The Hitcher is the latest in the Hollywood trend of taking classic horror films and cranking out a remake for a new audience. Unlike some recent dreadful remakes (such as House of Wax), The Hitcher is actually not that bad. The filmmakers kept many of the elements that made the original 1986 movie great, and tweaked some of the story where it was needed.
The film is from Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes studio (the team behind the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror) and was written by Eric Red (who also wrote the 1986 film), Jake Wade Wall, and Eric Bernt. The remake was directed by Dave Meyers – who managed to match the look and feel of the first film throughout the movie. It stars Sean Bean (Silent Hill), Sophia Bush (Stay Alive), Zachary Knighton (Cherry Falls), and Neal McDonough (Flags of Our Fathers).
For the remake, the story has been expanded a bit to include more characters and keep the plot moving forward (I loved the original, but it did drag from time to time). College lovebirds Jim Halsey (Knighton) and Grace Andrews (Bush) hit the open road in Jim's 1970 Oldsmobile for a spring break getaway. Everything is going great until they come across John Ryder (Bean) on a stormy night. After a close collision, the couple reluctantly agrees to give Ryder a ride to the next town where he can get a hotel room and wait for some help.
From the start, the couple (and the audience) gets an uneasy feeling about Ryder – which proves right when he begins to threaten the two. Words turn to action and soon Grace has a knife pointed at her eye while Ryder torments Jim. Some quick thinking sends Ryder back to the highway, and the couple drives away to safety – or so they think.
It seems Ryder really liked the two college kids, and decides to spend the rest of the film tormenting and stalking them. Along the way, he pretty much kills and mutilates anyone who crosses his path – including a family with two little kids. Ryder also makes sure to have all the evidence point to Jim and Grace. On the run from a psycho, the couple discovers they are also on the run from the law. They even manage to get themselves locked up for the killing spree.
Thankfully, Ryder busts them out of jail (see he isn’t that bad). Of course, his jailbreak is just so he can stalk them some more. The film ends in a bloody showdown between Ryder, the couple and the law. It also features some killer stunts and an extremely twisted scene where Ryder torments Grace while Jim’s life literally hangs in the balance.
I will admit that I had every intention of hating the remake of The Hitcher. I was 14 or 15 years old when I saw the original and it literally scared the hell out of me. To this day, I can’t pass by a hitchhiker without thinking of the film. However, I kind of liked the remake. It doesn’t surpass the original, but it does hold up to what the filmmakers did in 1986.
Much of the film’s success rest on the shoulders of Sean Bean – who does a good job matching the cold and sadistic quiet qualities that Rutger Hauer brought to the role in the original. While Hauer was better, Bean does enough to make the role his, and keep you feeling a sense of dread whenever he is on screen. Simply put, Bean is evil. He seems to truly enjoy the pain and torture that he is inflicting on Jim and Grace.
Unfortunately, The Hitcher does have some problems. While I liked Bean’s performance throughout the film, I hated Knighton and Bush. It is not that they were awful in the roles, but they just couldn’t match Bean’s intensity. I found myself laughing whenever they were being tormented by Bean and rooting for him to put the couple out of their misery. Another thing that bugged me was whenever they were running around carrying firearms (did no one teach poor Sophia Bush how to hold a pistol?). I know it is picky to complain about something like that, but it really distracted me from what was supposed to be happening on screen.
The DVD comes loaded with some decent special features. “Dead End” follows Zach Knighton on the day of shooting a big scene for his character. I am not going to go into more details because I don’t want to spoil it. “Road Kill: The Ultimate Car Crash” takes a behind the scenes look at the huge car stunts in the film. “Fuel Your Fear: The Making of The Hitcher” is a behind the scenes look at how the filmmakers created the remake. “Chronicles Of A Killer” is look at the bloodbath that follows Ryder through mock news stories. There are also some deleted scenes (none really add much to the film) and an alternate ending. The alternate ending is basically the same as the theatrical cut, but a bit more violent.
When I first heard the plans to remake The Hitcher, I was against the idea and was certain they were going ruin the film. I knew that it was going to be a waste of 84 minutes and be as awful as the House of Wax remake. I was surprised to find that the film was actually not that bad. It isn’t as good as the original (which I would still recommend over this version), but it won’t disappoint. The film has some moments of suspense, and will keep you interested from start to finish.
The Hitcher is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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