The Hitcher 4K Review (Warner Bros.)

The Hitcher is a 1986 psychological thriller directed by Robert Harmon (Gotti, Nowhere to Run, Jesse Stone franchise, They, Highwaymen, Blue Bloods, and Eyes of an Angel). It was written by Eric Red (Cohen and Tate, Near Dark, Body Parts, Bad Moon, Blue Steel, The Last Outlaw, and 100 Feet). Sam Elliott was the original choice for John Ryder. It was followed up by the 2003 sequel The Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting and it was remade in 2007. The budget was $6,000,000 it grossed $5,844,868 worldwide at the box office. Jim Halsey (played by: C. Thomas Howell from The Outsiders, E.T., Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, The Hitcher II, Southland, Animal Kingdom, Gettysburg, The Hillside Strangler, The Punisher, and The Amazing Spider-Man) decides to be nice and stop on the highway to pick up a Hitchhiker (played by: Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner, Batman Begins, Sin City, Nighthawks, Blind Fury, Hobo with a Shotgun, Salem’s Lot, Dracula franchise, Split Second, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Surviving the Game). He doesn’t realize that he just opened the door to pure evil when he let the stranger in. As the drive gets longer, Jim knows that he made a huge mistake and he has to get away from this psychopath. Just when he thinks everything is back to normal when he meets Nash Galveston (played by: Jennifer Jason Leigh from The Hateful Eight, Single White Female, Fargo, Possessor, Annihilation, Twin Peaks, eXistenZ, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Eyes of a Stranger) after breaking away from the crazed outsider. He sets up a dangerous game with Jim as he hunts him down. The mysterious hitcher is a relentless killing machine. He gets off on preying on those who invite him into their lives and he doesn’t leave until their gone forever!!!! The Hitcher didn’t do great in theaters when it was originally released in the 80’s. It gained a huge cult following on television and home video. Director Robert Harmon made his debut with this intense thriller. It was the first full length script that was actually made written by Eric Red that would go on to other familiar horror projects like Near Dark, Body Parts, and Bad Moon. These talented combination put together one of the greatest suspense thrillers ever made. The screenplay always keeps you guessing and wondering what’s going to happen next. C. Thomas Howell as Jim Halsey gives his best performance in his career. He’s just a nice guy trying to help out a stranger but it backfires on him. He goes through hell trying to survive this lunatic plus he has to deal with the police. This movie did what Jaws did to water for hitchhikers. It made others stay away from it. Most people changed their minds about it after seeing this. Jennifer Jason Leigh as Nash Galveston is the true innocent in this nightmare situation. She just tries to be friendly with Jim and she gets put into this crazy game between the two men. She’s great in this, she is the perfect target and the reason why Jim must finish this. Rutger Hauer as John Ryder shows you one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time in The Hitcher. Rutger Hauer was always a top notch bad guy in everything that he’s done but this is him at his absolute best. I love how mysterious this guy is. You never really learn much about him and you always leave The Hitcher wanting to know more about the insane John Ryder. It just makes the wild role even stronger. They all have amazing chemistry in this. Especially the deranged cat and mouse routine with the two leads. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jeffrey DeMunn (The Mist), John M. Jackson (A Few Good Men), Billy Green Bush (Critters), Jack Thibeau (Lethal Weapon), Armin Shimerman (Star Trek franchise), Gene Davis (10 to Midnight), Jon Van Ness (Tourist Trap), and Henry Darrow (The High Chaparral). The Hitcher felt realer than it should have at the time because serial killers were actually doing this. Lots of other films ripped this one off because it was such a cult classic. It has a nail biting atmosphere, it just keeps going until the very end. You can see the influence everywhere for cinema that followed this one. The Hitcher delivers with plenty of violence and action. It has really creepy plus gruesome moments especially the french fries and tug a war scenes. It still holds up after all these years, the replay value is fantastic. The Hitcher is extremely fun and it’s always entertaining. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It’s been supervised and approved by director Robert Harmon. Yes, it’s the same exact transfer as the Second Sight set. The Hitcher’s last home video release in the states was a DVD from 1999. So it’s no big surprise or shocker to learn that this new version blows it away and it’s one of better upgrades that I’ve seen in awhile. The sharp detail and picture quality for this underrated 80’s thriller is very impressive. The Hitcher has amazing cinematography from John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road, Witness, The Firm, Dead Poets Society, The English Patient, and Poseidon) and some really beautiful locations that really shine here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 on the UHD. Just like the picture quality here, the audio is a major improvement compared to all it’s past home video releases in the states. It’s the best it’s ever sounded anywhere. All of the dialogue is crisp, the thrills are elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an archive “Audio Commentary” with director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red. The creative team behind The Hitcher sits down and breaks down this 80’s thriller. They provide all kinds of very detailed inside information and behind the scenes stories about the lower budget feature. The Hitcher was inspired by Riders of the Storm from The Doors. They say it was very important to keep John Ryder very mysterious when it comes to his character. They do let the film play at times and they just enjoy it so there’s some moments of silence every once in awhile on this. If you ever wanted to know more about The Hitcher then you will love this track. It has the brand new little over 41 minute “Bullseye”. It’s an interview with director Robert Harmon. He goes over the John Ryder character and he brings up the original script for this. He shows his appreciation for Rutger Hauer. He mentions a bigger director that wanted this before he got it. He goes over Sam Elliott and other actors considered for it before it was officially Rutger. He chats about the main character Jim was already having a bad day before picking up the psycho John Ryder. Jim was in a very dark place and it just wasn’t obvious for the final cut but he was about to give up before he got into this insane situation. He talks about working with a lower budget for this production. He brings up the locations for The Hitcher. He had them all lined up earlier on. He admits openly that he was new to film making and it was all a learning experience. Harmon doesn’t hold back and he’s very honest about everything here. It has a “Trailer” for The Hitcher. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!