THE HITCHER: A Cult Classic Comes Home...Again

THE HITCHER (Blu-ray)

1986 / 97 min

FROM WARNER BROS

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

It’s safe to say a lot of physical media collectors have just scratched a missing title off their list, because The Hitcher is finally available on Blu-ray and 4K in the U.S. 

For those unaware, this 1986 horror/thriller features a young man named Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), who’s heading the California in a drive-away car. He foolishly picks up hitchhiker John Ryder (Rutger Hauer), a psychotic killer who proceeds to terrorize Halsey throughout the remainder of the film, pursuing him down barren Texas highways while also framing the kid for his own handiwork (having already slaughtered an entire family and several cops).

With kindly waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh) ending up along for the ride - she’s the only one who believes he’s innocent - that’s pretty much the entire story. Drawing clear inspiration from classics such as Duel (with a little Vanishing Point thrown in for atmosphere), The Hitcher includes intriguingly ambiguous elements to Ryder’s character and his relationship with Halsey. This aspect exacerbates the film’s emphasis on style and tone over logic and plausibility. 

Rutger is forced to explain the punchline.

Speaking of which, there has always been two ways to watch The Hitcher. As a straightforward thriller, it doesn’t hold up at all, loaded with glaring plot holes, lapses in logic and often inexplicable actions by its main characters. It’s never been a film for anyone hung-up on realism. But viewed as a surreal fever dream or waking nightmare - like Dario Argento’s Suspiria - The Hitcher more than earns its status as a cult classic. And if one wanted to be truly analytical, certain elements of the narrative could even be interpreted as supernatural.

Either way, The Hitcher remains a stylish film with a nasty mean streak, though not nearly as violent as its reputation. The most horrifying deaths occur either off-screen or are shown after-the-fact. Another critically-reviled film that didn’t find an audience until it became a massive hit on home video, The Hitcher features one of Rutger Hauer’s most iconic performances and has aged remarkably well. Now that it’s available on Blu-ray (and 4K) with a pretty great transfer, some of us can finally retire our beat-up old VHS copies.

EXTRA KIBBLES

BULLSEYE - An excellent 41 minute interview with director Robert Harmon.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Robert Harmon and screenwriter Eric Red.

TRAILER