I discovered this fantastic film more than thirty years ago. The first week of its release and I still feel astonished by this first viewing. It is one of the best film ever, all genres confounded. I did not consider the Rutger Hauer's character as the devil side of the hero, but only as a mad man who desired to be stopped in his bloody odyssey. he used the young man to kill him. That seems so obvious to me. And this is also the second film starring Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh after the tremendous FLESH AND BLOOD, a couple of years earlier.

This film tells a story about the dangerous bond between a mysterious serial killer and a young driver called Jim who makes the mistake of picking him up when driving cross country through a desolate part of Texas. Immediately after their chance encounter, a series of violent murders occurs, with Jim getting the blame after being continually set up by the killer. The result is a major manhunt and further escalating violence.The Hitcher is a film which you think will be a horror movie but which is really an odd combination between a psychological thriller and action film. Despite the premise, it holds back on the horror potential if anything. This isn't, in itself, a bad thing although the 80's action that makes up the latter part of the story does sometimes seem an odd bedfellow to the more psychological approach of the earlier scenes. I felt that the movie did lose steam as it went on to be perfectly honest, the further it removed itself from the dark realism of the original premise the less interesting it became. The killer is really almost a supernatural being, with a persona that always feels he is otherworldly in some way. Rutger Hauer brings some charisma to the role but it is ultimately a fairly cardboard psychotic character he is playing. C. Thomas Howell is slightly whiny in the lead role, while Jennifer Jason Leigh is possibly a bit underused as the waitress who assists him. Despite my reservations, this is still an entertaining enough thriller with some good individual scenes and ideas.

This unstoppable psycho on the loose film has strong links to two other classic thrillers which came before it: Rutger Hauer, as the indestructible maniac on the loose, has some of Schwarzenegger's menace as THE TERMINATOR; and the chase through the deserts is a lot like DUEL, except with Hauer replacing the mysterious truck. THE HITCHER has a great pace which just doesn't let up until the very end of the film, and all the time you can feel events building towards a showdown as more and more violence erupts on to the screen.Written by Eric Red (BODY PARTS), the plot is both intelligent and intriguing, so you just sit back and marvel at the way Hauer manages to implicate Howell more and more in the various crimes he commits, the most memorable moment being the shooting of the two policemen (just after Howell says he will give himself up), for which of course Howell gets the blame. The feeling of helplessness against this psycho is done well, and Howell is believable as the boy caught up in all the violence. He's no Bruce Willis hero type, but just an everyday person who screams and sweats a lot and barely manages to survive against Hauer's relentless onslaught of knifings, shootings, massacres, and brutality.It is Hauer's performance which sticks in the mind however, and it is a career-best role. Hauer is perfectly cast as the maniac, a sadistic psychopath who coldly kills with no remorse; his is a superb, text-book example of what a true psychopath is like, with the bulging eyes, maniacally grinning face, and heartless jokes. Hauer does his job so well that you almost begin to wish that he does win out against Howell's snivelling, wimpish hero at the end, as he has a lot of charisma in this film.The pair are joined by an accomplished supporting cast, including a young turn from Jennifer Jason Leigh, who brings a touch of warmth to the story. The sheriff from THE BLOB also turns up as, yes, you guessed it, a sheriff, and Armin Shimerman, best known to sci-fi fans for his role in STAR TREK, has a tiny role as an interrogator. There are lots and lots of cool action scenes to move things along, with cars bouncing, rolling and exploding, lots of shooting, and scenes of carnage where the blood does flow quite thickly (the moment where Howell discovers a dog, licking the blood from a corpse, is truly horrific).There are many moments to savour in the film and which stay in the memory long after viewing. The bit where Hauer nonchalantly shoots a helicopter out of the sky to even the odds; when Howell finds a severed finger in his burger and chips; the abandoned car, with blood dripping out of the door (a sudden moment of subtlety here which is far more gut-churning than more visceral images would have been); the bloody carnage in a police station; and the set-piece at the end. These moments of inspired originality are what help to propel THE HITCHER into classic status. And it'll certainly make you think twice the next time to see someone thumbing a lift along the highway...

This movie... It had a sort of legendary, mystical quality before I watched it. Heard it was pretty good many years ago, always liked Haur a lot, had bits of the trailer imprinted in my memory from 30 years ago, but just never got to see it. So glad I watched it today of all days... it was just one of those days (my normally sweet fat lazy cat bit my 6 year old daughter and drew a tiny bit of blood because she disturbed him by trying to put a blanket on him to keep him warm... Stupid flipping cat... Water spray bottle x 100 revenge/punishment) and now I can sleep better having purged some aggravation from my heart. More from the movie than the water bottle (all he had to do was stay in the kitchen instead of coming near me to beg for a fourth meal after attacking my kid). To the review, I just loved it. Rutger gave his best performance I think. The word menacing doesn't do it justice. I won't spoil it, but do this if you can. Avoid plot summaries, reviews, or spoilers of any kind. When you watch the movie, try to figure it out. Ask yourself what is happening for certain and what parts are a hallucination or the supernatural. I think this movie has several layers to it that come together nicely if you pay close attention to detail. Great performances all around truth be told... A few people launched careers off this movie if I am not mistaken.