8¾ Pies

Reviewed by Limey

Plot Summary

A young man driving from Chicago to California learns that no good deed goes unpunished when he stops during a late night storm to pick up a hitch hiker.

Review

“My mother told me never to do this.”

Those are the words spoken by Jim Halsey as he pulls over and to offer a ride to a hitch hiker. She could never have known her son would be this unlucky when he tried to help a stranger in need but boy, this is one guy that really should have listened to his Mum.

This movie is truly a unique beast. Not unusually for the horror genre, the story told is fairly simple. What is unusual for the horror genre is that, in this case, simple is not a synonym for brain dead. It sticks to its premise of a young man being terrorised by a mysterious stranger, with no detours, flashbacks or exposition to distract or detract from that. That narrow mindedness makes it a much more intense experience.

By extension, that same refusal to be derailed from the central n arrative gives the movie a level of depth and intrigue that is entirely missing from many of its peers. There are no easy answers to be found here. The motivations and actions of the players can be interpreted in numerous different ways, which makes the events infinitely more interesting.

If that makes the film sound very cerebral and that isn't your cup of tea, don't worry. The action is non-stop and just gets bigger the longer the film runs, which makes the whole thing even more remarkable. To balance the cerebral and the visceral, and actually tie them together, so effectively requires a level of skill we rarely have the chance to see.

Just for a little balance of my own, the Hitcher is not a perfect film. It has flaws, the biggest for me being the cops. Do American police officers really turn up at a location, arrest the first person they see, then take off again without asking any questions or investigating a thing? It is done for the sake of pace and to continue making Jim's situation even more unbearable, and I understand that, but it took me out of things for a minute or two.

Quotes:

John Ryder – How do you like Shitsville?

Spook Factor: 1 Pie

If the thought of going through what Jim goes through in this picture doesn't give you the willies, either you are John Ryder or you have much bigger balls than I do.

Antagonist: 1 Pie

John Ryder is at the very tippy top of horror bad guys. Since the birth of this website I have become aware of a personal fondness for very human villains, with layers and history. You don't always need to see that history, just know that it is there. Whether that comes from the writing or the acting – or both – Ryder has it. Combined with his ruthlessness, intelligence, and sense of purpose, he is one dangerous character.

Story: 1 Pie

I said a lot about the story in the main Review, so there isn't much more for me to add. As an example of how balanced and clever the writing is, I give you Nash. She could have so easily become one of those distractions that the script worked so hard to avoid. In a modern movie, her relationship with Jim would have become a full blown love story (or a sex scene posing as a love story) because all men and women are so shallow that we cannot watch a movie without a romance subplot. Here both the audience and Nash herself are treated with more respect. She is her own person and her relationship with Jim is more realistic, relatable, and human.

Acting: ¾ Pie

For the most part the acting is great. Rutger Hauer was the perfect casting for Ryder, avoiding the trap of turning him into a paper thin mad man and instead taking full advantage of all the possibilities to create a compelling character. Jennifer Jason Leigh hit all the right notes as Nash, another role that – due to the script trusting the actors and audience to use their heads instead of clobbering them over it – could have fallen flat with a lesser actress.

Then we have C. Thomas Howell. I hate singling him out because in many ways he was absolutely the right man for the job, just like his co-stars. We are on a journey with Jim and Howell ably takes us with him. We see how events affect and change him over the course of the movie, through his movements, his appearance, his eyes, everything. He handles a difficult assignment well.

Alas, sometimes… I don't know if it was uncertainty, inexperience, or what, but occasionally the performance just isn't there and some of his facial expressions just made me laugh. I've never seen a more incongruous reaction to being told someone wants to cut off all in your limbs in my life. On the plus side, it is so funny that it falls into the so bad it is good category.

Directing: ¾ Pie

OK, so the direction is pretty much spot on. It supports and tells the story while achieving the same balancing act between the action and humanity as the script. However, the director is responsible for the performances of his cast. He can take some credit when they are good, but also has to shoulder some responsibility when they're not. There is no way Robert Harmon didn't see Howell's weaker moments and he really should have done something about it, even if it was just getting him to tone down his reactions a bit.

Soundtrack: ¾ Pie

The soundtrack was good, just like everything else about the film. My one issue here is a personal niggle. I struggle to call any score great if I have to work to remember it afterwards. A score certainly should blend into the background to an extent, in order to support a film rather than overshadow it. Personally, though, I feel a score is only truly great when it elevates a film and sticks in your mind.

Special Effects: ¾ Pie

This is all about practical effects, which a lot of people forget are special effects – severed fingers, explosions, gunshots, etc. It does what it does well.

Gore: ¾ Pie

Most of the gore here is off screen but what you know is off screen is truly unsettling. When Jim first sees Ryder in another car, you feel the same panic he does. When you see the abandoned car later, you feel the same heartbreak.

This also seems like a good time to point out another of the Hitcher's strengths – its ability to surprise. Now it is damn near impossible for a movie to surprise its audience in this day and age. It is even harder for an older film to surprise you, if only because they have usually been repeatedly copied over the years. Yet the Hitcher does it, by doing something we have been trained to expect never to happen. Amazing and again, heartbreaking.

Replay, Rewatch, Rewind: 1 Pie

Yes. Of course. Anytime.

Pros

The biggest pro simply has to be managing to be such a unique movie, despite the passage of time and the fact that every plot in the world has been told before.

Cons

Just a few acting missteps and personal preferences that may or may not bother you.

Final Word

I actually think this is my longest review to date so it feels like at this stage I can only repeat myself. The Hitcher is a simple, complex, intelligent and action packed film that simply demands to be seen. Love it, hate it… Watch it.

The ride is over.