The Hitcher (1986)

A young man who escaped the clutches of a murderous hitch-hiker is subsequently stalked, framed for the hitcher's crimes, and has his life made into hell by the same man he escaped.

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writer:

Eric Red

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh

3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rutger Hauer	...	John Ryder
C. Thomas Howell	...	Jim Halsey
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Nash
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Captain Esteridge
John M. Jackson	...	Sergeant Starr (as John Jackson)
Billy Green Bush	...	Trooper Donner (as Billy Greenbush)
Jack Thibeau	...	Trooper Prestone
Armin Shimerman	...	Interrogation Sergeant
Gene Davis	...	Trooper Dodge (as Eugene Davis)
Jon Van Ness	...	Trooper Hapscomb
Henry Darrow	...	Trooper Hancock
Tony Epper	...	Trooper Conners
Tom Spratley	...	Proprietor
Colin Campbell	...	Construction Man

Storyline

A young man transporting a car to another state is stalked along the road by a cunning and relentless serial killer who eventually frames the driver for a string of murders. Chased by police and shadowed by the killer, the driver's only help comes from a truck stop waitress.

---

Plot Keywords:

police | murder | hitchhiker | truck | truck stop | 

---

Taglines:

Never Pick Up A Stranger.

---

Genres:

Action | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Liftaren

Filming Locations:

Amboy, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,844,868 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Pictures, Silver Screen Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

C. Thomas Howell admitted that he was actually afraid of Rutger Hauer on and off the set because of the actor's general intensity.

---

Goofs

When Jim enters the abandoned garage, birds fly in front of the camera for dramatic effect. Though the hole in the floor seems to be intentional, the person visible pushing the birds out from said hole was probably not.

---

Quotes

Nash: Actually we're all from Mars around here, we keep our spaceship out back. So... what planet are you from?

---

Connections

Referenced in Road Kill (2001)

---

Soundtracks

"DON'T STOP LOVIN' ME"
Performed by Mickey Jones
Published by Mickey Jones Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Why did they even remake this, no one can do what Hauer did.

Yes, this movie would be remade years later with Sean Bean cast as the hitchhiker that likes to play some rather brutal games and one has to wonder why. Rutger Hauer was perfectly cast here as the psycho and his performance could not have been topped. Maybe they felt the need for a female lead rather than the male one because you know how females never get the chance to be the main character who survives in a horror movie (heavy sarcasm here). This is basically a story of a young man driving in the middle of nowhere who looks to have been very bored and in the need of some company. He finds some in the form of a hitchhiker and suffice to say he should have listened to all the warnings he got of hitchhikers, but on the plus side his travels in the middle of nowhere are about to be a lot less dull. You get a great scene as the two opponents as it were square off for the first time with the young man seemingly getting the better of the hitcher in round one. Unfortunately, everyone in this desert seems to be to kind for their own good as the guy sees the psycho in a car with a family. So other face-offs with this hitcher are coming up and some will be very violent indeed. A rather good thriller/horror type movie with my main complaint coming towards the end as how was he not handled better than that? Other than that you get a very good and chilling game of cat and mouse and you get a performance by Hauer that could not have possibly been beat.