he contemplates suicide, but rather than change his mind due to strength, he just doesn't have it in him. By the climax, surrender isn't something that even crosses his mind.
The plot is at the same time an enthralling tale and incredibly flawed, depending on how you look at it. There is no explanation given for how Ryder manages to constantly find Jim, escape the police and the less said about how he manages to get into a room, kidnap Nash, tie her up, get back to the room to put the TV on to alert Jim and somehow get back to where Nash is being held and alert the police in a matter of seconds is pretty silly, the better, but the thing about the movie that is never even remotely explained is if Ryder is even human. He seems to be supernatural, only Jim can stop him, but while this really should be a fault, it does nothing but add an air of mystery to the picture that somehow makes it even more likeable.
If there is one fault that a lot of people bring up, it's that Nash is very trusting of Jim, despite only meeting him a few hours prior, personally I wasn't bothered by these faults, because the story succeeds so much in drawing you in that it becomes hard to not believe what is happening. The movie is often described as a 'nightmare' and that is a description that is spot on, the entire thing has a dream-like quality that gives it a feel of a nightmare viewed from third person perspective.
While I don't want to spoil it for anyone, the movie does contain one of those scenes where you sit and say to yourself, "they aren't going to do it, they'lle find a way out of it,HOLY S**T THEY JUST DID THAT!".

The acting in the movie is pretty top notch. Although only two characters were really required to shine, they do it admirably well and have superb chemistry.Hauer puts in the performance of a lifetime as Ryder, he is intense, scary and incredibly memorable in his role. I doubt anyone who has seen this picture will ever look at him in the same light again, his performance is so chilling as the Hitcher.
Howell is also excellent as Jim, playing both the naive youngster and the battle hardened man at the end of the movie brilliantly and making Jim's transition from one to the other completely believeable. Howell was a 'brat pack' actor if ever there was one, but here he definitely does himself proud and I doubt you will ever see a better performance from him.

The music in the film is really quite minimal, and to the movie's credit it doesn't use music to try and build up tension, it relies on the actors and the story, both of which are more than competant, meaning it gets away with little music, but at the same time, the lack of music also helps add to the desolate atmosphere of the seemingly endless desert.

The film isn't over flowing with special effects, some blood, a few corpses, car crashes and a helicopter explosion, all of them handled well. A lot of people make a big thing about the gore in this picture, but unless the most recent UK DVD is censored, there really wasn't all that much. Granted in the two scenes there were gore, it was a bit graphic, but that was to heighten the shock of it being there. The stunt where the two police cars crash and flip is spectacular, especially because it comes out in a movie that isn't stunt based.

At the end of the day, I feel the Hitcher deserves 4 stars. While it is an excellent movie, and one that I can definitely say I will be watching again, it does have enough plot holes to ensure that it won't get full marks, but the fact that they actually kind of add to the movie means that it was never going to score less than 3, but the excellent performances from the two leads, coupled with the intense and excellent plot put it above to well above average. If you are a fan of horror movies, The Hitcher is definitely worth a look, or even a purchase. It's often described as a Slasher, which is totally off, its an interesting combination of horror, psychological thriller and survival movie that you won't be able to take your eyes off until it's over. While it's plot isn't perfect, if you go over it scrutinising ever fault then you will find quite a few, but if you are looking for a superb and enthralling horror ride, and are willing to let a few plot errors slip, you will find yourself with an excellent movie, and definitely a highlight in the careers of both it's stars.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age