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Old 10-11-2018, 10:22 AM
 
29,434 posts, read 22,344,718 times
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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-hitcher-1986
Quote:
"The Hitcher" grants the Hauer character almost supernatural powers. Although that makes the movie impossible to accept on a realistic level, it didn't bother me. I could see that the film was meant as an allegory, not a documentary.

But on its own terms, this movie is diseased and corrupt. I would have admired it more if it had found the courage to acknowledge the real relationship it was portraying between Howell and Rutger, but no: It prefers to disguise itself as a violent thriller, and on that level it is reprehensible.
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Old 10-11-2018, 12:56 PM
 
8,609 posts, read 5,578,297 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S. View Post
Very under-rated flick. One of the best middle ages movies out there.
It pulls no punches.
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Old 10-11-2018, 02:43 PM
 
Location: Kirkland, WA (Metro Seattle)
6,031 posts, read 6,087,967 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironpony View Post
I saw it for the first time, but I found it very frustrating to watch cause the main character I felt kept making one dumb decision after another and kept painting himself into corner.

So I felt the movie was just really poorly written and lacked intelligence, but maybe I'm wrong? What do you think?
Dude, you got this one all wrong. It comes up on here periodically.

The Hitcher, 1986 version, is quite possible my favorite horror film of all time. Part supernatural, part unbelievable/fantasy, a little farcical, part slasher, part drama, and ALL atmosphere. I've watched it dozens of times and it grows creepier with every viewing. I only wish someone would fully remaster it to draw out the colors and dark shots better.

Let me count the ways, friend:

- Creepiest villain ever, Rutger Hauer as "John Rider", who may or may not even exist...the film could have taken that plot point to conclusion, but did not. You decide. This film *made* that actor, in this country at-least.

- Most well-played naive kid, ever, C.Thomas Howell as "Jim Halsey." It didn't hurt he and I are about same age and looked a bit alike, talk about empathy with the situation as I too moved "out west" three years later. Don't think this film didn't impact my take on all that.

- Excellent scene stealing by female supporting actress, Jennifer Jason Leigh, innocently pulled into a web of horror.

- Not bad male supporting actor, later on, by the fellow who played "Captain Esteredge". A lone voice of authority and sanity amidst truly creepy proceedings.

Really, there is no one else of significance. The story is the prime mover. The vast bulk of scenes are Howell and Hauer, playing off one another.

The soundtrack is a major player in this film, almost like a John Williams score in a Spielberg. Super creepy and dread-producing at every turn, while often minimalist. The film ends where it begins, on a lonely desert dune as a cigarette is lit. Listen closely to the audio at the end, while credits roll, shot in Death Valley actually, as his wooden match hits the pavement leaning against the Bronco. I've been to places like that myself, and the loneliness and ache was captured PERFECTLY in the original.

Yes, there is stupid stuff and the improbability factor writ-large. Life doesn't work as-depicted. I chose to view that as camp/kitsch, or even a fantasy element of the film that often tried to keep it believable. I never, ever, would have re-shot that film as they did with Sean Bean as "the Rider" ten years on, two hours of film dreck I watched once and will never, ever, watch again in this lifetime.

Now, reshooting scene-by-scene of the original, with equally creepy editing, use of symbolic props (lighting of cigarettes being the most-predominant), and editing out some of the poor effects (just a few) would catapult it out of 1980s kitsch into Top-10.
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Old 10-11-2018, 03:21 PM
 
8,609 posts, read 5,578,297 times
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^That's the final word on this movie! Well done.
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Old 10-11-2018, 04:45 PM
 
5,110 posts, read 3,040,573 times
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I don't mind that the villain is possibly supernatural and I understood that is what they are going for. But what I did find frustrating, is that the villain's motivations are never explained. It seems that he wants the innocent kid to kill him, but it's never explained why him particularly. Now I know not everything has to be explained in a villain. For example, in Halloween, the killer's motives are not entirely explained at all, but I still understood what he was doing in the moment to a degree. With this villain, I am completely out to lunch.

As for Ebert's review, it's interesting how it just says a thumbs down, and there is no star rating. I guess that means he gave it zero stars?
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Old 10-12-2018, 01:47 PM
 
Location: Old Mother Idaho
29,176 posts, read 22,170,981 times
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It was only a variation on a slasher flick.

The character's motivations don't matter in movies like this; it's all about surviving the monster. You don't have to understand the monster's motivations to be afraid of him. If crazy stuff happens when a monster is chasing you, it just happens.

It's about the most simple story there is to tell. Plot holes don't matter, nor anything else. All that's necessary is the monster keeps on chasing you until the end. If you live to tell the story, that's a happy ending.

They're like nightmares; a nightmare never makes much sense, but they will still wake you up sweating in terror.
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Old 10-12-2018, 02:09 PM
 
Location: Maine
22,847 posts, read 28,081,041 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondebaerde View Post
- Creepiest villain ever, Rutger Hauer as "John Rider", who may or may not even exist...the film could have taken that plot point to conclusion, but did not. You decide. This film *made* that actor, in this country at-least.
In the US? No. Rutger Hauer was star in the US long before this. He'd had major roles in NIGHTHAWKS, THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND, A BREED APART, LADYHAWKE, the under-appreciated FLESH & BLOOD, and BLADE RUNNER. Rutger Hauer may not have been on the level of Stallone or Tom Cruise in 1986, but he was undoubtedly a well-established and sought-after star.

If anything, THE HITCHER was the beginning of his career decline. He's been working steadily since, but never in the big hit movies like he had prior to 1986.

Why? Who knows? I've heard contradicting things over the years. I used to work with a guy who ran into Rutger Hauer in a cell phone store in the late '90s. Said he was the nicest guy and even joked about tanking his career. He said he'd suffered from a really bad agent for over a decade. But I've also heard that Hauer is a horror of a human being and impossible to work with. So who knows?

But THE HITCHER certainly did not make his career in the US. It was the beginning of the end of Hauer as a major star.
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Old 10-12-2018, 08:04 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,015,864 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oeccscclhjhn View Post
Jennifer Jason Leigh was outstanding in this.
I've always liked her and thought she was a good actress. Single White Female was great.
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