“I want you to stop me.”

Drake’s rating: He may not be a hobo, but he does have a shotgun

Drake’s review: Trust me, there are some vast, empty miles throughout West Texas where you can drive for hours without seeing many signs of life. At least that was true when I drove through it in the early 1980s, and if The Hitcher is to be believed, nothing had changed by the middle of that decade. Because our protagonist, a young man named Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell, The Outsiders), is driving those long roads and struggling to stay awake while surrounded on either side of the highway by nothing but sand and brush.

So it’s just a bit of luck when he comes across a hitchhiker looking for a lift. After all, some conversation will keep Jim alert and focused as he traverses the empty roads, right? But it seems like the man he picked up, one John Ryder (Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner), isn’t really the talkative sort. In fact he’s downright laconic, and when Jim does get some information out of him, he starts to realize that just maybe it would have been better if he’d left Ryder out in the rain and kept on driving. Because John Ryder is in fact a serial killer traveling along the highway and brutally murdering anyone foolish enough to stop and pick him up.

Man, and you thought Pony Boy had problems…

Through a combination of luck and daring, Jim escapes from the clutches of the killer, but Ryder isn’t through with him yet. In fact, he dogs the young man’s every move, leaving a trail of bodies as he navigates his way through West Texas and leaving incriminating evidence that points the finger at an unsuspecting Jim, whose only goal before all of this started was to drop off the Cadillac Seville that he was driving to its owner in San Diego. Now Jim has a serial killer in front of him, the police behind, and the Caddy is starting to look pretty dinged up from all of the ruckus going on.

I mean, that car caught fire. I don’t think you can just buff that out.

The Hitcher is an ‘80s cult classic that fell under the radar when it came out. However, it did start amassing an audience when it hit the VHS rental stores and HBO, which incidentally was one of the production companies behind it. For some reason, it took years to get a disc release that didn’t look like a third-generation tape, which I think caused it to once again become something of a forgotten film.

Which is too bad, as The Hitcher is one heck of a thriller. Rutger Hauer is of course perfectly cast as the cold-eyed killer, playing him as totally remorseless and utterly ruthless. Ryder has an almost slasher villain-like ability to stay ahead of everyone else and manipulate events in his favor, but at the same time he’s drawn to Jim because the younger man got the better of him. Ryder is nothing more than an enigmatic engine of destruction, but he’s looking for someone to push his off button and he’s decided that Jim is going to be that person.

C. Thomas Howell does a good job here as well, playing Jim as a nice guy who just gets in way over his head. He’s a likable fellow who made the simple mistake of giving a ride to a psycho, and now his world has turned upside down and everyone thinks he’s a killer except that nice waitress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who should probably stay out of it since Ryder isn’t exactly discriminating about his victims. And he’s probably never even seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The Hitcher is a great little thriller that wisely sticks to suspense rather than going all-in on the gore. Director Robert Harmon (Nowhere to Run) keeps the camera moving but pauses long enough between action sequences to build up the tension as Ryder adds to his (mostly off camera) kill count and Jim tries to get out from under the mess that is enveloping his life. Taut and atmospheric, if you’ve never seen this one than you’ve been missing out on an ‘80s cult classic and a brilliant performance from Rutger Hauer.

And now you have a good movie to tide you over while I dive head first into the cinematic slush pile once again. It’s kind of a requirement, since Justin put it right in front of the exit.

Intermission!

• Jim needs to listen to a better radio station to stay awake. Oh, wait. It’s West Texas in ‘86. He’s lucky not to be listening to a high school football game.
• Passed by a Volkswagen Beetle? That was a cardinal sin in my family, and I’m not even kidding.
• I mean, sure, French fries are technically finger food. But still.
• There are some really nice car stunt sequences in this.
• Plus explosions! Drake like big booms!
• Man, that diner sequence. Hauer plays Ryder as this deranged psychopath with such ease, and then you get these little glimpses of the disappointment that he feels because Jim still isn’t understanding just what he wants of him. Just brilliant.
• Hey, the production illustrator on this was William Stout! You all remember him from my review of The Warrior and the Sorceress, right? Right…?