The Hitcher/Comments
From The Grindhouse Cinema Database
- Successfully blending the road movie and slasher subgenres, this brutal little nail-biter features one of the creepiest performances in cinema history. Rutger Hauer portrays John Ryder, a sweat-soaked sociopath, with such misanthropic glee that it’s hard not to be both intrigued and frightened by the character, even as he brutally assaults adult and child alike. Seeking a worthy adversary on a highway full of weaklings, Ryder finds his match in Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), a quiet kid transporting a car cross-country for his older brother. Needless to say, Ryder and Halsey battle to the death in an endless barrage of high-octane car chases that range from exciting to preposterous, hitting the heights of insanity with Ryder diving head-first from the back of a bus through Halsey’s car windshield! This cult classic definitely requires the suspension of disbelief, but it boasts enough squirm-inducing scares (I can put my FINGER on one scene in particular) to give it an edge over the run-of-the-mill “slice-and-dice.” --Mdeapo 00:43, 27 August 2008 (UTC)
