Retro Rewatch: The Hitcher 1986

Retro Rewatch is an ongoing editorial that takes a look into certain films, conventions, crazes, and characters of the horror genre years after their heyday. It is an effort to try and put the magnifying glass up to the horror world with the much needed luxuries of time and perspective applied in order to fully understand the impact and social significance of these projects/themes/ideas (if any). So for this installment of Retro Rewatch, I present to you the insanely creepy classic “The Hitcher”.

It’s been a good decade or so since I have first seen The Hitcher, and I will not hesitate to say that upon first viewing, I didn’t like the film at all.  It seemed completely ridiculous, poorly paced, and impossibly unrealistic.  I figured that now was as good a time as any since I was struggling to find something to write about and seeing it on  my shelf still in the shrink wrap from when I bought it three or four years ago.  After the second viewing I will say that I enjoyed the movie much more and have discovered an appreciation and understanding as to why the story took the route that it did.

Originally I had a problem with the Hitcher character that is left nameless (portrayed by Rutger Hauer).  I was frustrated by the fact that there was no reason whatsoever as to why The Hitcher went through everything that he did in order to torment Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell).  The Hitcher essentially kills a whole lot of random people on the highway in order to get a car, get to some unknown destination, and what appears to be “just for funzies”.  As I’ve come into age since I was 18, I realized that the non-reason is exactly what makes the situation so tense and scary in the first place.

The Hitcher has no real motivation for going through an intricate series of frame jobs and gruesome murders in order to (seemingly only) frame Jim.  Also it’s important to note, that these wasn’t some kind of elaborate assassination attempt to kill an important person and then pin it on some teenager, The Hitcher kills everyone that he can indiscriminately and then makes the police believe that Jim was the killer.  We aren’t talking about one or two killings here either, this was more like 30 people that were murdered for no reason, the lack of reason however is what makes The Hitcher so scary.  There is no real plan, no motivation, and no reason to the madness.   It reminds me of the slashers of the 80s where Jason and Michael Myers were faceless killers who can’t be reasoned with or bargained with.  Adding another layer to the character, The Hitcher isn’t a faceless goon, but a person who is empty inside and unable to show or display compassion.  In many ways, he is like a super intelligent version of Jason or Michael Myers.

In addition to the issue of motivation, it’s also very important to note the pacing of the film.  Coming in at only around an hour and a half, the film feels much longer.  It certainly isn’t boring at all, but the series of actions and events happen in a very stilted sequence.  There will be a tense scene leading up to a creepy and unsettling altercation, then there will be a slow character development sequence, and then am all out action sequence.  It’s a bit difficult to explain, but it feels like you are constantly going up and down mountains on an extremely fast rollercoaster.  At first glance it feels uncomfortable and almost frantic but then again that pacing goes right along with the character of The Hitcher.

To an insane killer who enjoys ending people’s lives and tormenting others, the psychology behind the killer could be interpreted as someone who thinks and acts relentlessly and quickly, seizing opportunity whenever the situation presents itself.  It is pretty much the opposite of planning.  There isn’t a precise and intricate plan that needs to be executed with precision, it’s a loose idea and goal that is unraveled when the situation presents itself, and the fact of the matter is that we as the viewers are just along for the ride.  We’re sitting shotgun with an insane person and another character who we can identify with as a scared and undeserving teenager.

I am certainly glad that I watched The Hitcher for a second time because at this point in my life after seeing a number of other genre films I was able to watch it with a completely different set of eyes.  When my love with horror originally blossomed, I was really getting into the new nineties renaissance of horror with films like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Urban Legend (I was like 14, give me a break here) and The Hitcher was so radically different and surprisingly deep that I didn’t really understand how it was supposed to be interpreted.  I guess now I realize that I need to go back into my collection and find some more movies that deserve a second chance.  Any Ideas?

Is it a cult classic, a fitting analysis, or complete forgettable?  I personally know three people who love this movie to death and argued relentless with me until I watch the movie again and proverbially “saw the light”.  The characters, the simple and insane plot, and the beautifully done action sequence makes this a cult classic which I’m sure will be a favorite of horror fans for a long time.