On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
"The terror starts the moment he stops."
Top Billed Cast
Rutger Hauer
John Ryder
C. Thomas Howell
Jim Halsey
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Nash
Jeffrey DeMunn
Captain Esteridge
Billy Green Bush
Trooper Donner
John M. Jackson
Sergeant Starr
Henry Darrow
Trooper Hancock
Jon Van Ness
Trooper Hapscomb
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
J JPV852Verified TMDB Critic
2024-12-06
Solid enough suspense-thriller with great action and menacing performance from Rutger Hauer, a few moments in the story felt a bit clunky, mainly how Jennifer Jason Leigh's character gets involved, which I will say the 2007 remake at least improved upon. Just a highly entertaining flick. **3.5/5**...
W WuchakVerified TMDB Critic
2025-12-19
**_Thrilling desert road flick ruined by an implausible villain_**
This is an action-packed thriller with the milieu of the remote Southwest à la Eastwood’s “The Gauntlet” mixed with psychological horror, even slasher. So, it’s reminiscent in ways of “Duel,” “The Getaway” and "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry," but the enigmatic antagonist’s twistedness and powers add a goofy slasher vibe.
The writer defended this on the grounds of making John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) a "mythical character,” arguing that he intended the movie to be an allegory about the protagonist's journey an...
S specimenbVerified TMDB Critic
2026-08-10
*The Hitcher* is a tense, brutal road thriller that turns a simple drive through the desert into a full-blown nightmare. I loved how lean and relentless it is: it wastes almost no time explaining itself, instead building dread through empty highways, eerie silences, and the sense that danger could appear anywhere.
Rutger Hauer is phenomenal as John Ryder—calm, charismatic, and genuinely terrifying without ever needing to overplay the role. C. Thomas Howell gives the film a vulnerable center, and the increasingly desperate cat-and-mouse chase keeps the pressure on from start to finish. It�...
