The Hitcher, 1986.
Directed by Robert Harmon.
Starring C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Armin Shimerman.
A young man picks up a hitchhiker whilst crossing the desert, only to be unable to escape from the murderous traveller.
It has been a long time coming but finally Robert Harmon’s 1986 thriller The Hitcher has hit an HD format in the UK, making 2024 is a joyous place to be for physical media collecting because not only is The Hitcher a fantastic example of stylish 1980s filmmaking, but Second Sight have surpassed themselves with their presentation of a movie that was not received well at the time but has garnered a new appreciation in recent years.
Inspired by the Doors’ song ‘Riders on the Storm’, The Hitcher sees Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) driving across the Texas desert in order to deliver a car to San Diego. During a heavy downpour he stops to pick up a hitchhiker at the side of the road and that is where all the trouble begins, as the passenger (Rutger Hauer) introduces himself as John Ryder and immediately starts with the weirdness and ends up threatening Jim with a knife.
Jim, however, notices Ryder’s seatbelt is not clipped in and the door is not closed properly, so he manages to push him out of the car. Thinking his troubles are over a shaken Jim carries on his journey, but further down the road a car overtakes him that contains a family that includes young children… and a smiling John Ryder. Thus begins a game of cat-and-mouse as the psychotic hitchhiker carries out several murders that Jim gets the blame for, with the mysterious John Ryder always seeming to be one step ahead of both Jim and the authorities.
With a streamlined plot and gorgeous cinematography (courtesy of Mad Max: Fury Road DoP John Seale) The Hitcher wastes very little time in ramping up the tension levels. There is no pretence in John Ryder’s motivations as he tells Jim Halsey that “I want you to stop me” when asked what he wants, and Rutger Hauer is terrifying as he smiles his way through psychologically torturing C. Thomas Howell for the duration of the movie. Ryder is a fascinating character as we literally know nothing about him, and neither do the police when they finally catch on to what is happening, and Hauer plays him to perfection, offering moments of introspection as Ryder is clearly battling with some inner turmoil that we never fully see or understand. John Ryder clearly wants to die but not before passing on his madness, trying to make Jim Halsey – it could have been anyone, but it was Jim that stopped that rainy night – pick up where he clearly wants to leave off. John Ryder is one of the great cinematic villains, and the combination of bare bones writing and an extremely nuanced performance from Rutger Hauer means he doesn’t have to be a loud and brash Freddy Krueger or The Joker to work – less is most definitely more.
But whilst Hauer dominates this movie by his ethereal and threatening presence, The Hitcher is also an effectively dreamlike piece, using the desert setting to represent Jim Halsey’s increasingly fragile grip on sanity as the wraith-like John Ryder haunts his journey. Deserts have always been associated with madness and desperation in movies, as characters hallucinate in the heat, imagine seeing things that may or may not really be there, and when combined with Mark Isham’s haunting score the stunning vistas really come alive, making the desert as much of a threat as the psychopath(s) that wander through it.
And thankfully Second Sight have done the filmmakers good work justice, as this limited edition 4K UHD set is probably the best one they have put out so far, for not only are there some delicious extras to lose yourself in for a while but visually this is as perfect as you could want a movie that is already beautiful to be. Every little detail in the desert from the smallest rocks to the plumes of sand swirling around capture the eye as much as the broad landscape shots and Rutger Hauer’s glistening blue eyes; even the pores in C. Thomas Howell’s skin in close-ups are brought out, which may be a lot of detail, but it is detail we have not seen with this much clarity before.
Of course, you get the customary rigid slipcase and a 200-page hardback book featuring interviews and essays on the movie, along with art cards and a soft cover book containing writer Eric Red’s original script, which would be enough but on the disc there are new and archive extras to delve into, including a brand new audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, scene specific commentaries by Robert Harmon, Eric Red, executive producer Edward S Feldman, composer Mark Isham, director of photography John Seale and actors Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell, interviews and production featurettes. However, what is probably of most interest is the restored version of China Lake, the 1983 short film that landed Robert Harmon the gig directing The Hitcher. Starring character actor extraordinaire Charles Napier, the 35-minute short is not as intense or terrifying as The Hitcher but it does act as a solid portfolio piece for the director, showing off his vision for how filming the desert should be done, and when you hear C. Thomas Howell and Rutger Hauer singing its praises in the interviews then you can see why it was a foregone conclusion Harmon was going to be the choice to direct The Hitcher.
There really are not enough adjectives to describe how glorious this set is, from the physical contents to the main attraction itself. The Hitcher still stands as an impressive thriller with horror overtones that hits a certain level of intensity and stays there for the duration of its running time. The performances are spot-on, the direction stylish and slick, and despite the exaggerated nature of John Ryder’s murder spree and the underlying suggestion of some supernatural force at work it never veers off into fantasy territory. For physical media collectors, the limited edition box set is an essential purchase, but even if you are not a collector and just want the movie, buy it anyway as it will no doubt impress your friends having such great taste in boutique label product. There are standard versions available but, given the chance, why not splash out on what is undoubtedly Second Sight’s most impressive 4K release so far? You really won’t regret it.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
