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THE MOVIE |
THE DVD |
REVIEWER |
REVIEW DATE |
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Lavaboy |
3rd October, 2004 |
Review Quote
"The Hitcher is an unconventional psychological thriller. It is as unconventional as the contents of 'the box' in Se7en...This film is worth watching solely for [Rutger Hauer's] performance - nothing more."
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The Plot
Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) makes the biggest mistake of his life by picking up a hitchhiker named John Ryder (Rutger Hauer). From that point on Jim falls prey to a psychotic man who chooses to play games with Jim rather then instantly killing him. Will Jim survive the game?
The Movie
The Hitcher is an unconventional psychological thriller. It is as unconventional as the contents of "the box" in Se7en. I mean, not many Hollywood thrillers have homoerotic undertones, children being slaughtered (off camera), and a sympathetic principle character being dispatched of in a gruesome fashion. What also sets The Hitcher aside from your typical Hollywood thriller is an astounding performance from Rutger Hauer and the cinematography. But first, enter Rutger Hauer. This film is worth watching solely for his performance - nothing more. To say he nailed his character dead on would be an understatement. He BECAME John Ryder. Cunning, intelligent, psychotic, remorseless, and above all - EVIL. 100% pure evil. And not the cartoony little Devil with a pitchfork and goatee type evil either. Oh no, I'm talking dark, sinister, and a brooding black hole that sucks in all the light/love around him.
As for the cinematography; amongst other things it beautifully captures the bareness and almost surrealness of the desert. John Seale is a true visionary and without him as the cinematographer the film wouldn't have been so cleanly presented. He now has a few Oscar nominations and 1 Oscar win under his belt for The English Patient.
As mush as I love The Hitcher I still realize that it has a few flaws like plot holes, forced dialogue and action to move the story along, the score, and needless (possibly studio demanded) 80's style chase/gun action. Regardless, it's still a damn good film.
The DVD
I had to resort to ordering the Region 2 (2 disc) Special Edition DVD of The Hitcher from the UK because here in North America we only have a lousy featureless piece of dung DVD of this brilliant film. My major complaint with the SE DVD is at certain bright areas of the film you can make out some rather large pixels/distortion in the image. Aside from that the video quality is decent as well as the sound. A feature length commentary is offered by director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red. It is certainly not an exciting commentary, and has a few long silent pauses, but it still manages to be insightful. However, the "scene specific" commentaries done by indivduals from the cast & crew are much better.
On Disc 2 the "bonus material" of importance is the 39 minute documentary on The Hitcher which includes a lot of interviews with the cast and crew who offer great insight into their characters and what went on behind the camera. Too bad Jennifer Jason Leigh wasn't included on the documentary though. Two short films called The Room (directed by Rutger Hauer) and China Lake (directed by Robert Harmon) with optional commentary have also made the DVD. The Room is rather dull, but China Lake is brilliant and definitely worth watching.
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Director
Robert Harmon
Cast
C. Thomas Howell
Rutger Hauer
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jeffrey DeMunn
John M. Jackson
Screenplay
Eric Red
Tagline
"The terror starts the moment he stops."
Country
USA
Classification
18
Year
1986
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Format
PAL
Region Coding
2
Aspect Ratio
2.35:1
16x9 Enhanced
?
Running Time
93 minutes
Year Released
2003
Packaging
Keep Case
Extra Features
Audio Commentary
Documentary
2 Short Films
Screenplay Samples
Filmographies
Teaser & Theatrical Trailer
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If you find any errors in this review, know of any other versions of this DVD available or no longer available, send us an e-mail so we can get the word out to the horror community.
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