Watched Journal: October 2024
The Hitcher feels like a midnight TV movie in the best way.
My first viewing back in the '90s was a late night cable taping, and over the years lackluster home video releases and a shoddy HBO stream never did the film justice. But a long awaited 4K restoration has now given The Hitcher a well deserved lift on Blu-ray.I recently picked up Second Sight's limited edition 4K set, which features a
beautiful presentation of the 4K transfer, as well as hours of special
features, a 200 page hardcover retrospective, the screenplay and art
cards. Distinguishing itself from the theatrical release poster of
C. Thomas Howell's terrified reflection in the rear view mirror overlooking
Rutger Hauer's shadow in the night, Second Sight's orange and blue custom art
features a gun-toting Hauer, a more accurate representation of the
film's mostly daylight atmosphere. But when it comes to the nocturnal scenes, the clarity of Second Sight's 4K disc allows for all the grisly
details to be realized.
The films opens at night, with the twinky Jim Halsey (Howell) driving a Cadillac through a desolate road as sheets of rain splash his windshield. He spots a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer), his ominous thumb pointing to the wind, and Howell goes against his gut and picks him up. Within miles, Howell realizes he's in for the literal ride of his life, as Hauer confesses that he killed the family in the stranded car they pass by and he plans the same for Howell, daring him to "stop me."
While in recent years Robert Harmon has taken to directing Tom Selleck in Jesse Stone flicks, he showcases swift skill with his full-length debut in The Hitcher, perfectly setting the mood and pace, freeing Hauer to chew scenery with a Robert Mitchum menace ala Cape Fear and The Night of the Hunter. The role of the hitchhiker serial killer John Ryder is up there with Blader Runner and Nighthawks as one of Hauer's best. Like other great cat and mouse thrillers like No Country for Old Men and Breakdown, The Hitcher benefits from the chemistry between predator and prey, with Hauer and Howell harboring a sinister sexual tension lurking slightly beneath the surface. This focus on two forces colliding elevates The Hitcher past others in the 'roadkill' genre like Duel and Roadgames.
Unlike those aforementioned films where the suspense is mostly vehicular, The Hitcher is more aligned with slashers and noir, with a plot that only makes brief pit stops in explanation. All we know is Ryder's crazy, perhaps possessing a Michael Myers supernatural ability, in his relentless, dumbfounding pursuit of Howell, whose sketchy job of delivering the Cadillac from Chicago to San Diego only draws more suspicion from the Podunk police caught in the crossfire. Equally bewildered is the diner waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who wants to help Howell but underestimates the stakes at hand, ultimately leading to her gruesome demise.
I watched my Second Sight disc of The Hitcher while I was home sick one morning in October and tired of The Price is Right. Strapping in my couch for a ride with Hauer and Howell, it was one hell of a wheel spinning showdown indeed.
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