13 Nights of Shocktober: The Hitcher

by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober.  So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some scary movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 3: Rutger Hauer Memorial Night
“I’m going to sit here, and you’re going to drive.”

The Hitcher (1986)

The great actor Ruger Hauer passed away earlier this year after a long career delivering great performances in a variety of genres. He played heroes and romantic leads in Paul Verhoven’s European films (Soldier of Orange, Turkish Delight), but in American films he usually played a villain in thrillers, action movies, and horror movies, like one of my favorites, The Hitcher. This horror-thriller has a simple plot (a young man picks up the wrong hitchhiker), follows slasher movie tropes, at times goes over the top, then way over the top, but works, even when it doesn’t, thanks to a steely, menacing performance from Rutger Hauer—one of his best in my opinion, after his most famous role, the replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

C. Thomas Howell is the young man, Jim, who on a rainy night driving through West Texas, picks up a hitchhiker played by Rutger Hauer. The Hitcher says his name is John Ryder, the perfect name for a psychotic hitchhiking killer. He does not put up any façade of normality whatsoever; right away he acts totally creepy and intense. Jim escapes only to be relentless pursued by Ryder and his trail of murder and mayhem. Jim befriends a waitress at diner named Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and she, naturally, gets dragged into the pursuit. The picturesque West Texas landscape provides a desolate and picturesque backdrop for the suspense and carnage that ensues.

There is no reason why the Hitcher latches on to Jim to hunt and torment. The Hitcher has no motivation, ethos, or history; he exists only to cause mayhem and murder. Originally, the screenplay by Eric Red explored the Hitcher’s origin, but Hauer thought explaining what warped and twisted the character into a killer actually made him tragic since that kind of thing, unfortunately, happens in real life. Hauer said he wanted to play the Hitcher like he was the human version of the shark from JAWS. At one point, Hauer hums “Bicycle Built for Two,” like another famous nonhuman villain, HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey. When Jim asks the Hitcher why he is doing this, Hauer takes two pennies, licks them, and places them on Howell’s eyes. Then he gives Howell bullets for an empty revolver so they can continue their deadly game. Allegedly, Howell was legitimately afraid of Hauer on set.

The Hitcher aims to be a mix between an action film, a slasher film, and a Hitchcockian thriller. Though at times it is predictable, it is no less enjoyable. There are some outlandish moments, like the Hitcher shooting down a helicopter with a revolver, or wearing his duster even after the cops capture him, or the sound of lion roaring when he leaps from one car to another. Still, those scenes don’t seem too farfetched because this movie doesn’t mean to represent reality. I will admit there is one element to the story that is never convincing: the symbiotic, sadomasochistic relationship that is supposed to develop between the Hitcher and Jim in the final act.

When The Hitcher was released in 1986, it was reviled by critics for its grizzly and sadistic violence (though, of course, it seems tame by current standards of horror violence). Siskel and Ebert included it on their worst of the year lists. Ebert gave the film a 0 star review, writing: “…on its own terms, this movie is diseased and corrupt.” Hauer thought critics didn’t understand the film. In an interview he said, “Actually, the film was an allegory. The passenger represented evil. That’s all it was.” I’m not sure I entirely agree with Hauer on the allegory angle. Of course, I certainly don’t agree with Siskel or Ebert on this one. I end up watching this film every few years or so, and while it is undoubtedly violent and dark, I never get tired of watching Rutger Hauer’s incredible, enigmatic performance. He conveys so much while staying subtle. He stays quiet, moves slowly, and uses body language like stares and smirks to make his whole presence radiate evil and dread. The Hitcher is like a wild campfire story or urban legend put on film.