DVD Review: The Hitcher

Remakes tend to raise the ire of genre fans the world round. Whether you have seen the original film or not, you are bound to have an opinion. While some remakes scare me, like the upcoming The Day the Earth Stood Still (which has me quaking), I don't want to be the kind of guy who dismisses remakes out of hand, but at the same time I thirst for films with some originality. Then there is the question of whether or not it is better to go forward with a remake, or to "borrow" elements of another film, it is six of one, half dozen of the other, either way you are sure to upset someone. That brings me to this remake of The Hitcher, the 1986 thriller with Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell. I have not seen that film, so I didn't have the baggage coming in, something that I hope to rectify. As it stands, this turns out to be a flawed, yet delightfully gritty flick that I can honestly say that I liked.

I saw this on the big screen and I very much enjoyed it, and now seeing it again on the small screen, I have found that my feelings have not changed much. It is still a fun movie with some great car stunts, and delicious atmosphere of dread, and a killer performance from our ruthless killer.

Sean Bean anchors this film. He is John Ryder, the hitchhiker of the title, an enigmatic stranger who seems to want nothning more than to commit a little death and destruction. Bean dives into the role and completely and disappears into the character. We don't learn much, outside of the cat-like way he plays with his prey before going in for the kill. I am convinced that Ryder may not even be human, I believe that he may be some sort of demonic spirit forever wandering the lonely highways looking for his next victim.

The story centers on Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton) and Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush), a couple leaving for Spring Break. Along the way a rainstorm hits and they come across a man with a broken down car. They speed along, but end up bumping into each other at a gas station. At this moment the story goes down a path of danger and death, precisely where Jim and Grace don’t want to go.

The man is John Ryder (Sean Bean). He freely offers up the fact that he is not trustworthy. From this early moment, it is clear what is going to happen. The young couple are going to run and John Ryder is going to relentlessly pursue them, intent on separating them from their life. For what reason? This is not revealed. The thrill of the kill, the excitement of the chase, a biological need, or something even more sinister. Not knowing sort of makes it a touch more frightening, seeming randomness can be rather scary.

The Hitcher is essentially a chase film. The kids run and Ryder pursues, relentlessly. Along the way, they try to obtain help, only to be mistaken as the killer on the loose. What keeps the interest up are the tense setups which allow us to spend time with Ryder. Sean Bean injects a good dose of steely menace into the hitcher, the guy is scary.

The problems lie, primarily with our heroic duo of Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton. They are two of the blandest leads I have encountered in some time. They are just uninteresting to listen to, fortunately Sophia Bush is a lovely sight. Then there is the car chase that breaks into a Nine Inch Nails video, cool song, but please keep the music to the background. The scene would have been fine had the music stayed in a supporting role.

Audio/Video. The disk looks very good, delivering the same gritty, washed out look that the big screen presented. Presented in its proper aspect ratio, there is really nothing to complain about. Likewise, the audio is nothing to complain about. The disk delivers on the technical side.

Extras. Despite the lack of a commentary track, there are a few good extras.

• Deleted Scenes. There are a number of scenes here that are not really bad, but may have slowed the pace a bit. The highlight is the scene called "End of the Road," which is an alternate ending. I have to say that I liked this very much, it is a little more brutal, and I really enjoyed the vicousness of it.
• Dead End. This is a featurette focuses on the creation of Zachary Knighton's duplicate for use in his death scene. They did a really nice job at creating the dummy. Most amusing was Knighton commenting on how he didn't miss the dummy, that it lacked a little in the personality department. Same thing I was saying about his performance!
• Road Kill: The Ultimate Car Crash. The title says it all, this covers the impressive car stunts, and how they borrowed from Michael Bay in some of their creation.
• Fuel Your Fear: The Making of The Hitcher. This is a fluffy featurette on the creation of the film.
• Chronicles of a Killer. A collection of phony news briefs tracking the progress of the films trail of death and destruction.

Bottomline. This is a fun movie, not perfect by any stretch, but completely effective in delivering an atmosphere of dread. It is a small scale movie that makes the best of what it has. Sean Bean is the big attraction here, playing a great villain. Definitely recommend this one.

Recommended.