The Hitcher (2007)

While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, the college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to the hitchhiker John Ryder. While in their ... See full summary »

Director:

Dave Meyers

Writers:

Eric Red (screenplay), Jake Wade Wall (screenplay),

Stars:

Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Bean	...	John Ryder
Sophia Bush	...	Grace Andrews
Zachary Knighton	...	Jim Halsey
Neal McDonough	...	Lt. Esteridge
Kyle Davis	...	Buford's Store Clerk
Skip O'Brien	...	Sheriff Harlan Bremmer Sr.
Travis Schuldt	...	Deputy Harlan Bremmer Jr.
Danny Bolero	...	Officer Edwards
Jeffrey Hutchinson	...	Young Father
Yara Martinez	...	Beth
Lauren Cohn	...	Marlene
Michael J. Fisher	...	Transport Guard #2 (as Mike Fisher)
Joseph Michael Self	...	Transport Guard #1
Brad Robinson	...	Correctional Officer
Kurt Grossi	...	Officer Franklin

Storyline

While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, the college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to the hitchhiker John Ryder. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim succeeds to throw him out of the car on the road. On the next morning, the young couple sees John in another car with a family, and while trying to advise the driver that the man is dangerous, they have an accident. While walking on the road, they find the whole family stabbed in the car, and John sees that the driver is still alive. He drives to a restaurant seeking for help, but the police blame Jim and Grace to the murder and send them to the police station. However, John kills the policemen and pursues the couple, playing a tragic and violent mouse and cat game with Grace and Jim.

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Plot Keywords:

college student | police station | on the road | murder | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

Never pick up strangers.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, terror and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Autostoper

Filming Locations:

Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£217,973 (UK) (1 June 2007)

Gross:

£438,178 (UK) (8 June 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Intrepid Pictures, Platinum Dunes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rutger Hauer who played the character of John Ryder in the original was offered a cameo, but declined for artistic reasons. Hauer has since said in the press that he has yet to watch the remake, and according to some of his friends he shouldn't bother.

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Goofs

When the police are chasing Jim and Grace in the stolen police car, the rear driver side taillight of the stolen car is shot out as is the driver's side mirror. The taillight can later be seen unbroken along with the side mirror.

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Quotes

[last lines, after Grace shoots John repeatedly in his bulletproof vest]
John Ryder: Feels good, doesn't it?
Grace Andrews: I don't feel anything.
[Grace shoots John in the head, and walks away]

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: The Unborn (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Building Up to Feel So Good"
Written by Cameron Flener (credit only) and Jacob Bunton
Performed by The Velcro Pygmies

User Reviews

Even if you don't compare it to the original this isn't a very good movie

The plot is simple, a couple traveling on a dark and stormy night pick up a man who was hitch hiking and soon find they should have passed him by.

The story has been often used but the immediate source for this telling is a film that starred Rutger Hauer as the title character. Hauer's John Rider managed to walk the fine line between insanity and reason as he upped the ante in everything he did in some twisted game that only he understood. In this remake Sean Bean is the psycho on the loose and its a wonderfully acted portrayal of a man on the edge of sanity. Unfortunately he's not very scary. Bean is somehow much to urbane to be frightening even as he's doing terrible things to people. He's simply to charming.

Whats worse are the people who pick him up. I hated them from the start and wanted some one-anyone-to kill them simply so I didn't have to spend anytime with them. Stupid and vacant they seemed less like people than the victims Bean kills. C Thomas Howell in the original may have been a bit of a twit, but I really felt sorry for him as Hauer turned his life into a living hell, here I felt they had it coming.

Different enough from the original to make comparisons pointless this film isn't very good on any level and really has no reason to be seen except for Sean Bean good, but nonthreatening villain