Review of The Hitcher (1986) by Adam F — 24 Apr 2013
"The Hitcher" is more than just a slasher or your typical horror flick, in fact it lends itself a lot more to the thriller genre and it's a tense, entertaining ride that's not perfect but very entertaining.
Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh are all good in their parts; we sympathize with our heroes and we're both puzzled and frightened by our villain. The film does a good job keeping up the tension and it never chickens out with the violence and body count, though at times it gets pretty ridiculous and exaggerated.
Sometimes the film feels like the characters are making intelligent decisions but every character isn't intelligently written. While watching it you'll think to yourself that any family with two small children that decides to pick up a hitchhiker can't be too bright and it was probably only a matter of time before they all ended up in pretty rough shape.
The film also doesn't really explore the relationship between the reluctant hero and the killer, which is a shame because without that the ending doesn't really work. It's still worth your time, though some of it maybe too dark or nihilistic for certain audiences.
(Dvd, October 28, 2012).
This review of The Hitcher (1986) was written by Adam F on 24 Apr 2013.
The Hitcher has generally received positive reviews.
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