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| DIRECTED BY |
| Robert Harmon
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| STARRING |
| Rutger Hauer |
| C. Thomas Howell |
| Jennifer Jason Leigh |
| Jeffrey DeMunn |
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The �killer who kills simply for the love of it� character may have still been moderately interesting back in 1986, but it doesn�t even matter thanks to Rutger Hauer�s genuinely sociopathic performance as the ubiquitous serial killer John Ryder. But then one must actually look at the film itself to determine its merits, and unfortunately, �The Hitcher� only has a few beyond Hauer�s characterization.
It seems as if screenwriter Eric Red is trying to convey a message of there being some sort of intangible connection between this innocent teenager � C. Thomas Howell � and this relentless murderer � Rutger Hauer. This idea may have even been interesting had it not been subordinated to a variety of completely implausible �terror� sequences, reminding us that this film isn�t a whole lot better than the average slasher flick. I know that these horror films that seem to be based upon realism always have unbelievable elements to them; however, when they�re just flat-out ridiculous, I can�t appreciate them much. For instance, I can deal with Ryder seeming to be in many places at once, but when we�re expected to believe that he went about foreseeing something as elaborate as breaking into the cooking area of a restaurant so that he can place a human finger in the food (and somehow he knew that Jim would order French fries,) I can only roll my eyes emphatically.
Observant viewers will notice that there are traces of what appear to be religious statements in �The Hitcher� � Jim, now completely despondent, falls knees-down on the dirt and gazes up toward the sky, apparently begging for some sort of divine acknowledgement. But are we really expected to take any of this contemplatively when we�re simply catapulted right back into blood-and-guts mayhem? For the sake of God, just leave Him out of this.
But, ignoring the commonly stupid script for a little while, I couldn�t help but appreciate Robert Harmon�s very competent direction of the action sequences. It appears as though he set up each scene with at least two thoughtfully placed cameras in order to make for numerous editing possibilities, and the results are very impressive. Particularly notable are the barrel-rolling police car chase, the helicopter crash and its explosive aftermath, and the final bus/pickup truck melee.
I found most of the film�s soundtrack to be more intrusive than pleasurable, with the exception of the coup de grace sequence at the end, showing Jim�s final battle with Ryder. There, a subtler tune is used, which is why it doesn�t have the dated feel today that most music from 80s movies has, and it�s complimented by some beautiful cinematography of a rugged, western American landscape.
Overall, due to its main concern with mindless bloodshed, �The Hitcher� disallows itself from being anything more than an unintelligent stalker movie. But - I concede - that mindlessness is often executed in a dazzling way, which will probably satisfy those who�re looking for nothing more than what it is.
