The Hitcher (1986 film)

The Hitcher is a 1986 American road action horror film directed by Robert Harmon and written by Eric Red. It stars Rutger Hauer as the title character, a murderous hitch-hiker who stalks a young motorist (C. Thomas Howell) across the highways of West Texas. Jeffrey DeMunn and Jennifer Jason Leigh appear in supporting roles.
Released in the United States on February 21, 1986, the film was met with tepid critical and commercial response, grossing $5.8 million on a $7.9 million budget. The film was followed by a 2003 sequel, The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting, which featured Howell reprising his role, and a 2007 remake.
==Plot==
Jim Halsey, a young man delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego, spots a man hitch-hiking in the West Texas desert and gives him a ride. The hitch-hiker, who calls himself John Ryder, forces Jim's leg down on the accelerator when they pass a stranded car. Ryder states he murdered the driver and intends to do the same to Jim, threatening him with a switchblade. Terrified, Jim asks what Ryder wants. He replies, "I want you to stop me." When Jim realizes that Ryder's seat belt is unbuckled and the passenger door is ajar, he shoves Ryder out of the moving car.
Relieved, Jim continues his journey. When he sees Ryder in the back of a family car, Jim tries to warn the occupants, but has a minor accident. He comes across the family's blood-soaked car and vomits. Ryder corners Jim but simply tosses him the keys from Jim's car. Ryder leaves with a trucker, and nearly runs Jim down with the truck as it crashes into the pumps of a gas station. As Jim flees, Ryder causes the station to explode.
At a roadside diner, Jim meets Nash, a waitress who cooks him lunch while he calls the police. He finds a severed finger among his French fries, indicating Ryder's proximity. The police arrive and arrest Jim, whom Ryder is framing for his murders. Though the police doubt his guilt, they lock him up overnight as protocol. Jim wakes to find the cell door unlocked and the officers murdered. He panics and flees with a revolver. At a gas station, he sees two officers, takes them hostage, and speaks on the radio to Captain Esteridge, the officer in charge of the manhunt. As Esteridge convinces Jim to surrender, Ryder pulls up and kills the two officers.
The patrol car crashes, and Ryder disappears again. After briefly considering suicide, Jim reaches a cafe, where Ryder confronts him. He points out Jim's revolver is unloaded. Ryder leaves him several bullets and departs. Jim boards a bus, where he meets Nash and explains his situation. After a police car pulls the bus over, Jim surrenders. The furious officers accuse him of killing their colleagues and attempt to kill him. Nash appears with Jim's revolver, disarms the officers, and flees with Jim in their patrol car. As the police chase after them, Ryder joins the chase and murders the officers by causing a massive car accident and shooting down a police helicopter.
Jim and Nash abandon the patrol car and hike to a motel. While Jim is in the shower, Ryder abducts Nash. Jim searches for her. Captain Esteridge discovers Jim and enlists him to negotiate with Ryder, who is at the wheel of a large Mack truck. Ryder has gagged and tied Nash between the truck and its trailer hitch, and is threatening to tear her apart. Esteridge tells Jim that his men cannot shoot Ryder because his foot would slip off the clutch, causing the truck to roll. Jim enters the cab with Ryder, who gives him a revolver and tells him to shoot, but Jim is unable to do so. Ryder, disappointed, releases the clutch, killing Nash.
Ryder is taken into custody. Esteridge gives Jim a ride, but Jim, believing the police cannot hold Ryder, takes Esteridge's revolver and vehicle to chase down Ryder's prison bus. Ryder kills the deputies and leaps through Jim's windshield as the bus crashes. Jim slams on his brakes, sending Ryder through the windshield and onto the road. Ryder challenges Jim to run him over, which he does. When Jim leaves his car to look at Ryder's body, Ryder jumps up, but Jim shoots him repeatedly with a shotgun, killing him. Jim leans against Esteridge's car in a daze, and smokes a cigarette as the sun sets.
==Cast==
* Rutger Hauer as John Ryder
* C. Thomas Howell as Jim Halsey
* Jennifer Jason Leigh as Nash
* Jeffrey DeMunn as Captain Esteridge 
* John M. Jackson as Sergeant Starr
* Billy Greenbush as Trooper Donner
* Jack Thibeau as Trooper Prestone
* Armin Shimerman as Interrogation Sergeant
* Gene Davis as Trooper Dodge
* Jon Van Ness as Trooper Hapscomb
* Henry Darrow as Trooper Hancock
* Tony Epper as Trooper Conners
* Tom Spratley as Proprietor
==References==
Category:Films
Category:1980s films
Category:Horror films
Category:Crime films
Category:Thriller films
Category:Crime thriller films
Category:Psychological thriller films
Category:Road movies
Category:Horror thriller films
Category:Action films
Category:Action horror films
Category:Chase films
Category:1986 films
Category:English-language films
Category:1986 horror films
Category:1980s crime thriller films
Category:1980s psychological thriller films
Category:1980s road movies
Category:American films
Category:American crime thriller films
Category:American horror thriller films
Category:The Hitcher
Category:American action horror films
Category:1980s chase films
Category:Directorial debut films
Category:Films about automobiles
Category:Films about psychopaths
Category:Films set in California
Category:Films shot in Los Angeles
Category:Hitchhiking in fiction
Category:Neo-noir
Category:American neo-noir films
Category:American road movies
Category:American serial killer films
Category:American slasher films
Category:TriStar Pictures films
Category:Films directed by Robert Harmon
Category:Films scored by Mark Isham