Rating: 
Summary: Think twice before picking up this Hitcher
Review: How Hitcher went from being a being a 1986 bomb with audiences and critics to becoming a beloved psychological classic here in Amazon's bargain bin eludes me. C. Thomas Howell plays a young student who picks up a psychotic hitchhiker on a cross country drive. Rutger Hauer, fresh from his cryptic disturbing role in BladeRunner capitalizes on his frosty eyes, Arayan uberman looks & emotionless persona to play the title role. In hindsight it seems the Hitcher develops a fondness for the young driver and decides to leave him presents at every stop on his trek to express his fondness. While some people leave flowers, our John Ryder likes to leave murders. A finger in your fries substitutes for a box of cherry chocolates. This might have made for an interesting dynamic if there was even a hint of a connection going on between them. Instead the director plays a no hints lame game of "guess what is in my hand." Ryders motivations only begin to become slightly clearer far too late in the film. And Howell's mutual homoerotic attraction is never hinted at. And so comes completely out of left field leaving first time viewers rolling their eyes. It is recognized as a cheat reveal which seems arbitrary instead of a controlled calculation to make you rethink the film in a new light. Unlike the Sixth Sense where everything comes into focus, the conclusion doesn't make the film more interesting. It actually makes you feel sorry you invested time at all with a character who wasn't all that interesting to begin with. To quote a line from "This is Spinal Tap", "There is such a fine line between clever and stupid." It is possible those going back for a second dip, left off their heels with disturbed feelings on their first attempt, are comforted they know what is going on and now enjoy it as tale of strange attraction. But I think its audience will remain people who have strange attractions to bad movies.
Rating: 
Summary: A fraction of the action is enough for your satisfaction!
Review: If u want a non stop action packed movie with an interesting story, then u should consider sparing 100 minutes of your time to view this movie. Some viewers however might lose interest in the movie seeemingly quickly if they like movies which they can relate to at all times and seem to have a good grasp of reality.
Rating: 
Summary: EASY RYDER
Review: Some movies leave a peculiar taste in your memories. In 1986, I saw Robert Harmon's HITCHER two or three times when it was theatrically released and, some fifteen years later, I bought it right after its DVD release. I simply had to have this movie in my library. To be honest, it's not because I want to watch HITCHER twice a month during the next ten years, but rather bacause I want my friends to discover this movie and be as disturbed as I was the first time I saw it. The thriller genre has not produced so many great movies as the other Hollywood genres. Mainly because the producers and the directors are more interested in spending their budgets in explosions and car crashes than in a good screenplay. So, most of today thrillers are technically perfect but so dull and stupid. HITCHER, on the other hand, can easily be read at different levels. And that's the mark of a good movie. Entertaining yes but not only. HITCHER raises a lot of questions and scarcely gives direct answers to them. Why does Rutger Hauer always appear when C. Thomas Howell is tired or is about to sleep ? Is he nothing else than a nightmare ? Why so many ... allusions - verbal or symbolic - concerning the relation Hauer-Howell ? And so on. This HBO DVD presentation is not perfect, the images being only average, but nevertheless should find a place in your library if you like a great thriller with some food for the mind. ... .
Rating:
Summary: Unique(in a good way)
Review: The story line and acting in this movie are awesome. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Surreal, dreamy, and absolutely thrilling
Review: This is probably Rutger Hauer's best known role - and *the* perfect example of how good an actor he is. His magnificent performance adds to the film's strange and surreal atmosphere and creates one of the most chilling movie villains of all time. A mysterious modern Flying Dutchman, shadowy and coming from nowhere, undead and cursed to roam not the sea but a desert and kill over and over again, Rutger Hauer's "John Ryder" cannot be liberated unless *he* himself is killed... and this is the favor that he asks a young driver he meets to do. The movie is not standard, down-to-earth thriller. It creates its own world and you can only understand it when you watch it and have the Flying Dutchman's story in mind. Only then will you see that what some people thought to be mistakes and holes in the script are in fact deliberate and well-thought elements of the plot. Watch the movie thinking of "John Ryder" as the Flying Dutchman, and you will understand every comment he makes, every line he says, and every action he takes. And, hopefully, you will appreciate the genius of Rutger Hauer and director Bob Harmon.
Rating: 
Summary: "My mother told me never to do this."
Review: So young Jim Halsey tells the mysterious man he picks up from a deserted stretch of highway. If only Jim had listened to Mom. All you have to do is watch this movie once to understand why it's become a Cult Classic since its release in 1986. The story tells of the ultimate cat-and-mouse game between a mysterious hitchhiker and an innocent he chooses to terrorize on a cross country trip to California. What happens along the way are events that will keep you from EVER picking up a stranger! This IS the movie that launched Rutger Hauer's career. His performance as the evil hitchhiker (listen for his name towards the end of the movie) could not have been played better by anyone else. C. Thomas Howell as Jim Halsey also turns in a great performance. Add the excellent directing style of Robert Harmon's direction with the deserted stretches of Texas as the background, and you've got a movie that still stands up as a timeless movie. The picture quality on the DVD is the best ever for this movie. Color fidelity and shadows are crisp and pleasing. The DD soundtrack, on the other hand, is quite disappointing. Though the movie was released in Dolby Surround, that is surely no excuse. The rear channels are hardly ever used effectively, and the entire movie sounds more like a 2 channel mix instead of 5.1. Still the movie sounds more defined than from a VHS source. Also, the extras are rather sparse. A theatrical trailer and some cast biographies are all you'll get. Overall, I consider The Hitcher to be one of the best movies of its genre. If the DVD release had a better DD soundtrack, I would have undoubtedly given it 1 more star. After all, isn't a Digital discrete soundtrack one of the joys of DVD?
Rating:
Summary: Scary but linear road movie
Review: There are no massive shocks in this film apart from a couple of clever bits involving dismembered limbs and juggernaughts. At 90 minutes the film somehow seems shorter but there are only so many things you can do with the psychopathic-serial-killer-chasing-obvious-innocent formula. The location shooting across Texas gives the film a lonely atmosphere and it's nicely backed up by a quiet score but this (along with all horror films) adjusts the audience to what's happening next and lessening the impact. Some more background and motivation (although not much more) would have made the killer a bit more interesting and stops the film from being quite as clever as "Seven" for example. But it's a classic and a must see particularly for the 'stretch' sequence......
Rating:
Summary: Non stop thrills!
Review: This movie is really thrilling and follows such a great and original story. Keeps you gripped to the end. Great movie!
Rating:
Summary: Tense and Suspenseful!
Review: This suspenseful psychological thriller is superbly done and well casted. The first 50 minutes of the film are intense and believable, but then it concentrates more on the action and the plot becomes plausible. Rutger Hauer is expertly cast as the psychotic hitchhiker. Jennifer Jason Leigh and C. Thomas Howell are also good in their roles. Suspenseful and wrongly tagged as a horror film. Violent and a bit ludicrous at the end. Entertaining for those seeking suspense with unique story line and characters. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 6!
Rating:
Summary: For Hauer fans
Review: This is a Rutger Hauer vehicle. After Blade Runner, I would have watched anything with Hauer in it. I'm a big fan obviously and wish he had been cast in bigger films. Anyhow I did enjoy this film. Hauer, with his dusty blond hair,piercing blue eyes and raincoat, seemed the embodiment of the diabolical. There is ice under the desert, it has cracked and a vengeful spirit has been loosed upon mere men.
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