The Hitcher (1986) A deep inspection of the film

[00:00:10]Welcome to another video in our hidden gem series, where we go over less known films that we think you should check out. And it's more than fitting that The Hitcher was our first hidden gem series on this channel. Eric Red wanted to be a filmmaker. When he was 20, he made a short film called Gunman's Blues, but he received little response for his attempt. So he decided to get closer to California. He took a driveaway, which was a car needing to be delivered across state lines, and all he had to do was pay for gas. During the drive, he listened to The Doors song "Riders on the Storm", and he also noticed the loneliness of the terrain. All this culminated into his ideas for The Hitcher. When he arrived in Texas, he rented an apartment and wrote the script within a month of being there. He had no agent, and that would make it difficult for him to sell a script. What he did do was find the California Production Manual with a list of producers, and immediately mailed out teaser letters that basically dared people to read his script. He recalled that the dare was something like, "I think I said some [ __ ] like, you know, when you read the script, you won't sleep for a week.

[00:01:23]When the movie gets made, the country won't sleep for a month." I did what I guess we would call logline now. During 1983, he sent about 400 letters, and he said he got about a 40% response rate.

[00:01:37]One producer Eric specifically sent his script to was named Phil Feldman, who produced The Wild Bunch, and he thought for sure he would love his script. It went to Fox, but a screw-up in the mailroom caused the script to be delivered to Ed Feldman, who was another producer. Ed instructed his development executive David Bombyk, to reach out to Red by mail. And the letter stated they were interested. By that time, Eric drove a taxi cab and was broke. He had no phone whatsoever. So, they would discuss story meetings on a payphone.

[00:02:12]And Eric stated the conversations were punctuated by him throwing quarters into the payphone he used. The first script was way too long. And over the next few months, it was whittled down to a manageable run time. A few months later, he moved to Los Angeles and sold his script. The original 190-page script was noted to be filled with violence and gore. It was borderline exploitation and they wanted to tune the script down so it could be presentable to Fox. They saw something in the movie that was deeper and they focused on that. Red complied with adjusting his work and for 6 months, he polished his script with Kip Ohlman so it would be tighter and more presentable to an official producer.

[00:02:57]They sent the script to David Madden, a production executive at 20th Century Fox, and he said it was terrific. But, Fox was a bit uncomfortable with the subject matter. So, they offered a letter of intent to distribute the film.

[00:03:11]Basically, if they got financing to make the movie, the studio would reimburse them for their budget after release. At this point, Ed Feldman was on board and financing began. Because they had little money, they wanted a new and cheaper director. Robert Harmon was a still photographer in California on various films. He made a short film with his own money to break free of the job and evolve into a filmmaker. The short was called China Lake, which was eerily similar to The Hitcher. After finishing the short, some took notice and one was Ed Feldman. And he contacted Harmon's agent. He sent him the script and Robert's agent called saying, "I have a project I'm going to send you. You're not going to believe how much fun you're going to have making this movie." This was the closest version resembling the script we could find that Robert Harmon was sent. It begins with Jim Halsey just entering Texas in a borrowed Camaro meant to be delivered. He is sleepy and to keep himself awake, he picks up a hitchhiker in the rain. There is more dialogue between the two in the car, but for the most part, it had the same tone to the finished film. They arrive at a toll booth, but Ryder keeps Halsey from warning the attendant like he did in the film. In this version, when Ryder puts the knife to Halsey's face, the young man pees himself and in a noise, Halsey who unsympathetically says, "You pissed your pants, you vegetable. You think that's going to save your ass? You want to know why I'm going to gut you like a fish? Even the lowest of animals got the survival reflex to fight back when it's life is on the line. If you ain't got that, you're like some jelly amoeba with no backbone or spine and you ain't fit to live." It is after this that Halsey pushes Ryder out of the car. Later, the station wagon with the family appears and when Jim tries to warn them, the father gives him the finger before the Camaro is clipped by a bus. When Jim finds the wagon again, he slows the car down to look in and there is explicit blood streaks smeared across the windows. After seeing this, he screams and does not pull over to inspect further. He then heads to an abandoned gas station that is on fire inside, but there is a payphone not engulfed in flames and Jim runs to it and makes a call to the police, but just then a hand punches through a window with a shiv and swipes at him. Halsey avoids the blade, but Ryder cuts the phone cord. Jim backs into a corner and taunts Ryder, still holding the phone receiver as a weapon.

[00:05:55]But, Ryder simply drops car keys and walks out of the burning building. The hitcher is picked up by a truck like the finished film. And we then have a time skip where Jim is driving. He is suddenly hit from behind by a truck, and it's the hitcher. In this version, the hitcher keeps ramming the car from behind and even on its side until the Camaro ends up in a ditch. Jim manages to get the car out and heads to an abandoned Texaco gas station. Halsey parks, grabs a tire iron, thinking the hitcher is around here. He checks the bathroom, and then he looks at the truck. He realizes it's not the same truck that rammed him off the road because there are no marks on it. Then another truck appears, ramming through a fence and roaring on a path straight for Jim. Jim dives out of the way as it rams into the truck he was inspecting. The truck is hit so hard it flips over. Then the hitcher begins destroying the gas pumps with the truck, like the movie, before dropping a match into exposed gas as he drives away. Halsey barely escapes as the gas station explodes. Halsey then makes it to the Longhorn Sirloin Burger restaurant where Galveston, or Gal, tells him they are not open. He tries to force his way in the door she just opened, but a tug-of-war at the door occurs. She says they're closed, but eventually Jim forces his way in saying he just wants to use the phone and says it's an emergency. When he gets in, she yells for him to get out, and then she grabs something to use as a weapon, but he begs for compassion. She relents, and he thanks her. She then asks if he wants something to eat, and he says he can pay for it. But, she says he should wash up first because he stinks of gas and then he can make his phone call while she cooks. When finished, he emerges and she compliments his appearance. They have small talk and it's revealed Jim is from Buford, Ohio and came to Texas looking for work. Jim then bites into his burger and realizes the bun is odd. He lifts the bun to see a human eyeball in the middle of the burger between the bun and patty. Gal is shocked as Jim walks out of the restaurant and is arrested by the police who will not talk to him but beat the crap out of him. Gal tries to intercede on Jim's behalf but they ignore her and take him away. At the police station, Jim is interrogated and his wallet is missing. They book him, throw him in jail, and the next morning he wakes up to a slaughtered police station. Jim grabs a gun from one of the dead cops and he even breaks one of the fingers of the dead man's hands to obtain the weapon. He then flees the station as more police arrive to the site. Not far, Jim ends up in a bus station and he buys a ticket. But before he gets on the bus, two cops enter and Halsey pulls his gun on them. One cop states they both have wives. Halsey then drives away with the police and talks to Captain Esterhas and agrees to surrender. The cop car then pulls over when the hitcher arrives and kills the two cops in the front with a gun, leaving Halsey alone and screaming.

[00:09:13]Halsey entertains the idea of ending his life but then heads to a pit stop where he sits in a booth when the hitcher sits down with him and says, "So, how do you like shitsville, stupid?" Halsey pulls the gun and is told there are no bullets. The hitcher taunts him to fire and it's confirmed there are no bullets.

[00:09:32]Then Rider puts coins on Halsey's eyes and leaves. When Halsey opens his eyes, there is a napkin with "Next time" written on it. Inside it are bullets.

[00:09:44]Then Halsey sneaks onto the bus that stops at the diner and loads the gun where he sees Galveston and tells her he's innocent. In this version, Gal doesn't really believe he's innocent, but she is open to the idea. And then the cops come. And like the film, they are abusive. Gal rescues him from the cop who was planning to shoot him. And the cop tells her she's now an accessory and she's going to jail. She tells them she couldn't stand by and let them kill a person in cold blood. The two fugitives then drive away. In the near distance, the hitcher watches in his truck and is frustrated by Gal's actions. He states aloud the word "bitch" as he looks at her and loads his gun with his bony hands and then drives away. The car chase occurs and in this version, both main characters sigh in relief as police survivors exit the wreckage of their cars. Ryder shows up and helps Halsey escape and then drives off. Exhausted, the two young people check into a hotel. They both lay in the bed and fall asleep pretty much immediately. When Jim wakes up, he puts his arm around Gal and she responds.

[00:10:55]They then get it on. When they finish, Gal says she wants a shower and Jim says he will start it. He begins washing himself and calls for Gal to join him, but there is no answer. In the other room, the hitcher holds a switchblade to Gal's throat. Halsey sees this and enters the room. Ryder is stunned by a television that comes on full volume and Halsey grabs Ryder, shoving him into the television screen. The television pops and electrocutes Ryder. His hair is burnt and bleeding. Halsey drops Ryder to the floor and he grabs Ryder's gun and knives while he lays there in a stupor. Halsey then calls the police informing them where they are. In this version, Gal is simply helpless, standing there naked and sobbing. And then, Halsey approaches the hitcher like a standard horror film, and the man punches Halsey in the throat and knocks him out. Gal, not fast enough, is cornered by the hitcher. When Halsey wakes up, no one is in the room. He heads out to see Gal tied to the back of the hitcher's pickup truck as well as an iron pole in the concrete. There are no cops on the site, and the hitcher opens the passenger door inviting Halsey to enter. Like the movie, Ryder taunts him to kill him, but Halsey doesn't. Then Ryder says, "You zero. After all the work I put in on you, you waste." Then Ryder knocks out Halsey with the butt of his gun, and he falls out of the truck as Ryder drives away as Gal screams and sirens wail in the distance. Then Halsey wakes up in the police headquarters, and Captain Esterhas is there. With Gal dead, the captain offers his apologies and that they have the hitcher in custody and that he is clear of all charges. He tells him they have nothing on the man, and they allow him to speak to him in the interrogation room. But, he is warned that if he lays a hand on Ryder, he will be locked up. After Halsey puts his hand into Ryder's, the hitcher slips him a lock pick smiling. Halsey then spits in his face and is dragged out.

[00:13:03]The next morning, the hitcher is hauled away in the bus, while Esterhas takes Halsey to the local Best Western, where he will stay as a star witness for Ryder's trial 2 weeks from now. Halsey states he will get free and then pulls the gun on the cop telling him to get out of the car just like the film. Like the film, the hitcher jumps through the window of the police car when Halsey drives behind the bus after killing those inside. It states his face is ripped to ribbons and with some of the flesh hanging in tattered strings. Like the film, Halsey breaks the car and even shoots the hitcher with his pistol before ramming into him with the police truck. Then, he completely runs over the hitcher.

[00:13:50]Then Halsey exits. Seeing the hitcher dead, he lights a cigarette and then throws his pistol far away as the sound of police sirens echo in the distance.

[00:14:02]He sits on the hood smoking waiting for the cops to arrive. This early script was very close to the final film. Harmon took to the script and would meet with the producers during February 1984. This would be Harmon's first film and it was Ed Feldman who was his biggest supporter. Harmon wanted the violence toned down and had zero intentions of seeing Nash torn in half or an eyeball in a hamburger. He wanted it to be less slasher and more Hitchcock in its approach. Being a cinematographer, Harmon wanted someone he could understand and work with behind the camera and the great John Seal from Australia became his choice pick. Seal was a bit nervous about taking the job because he understood the director's background and he didn't want to fight a director on how he handled the camera.

[00:14:50]But in the end, he took the job and the two worked very well together. Since the early versions of The Hitcher were skeletal and different than what we got in the film, they considered performers like Sting, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie, and Michael Ironside. The first actor they really took seriously was Terence Stamp and the director was so focused on Stamp that for a bit he kept his picture in his pocket during meetings about the film. Stamp did get the script, but the actor thought the role would put him him a place he didn't want to go. So, he passed. Afterwards, Stamp became a fan of this film and forever regretted passing on it. Then, Sam Elliott was cast as John Ryder.

[00:15:31]Writer Eric Red stated his audition was utterly terrifying. I was thrilled when he was cast. I thought he would have been brilliantly frightening in the role. But, before filming, Elliott passed on the part. I think he got cold feet. I think the character was just too scary. And when we cast Rutger, he embraced all that. Now, despite these quotes, other outlets claim that Elliott didn't work out because of salary disputes. As to who's right and wrong, you're going to have to decide. Then, came Rutger Hauer. He was visiting LA during the release of Ladyhawke in April 1985. Rutger was driving along Sunset Boulevard and saw a sign for his new film. It had a picture of Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick, but not him. He wondered, "Why is my face not up there?" Of course, he wasn't contracted for it, but he started thinking he needed to open up his career. He was known for playing bad guys, whether it was Nighthawks and Blade Runner. And honestly, he mused that it was time to stop doing such roles because he was not a face advertised for his films. The next day, he would get the script for The Hitcher along with the short Robert Harmon made. It really changed Rutger's recent musings. "It really got a hold of me. I thought if I do one more villain, I should do this. I couldn't refuse it."

[00:16:52]Rutger told the director that he saw the film as a horrible fairy tale and that it was analogous to a cat who was toying with a mouse. Matthew Modine, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez were considered to play Ryder's victim, Jim Halsey, but it would be C. Thomas Howell who would win that role. Howell was becoming a big name at at time, but it was a rocky time for his career. After being in ET and The Outsiders at a young age, Howell thought he was, in his own words, God's gift, and he stated his quality of work suffered for it. After accepting parts in Tank, Grandview USA, Red Dawn, and Secret Admirer, he knew he needed to do better as an actor and needed to select better roles. He also felt he needed training. He simply needed to become more, otherwise his career would be over. For him, The Hitcher represented playing a victim, not a movie star, and it would be a test to his acting. That was a challenge he wouldn't pass up. What was more, he was the type of actor who, when the day was over, he wanted to go play video games or mess around. This would change as his fellow co-stars in the film, Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, were dyed-in-the-wool professionals. In fact, they didn't simply just walk off the set. They stayed in character. Because of Rutger and Jennifer, he knew he would have to raise his game and learn from them both. Jennifer Jason Leigh took the job mainly because she worked with Rutger in Flesh and Blood, and she really wanted to work with him again.

[00:18:31]She also thought that Nash was just a real person, and she wanted to play that. With the major players in place, the film was ready to move forward with production, but we're talking about Fox here. So, there were problems. With bigger actors like C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Fox became annoyed that the budget began growing. To the studio, the film was just another horror film that wasn't to be taken seriously beyond a low-budget movie, and it wasn't worth the price tag for bigger actors.

[00:19:07]And this wasn't the only problem. Many in the studio were not completely behind the film because they deemed it pure exploitation.

[00:19:16]Those that liked the film were sometimes put into the position of defending why they supported it. One such person was production vice president Carol Baum at 20th Century Fox, who recalled this. "I can't remember who was there. It was an industry type dinner and somebody made a comment about the script. When I defended it, that person berated me for liking such a violent exploitation film.

[00:19:45]With support like that, it was no surprise that 20th Century Fox backed out of the film. To keep things going, Ed Feldman and his partner Charles Meeker decided to option the film themselves and began pitching it to other studios. Universal, Warner Brothers, Orion, and New World Pictures all passed on it. The major contention were two issues. One was the death of Nash and the other was having this new director, Robert Harmon, being in the driver's seat. When they approached Paramount Pictures, president of production Jeffrey Katzenberg and production vice president David Kirkpatrick liked the film, but when their boss Michael Eisner looked at the project, he shot them down saying it was off-brand for their studio.

[00:20:32]Nevertheless, Ed kept his faith with the film. He didn't want to change the script or the director. So, everyone held out hoping the movie would not fizzle. By happenstance, one of Ed's former employees, Donna Dubrow, heard that her old boss was trying to pitch a movie around town and currently she worked at HBO Pictures. With support from Morrie Singer, HBO senior vice president, the project went to Michael Fuchs for approval, but Fuchs turned down the idea. Not to be deterred, Donna went to Fuchs directly in New York and stressed to the president that the film would be more Hitchcockian than exploitation. To her surprise, Fuchs backpedaled and approved the idea on two conditions. The first was that the eyeball in the burger had to go, which director Harmon already was keen on nixing that idea. Also, the scene with that girl being torn apart by the truck needed to be toned down. When word got back, the makers of the film began meetings and negotiations with the studio. And as this occurred, it was stated there were some heated arguments while options were put forward to change Nash's death. It was agreed that the direct violence done by Ryder would be done off screen and that no graphic moments would be filmed in the movie.

[00:21:58]With that, there was an agreement and The Hitcher was given a budget of 5.8 million and the film was finally greenlit. Now that HBO greenlit the production of The Hitcher, the film went forward as director Robert Harmon drove around California to Las Vegas to visualize the environment he wanted the film to take place in. During the trip, he picked locations like the Valley of Fire outside Vegas, El Centro, Barstow, California, Death Valley, California, and of course the old Route 66 as well as other locations. The movie crew would be driven place to place by a bus through three states during filming from Nevada to Arizona to California.

[00:22:40]Principal photography was supposed to last nine weeks. The first day of filming was outside the diner when Halsey is arrested. When C. Thomas Howell first met Rutger Hauer, he was very excited and eager. He admitted to the Thespian that despite his roles in the past, he never really acted before.

[00:22:59]Rutger had hundreds of ideas and improvised constantly. Many of these improvs would land in the film and one example was his white handkerchief as he drove away in the truck. Rutger would just throw these things in and if the director liked it, they kept it and if it wasn't liked, they would do another take. This gave so much life to his performance and he was free to do so.

[00:23:23]Now, the scene with Nash's death was always contentious. Everyone at HBO except to brow didn't like it. They were trying to make her death not horrible when by the nature of the script, it had to be. They suggested they film a funeral to soften her death and this debate would continue right up to the release of the film. This contention would even hit Rutger as well. When it came to filming the scene where Lee's character met her fate, they had to finish everything by noon and Rutger locked himself in his trailer and would not come out. Producer Ed Feldman was asked to talk to him and Feldman recalled that when he went to Rutger's trailer, the actor was very nervous about the scene. Rutger felt that if he killed the character of Nash the way they intended, he would lose the audience. And Ed's response was, "Only great actors can play villains and he was playing an ultimate villain." He got Rutger out at dawn just before the sun came up and they filmed the scene.

[00:24:24]Throughout the production, money and time were always an issue. Nearing the end of filming, everyone kept saying they were out of money and worried if they could finish the film, but director Robert Harmon never let them see him sweat. He was always calm and simply kept shooting as if there were no problems at all. Many on the crew were stunned by his managing the pressure, especially because this was his first time as a major director on a studio film. The last day of shooting had Howl escaping the police station where Ryder slaughtered all the police. Everyone had been drinking and celebrating the night before, but Howell had to buck up and climb over the rocks on the hill while everyone sat pretty watching him do all the work. For the music, Mark Isham was called by the director because he liked his compositions, especially Mrs. Soffel. The score is more mood than music. It is isolated, lonely, and soul-searching with little breaks beyond action scenes. It is really great to listen to when you are in a really serious mood. He used his synthesizer and computer at his house, and he would play his work for Harmon whenever he visited before they dubbed the soundtrack. The film would go over budget, costing 7.9 million. When the film was put together, there were two studios to deal with. Although HBO was a small production company, it fit most of the bill for the movie. At the time, HBO was making a few films for theaters like Flashpoint, A Passage to India, Volunteers, and Sweet Dreams, but they needed help distributing their films, and for this, they turned to TriStar Pictures. So, both studios were behind this film, one making it and one delivering it to the public. As a courtesy, Ed Feldman and the director gave a screening for TriStar bigwigs, and one of them began making notes like, "We need to see the younger life of Ryder to understand why he is the way he is. We need to see cops crawling out of crashes so audiences don't hate the main characters during their getaway." And so on. The new director knew he didn't have the power to resist these people, but producer Ed Feldman stood his ground and said, "Well, sir, if this was your movie, we could do all those things, but it isn't. It's my movie, and we're not doing any of that stuff." I remember thinking, "Thank God for Ed Feldman because that moment saved the film from being hugely bastardized." Despite some of the studio heads at TriStar trying to adjust the film. Studio president David Madelon stated, "It's the best film that we have for 1986." The film previewed in New Jersey and the reaction was very fun. There was both love and hate and even some nuns came up to producer Ed Feldman stating, "How dare he show this movie to people?" It's more ironic these nuns allowed themselves to sit through a horror rated R movie. Anyways, the press was simply not fair to this film in most cases. It started with the LA Times, which wanted to do a cover story for the film in its Sunday LA Times calendar section. The cast and crew were very accommodating and positive doing interviews and talking about the film.

[00:27:37]It was a very optimistic experience, but when the article came out, it had a picture of Rutger Hauer in his trench coat with the caption, "How do these movies get made?" The entire crew felt duped as if they were sabotaged.

[00:27:50]>> was basically a story which we all felt we had been thoroughly tricked by this journalist. [music] Because there was no hint in their in their discussion of the questions or what this what [music] the nature of the take of the story was going to be.

[00:28:02]That it was in effect not even necessarily negative about the movie, but it was a kind of a uh moralistic quote these movies, how do these movies get made that are so horrifying and so frightening?

[00:28:13]>> This would continue even to the big critics like Siskel and Ebert, who shunned the movie. Ebert gave it a zero out of five stars and said the movie was a sick homosexual exploitation film.

[00:28:26]>> more heartless and more cruel. It's a deeply cynical movie that doesn't even have the courage to admit what it's really about, which is gay sadomasochism.

[00:28:34]>> There were lots of critics who shunned the film in the same fashion, but there were some that gave it mid-grades like Leonard Maltin and others like Newsweek that praised it. Still, many critics, especially the big ones who copied Siskel and Ebert, did not bode well for the release of this film. I lost any and all respect for Roger Ebert after reading that. He took a real personal shot at me. I was 24 at the time and it really hurt my feelings. Reviewers can like a film or not like a film, but when reviewers get personal based on nothing, since then I've taken tremendous offense to that when I see it both either to me or to colleagues. Say what you want to say about a movie. You can like it, you can hate it, but don't make personal comments on the people that make the film who you don't know. During early 1986, The Hitcher would arrive at a time in theaters when Down and Out in Beverly Hills was all the rage. Since the Academy Awards were more serious about how they treated their films back then, people respected what was nominated. And since the awards were a little over a month away, films with lots of nominations like Color Purple, Murphy's Romance, Out of Africa were still in the top 10. Newer films like FX and Hannah and Her Sisters were also doing well.

[00:29:58]The week before the release of The Hitcher, February 14th, 1986, a lot of films were introduced starting with Chuck Norris's iconic Delta Force.

[00:30:08]Although the movie only made 17.7 million, it would go on to be a cult action favorite. Knights of the City would fall flat with just 601.4 would bike his way around a once beautiful San Francisco in Quicksilver.

[00:30:28]The Turtle Diary would make 2.1 million, while Goldie Hawn tried to coach the Wildcats. On February 21st, The Hitcher released with a number eight spot, and this did not bode well either for the film. With critics panning it, it couldn't gain momentum. It would make 2.4 in its first week. Alongside the film, Nine and a Half Weeks would try to seduce audiences, but in the end, it would only make 6.7 million. On February 28th, three new films arrived. One was Oliver Stone's Salvador, which would not be much of a threat to The Hitcher.

[00:31:05]However, the other two films really came out strong. The first was House, which directly challenged The Hitcher and horror audiences. House would take the number one spot for the week and would eventually make 19.4 million. Pretty in Pink would become a smash success.

[00:31:23]Though it started in the number two spot, it would go on to make 40.4 million and would remain in the top 10 for the next three months. The Hitcher dropped to the 11th spot during this week, but it would be snuffed out of the majority of theaters when five more films were released the following week on March 7th, 1986.

[00:31:46]The films that came out this week were The Care Bears Movie 2: A New Generation, Nomads with Pierce Brosnan, Desert Hearts, A Room with a View, and another cult classic, Highlander.

[00:31:59]Without support from critics or word of mouth from audiences, The Hitcher disappeared from most big theaters by this time. In some big cities, you were lucky to find this film in theaters during the second week of March. It was most commonly found in drive-in theaters for a bit, but for the most part, it died a quick death, making only 5.8 million. Unfortunately for this film, the merchandising did not exist, either.

[00:32:28]There was no novel to support the movie at the time, and the soundtrack was not even released alongside the film. For soundtrack lovers like myself, they would have to wait until 1991 for the first official score for the movie. They would make newer versions later, but for those of us in '86, we had to wait quite a while to get our hands on this score, and it doesn't disappoint. One of the things of this movie is the eerie and self-reflective score with a lot of quiet moments, and it was a perfect score for this movie. The score matched the environment of the film. The environment that was depicted in this movie is also very important for the film. You can see forever, and there is nowhere to run or hide. If your car broke down in 1986, where could you have gone? There were no mobile phones.

[00:33:27]The soundtrack reflected the environment perfectly, and it kept a mood throughout the entire film. The action scenes were not totally bombastic like most action scores. The action scenes are surprisingly refrained, and that just made the soundtrack better. I would be one of the many who would miss out when The Hitcher released. I was in eighth grade and going on 14. We lived in Berne Port Apartments in Toledo, Ohio, and as always, money was very tight. I went to few theaters at this time. Rather, I focused on skateboarding above anything, and that included school. I would not see The Hitcher until November 1986 at Grove School. There were around 10 kids in the movie pavilion, and I had no idea what the film was about. I was stunned how effective the film was, and how riveting Rutger Hauer's performance was.

[00:34:23]He chewed up the scenery, and C. Thomas Howell stood his ground and was just perfect as his would-be victim. It was such a shame that Howells name and bankability would diminish after 1986.

[00:34:36]He had a ton of potential and the range he exhibited in this film showed he could have been a contender. Sadly, he would be relegated to secondary roles, B movies, and straight-to-video films during the 90s. He had some moments, but after '86, his leading roles in big-budget films just disappeared. Now, for this film, there are many theories out there that try to explain what Ryder is and what is taking place. From Ryder being a freshly fallen angel to a spirit to an outright serial killer, or even Halsey and Ryder are two different entities waiting to merge as one. I have even heard someone refer to this film as the first Fight Club, where Halsey has multiple personalities and he has done all these things in the movie while his other personality is trying to narrate the film to justify the events. And there are even zanier theories than the one I just mentioned, and I will address all of these in a little bit. But I'm going to state right up front there are some I will not entertain at all, and these are the ones. The first theory states that this film is a dream. Halsey falls asleep in his car and then the horror begins. I'm not even going to waste my time on this one because that is just lazy. Sure, it explains the unbelievable aspects of the movie, but it can honestly be slapped on any movie out there that exists. My point is quantification is required to make this film a dream, and the film has nothing to suggest it's a dream other than he was sleepy like everyone else has been in the world when driving one time or another. Then there are sexist claims that this film is about the true nature of man. I have actually read articles that has sexist theories that Halsey is an innocent boy who must become a true man, and to do so, he must become violent and dominant. Now, I do agree there is a coming-of-age story in this movie, but I just won't allow such judgmental claims to hijack a film's narrative. All men are not violent. In fact, many boys outgrow violence to become men.

[00:36:55]>> That's all I have to say about that.

[00:36:58]>> The beginning titles for The Hitcher were rushed by production designer Dennis Cosner because the production kept running out of money. Throughout the film, any music or television in the background are mundane. Per director Robert Harmon, he described what was playing in the background as mind-numbingly dull. And in the case of Halsey, it does not help him stay awake at all. Thus, the suggestion throughout the film is that what we see in our reality is dull.

[00:37:27]>> This is Uncle Blue's here, and going on with the bottom market before I drop out.

[00:37:31]>> When it comes to John Ryder, Hower stated upfront that Ryder was a rental company, not his name. Now, we are going to cover theories later in this video, but one thing that everybody has to realize is that many of the people behind the film disagree on what Ryder is. So, there is no definitive take on the character. Eric Red himself stated, "There is nothing supernatural about Ryder at all. Yes, I most certainly had a backstory and a psychological backstory. No, to me, he is not supernatural. He's a real guy, and everything he does in the movie, for instance, being able to appear and find the kid, and appear in a way that seems like he's a specter or a spirit, you know, he's stolen a cop police radio.

[00:38:20]He's following the radio calls. He knows how to get there. There's a procedural reality in the story. If you look into it, Harmon would say that Rider appears on the road because Halsey is on the road. And had Halsey been anywhere else, Rider would have appeared there, suggesting a supernatural element. As for the reasons, he said, "This guy is doing all this terrible stuff, but it's really because he's desperately depressed." Rutger would state otherwise. He said Rider was a ghost and that there was a love story between him and Howell. And he stated this in the Blu-ray commentary. However, C. Thomas Howell would state this. "People really tried to lay into this homoerotic energies and a lot of stuff that quite frankly, I clever enough to ever think about that stuff. So, anyone can believe what they want, but in the end there is no definitive take you can say is proven because no one making the film agrees completely. In the end, this movie is like a Rorschach blot. You need to decide what the image is that you see, and it will be right for you. You bring your own take and psychology to this film. It's commonly known that the eye scene where Rutger puts the knife to Howell's eyes was ad-libbed. The fear in C. Thomas was real because he worried his eye might get stabbed. The I don't want to die line is the key line for this movie as C. Thomas does not capitulate and just lets Rutger kill him. He wants to live and this inspires Rider to take him to the next level. Or, Rider is literally forging this kid by putting him into a fire. By the end, Halsey will be a completely different person. It's a bit much that Rider is picked up by a family with such young kids and more of a stretch that this stranger can hug and kiss the little girl in the backseat without a reaction.

[00:40:24]But, I want you to notice that Ryder also seems to be conditioning the little girl in the same way he intends to condition Halsey.

[00:40:34]It is subtle, but it's consistent for his character. This gas station was real, but abandoned. The crew rebuilt the set to make it filmable, and then they trashed it before blowing it up.

[00:40:46]When it came time to crashing it, a stunt driver was having problems with the scene, and Rutger Hauer the process thoroughly. He then went to the director and asked to do his own driving on that scene, and Hauer did it with ease. The stunt driver was stunned. Thus, for most of the film, Hauer did his own stunt driving for the majority of the film.

[00:41:08]When it came time to blow up the gas station, the falling of the match took about 100 takes to get it to fall properly and light the concrete to the director's desire. When the truck comes crashing into Halsey's car, a camera was placed between some tires, and then they would film the truck moving into them.

[00:41:27]It came off without a hitch, and no damage was done to the camera. Also, no damage was done to Hauer when he was hit from behind because the thermos he used in this scene was actually rubber. When Halsey reaches the restaurant, it too was abandoned. Like they did with the earlier gas station, they rebuilt it just enough to pass for functional. It was stated the restaurant was a disaster to clean up and repair when they arrived. Originally, when Halsey got out of the jail, there was a scene where dogs were outside the station. However, they changed this scene to one lone dog roaming the station. The gut-wrenching scene where Halsey is about to commit suicide was the turning moment for the character. Hauer stated that when the sun came up and he lowered the gun, it was the moment Halsey transforms, ready to fight the hitcher for the first time.

[00:42:20]I love that Halsey is really awkward handling the gun. He has no idea how to use it, hold it, or even load it and must spend time figuring out what to do.

[00:42:31]He has no understanding of guns and this easily explains why he didn't check it earlier. The scene was filmed on a very small set and there was little room for the cameras. The bus scene here is actually the bus used to ferry the crew from location to location. Now, Nash is the only person supportive of Halsey and she risks her future to keep him out of harm's way. When the corrupt cop tries to hurt him, during the chase, Halsey wants her to shoot back at the police, but she never fires a shot. And one of the more morbid things about this movie is that no good deed goes unpunished in this film. Everyone is subject to this, whether it is Nash's fate to the cop who is left abandoned after trying to help Halsey, to Halsey himself who takes in the hitcher, or the family that did the same. It is a cold and unforgiving world with no apologies. One of the things TriStar wanted was to have cops climbing out of the cars after they crash so violently, but the filmmakers thought it was not realistic. The studio believed that the audience would not sympathize with the Nash or Halsey characters after they were just responsible for the death of the cops in the cars and the film is better for maintaining its morbid outlook. The question posed is Halsey becoming more evil by choosing to endanger others by saving himself. Will Nash be corrupted as well? It's a fine line between survival and endangering others and it is just another layer of depth in this film worthy of discussion.

[00:44:09]As we covered in the earlier script, there was a love scene where Nash and Halsey had sex, but it was Jennifer Jason Leigh who had the right instinct to say that such a scene wasn't appropriate because they were on the run and a lot of people have just died. And both characters already had a connection through survival. Howell and the entire crew agreed with her assessment and the scene was altered as a result. Now, the scene where Rider lays on the bed is important on many levels. Rutger stated that while he laid there, his character remembered once having a connection with something and he was a bit vexed by that thought, thus his facial expressions. It is then that he turns over and Nash feels his fingers, realizing they're too big for Halsey's. She turns. Now, all of these scenes in the hotel were filmed in the actual rooms the crew stayed at during their travels. Now, it doesn't need to be said that the death scene for Nash is very harsh, but I've always had a small problem with this scene. The thing that gets me every time about this scene is that Rider just has two mirrors to see Nash's area with and there is no window on the back of the rig as you can see here. The moment the passenger door opened and Halsey stood there, that side was completely blind. They could easily plan to have someone rush to the rear of the rig without making too much noise and use Halsey as a distraction while they cut the rope at Nash's feet. This could have been done the moment the door opened if planned right. Of course, if Rider is supernatural, he would no doubt sense this and in the end, it's just a fan thought on my part because I wanted her to survive. One thing I want to note is that Halsey looks completely exhausted, sweaty, and seemingly stressed during this scene. He would elaborate on this in the next scene by saying, >> How do you feel?

[00:46:19]>> Tired.

[00:46:21]>> He definitely does not look supernatural here. He looks human and ready to throw in the towel as if he's been exerted to his last ounce of strength. I often wonder if this has anything to do with his thoughts while he laid in bed next to Nash. Does it mean he's ready to die?

[00:46:39]Does it mean he sees Halsey as his killer? Well, the answer is it's up to you. Now, notice the interrogator interviewing Halsey. This is actually Armin Shimerman and Star Trek fans can remember him as Quark in Deep Space Nine. And let's not forget Jeffrey DeMunn as the captain who was in The Shawshank Redemption, X-Files, Green Mile, and The Mist as well as a ton of other films. Now that we are deep in the film, it's time to look at the supernatural versus normal views. For me personally, I really can't believe Eric Red's take about Ryder not being supernatural. For me, the film just doesn't work if Ryder is just a guy with a CB and he's human. I mean, he literally is standing in a hotel room without a sound staring at Nash and has timing enough not to be seen by Nash when he snuck in the diner and added extra flavor to Halsey's fries, take his wallet, and plant the knife in his pocket. And anyone who knows anything about sidearms is that their accuracy is not great at a distance, especially when driving a truck. However, his aim is so perfect that he can take down a helicopter with ease. It just doesn't work. Still, Red is the writer of this film, and who am I to say otherwise, despite how or or the director having a different take. As we noted earlier, he stated that if Howell wasn't on that road, Ryder would not have been there.

[00:48:14]Thus, the character exists for the other, and the question is why? Well, the director stated further that Ryder gives Halsey his nightmare existence within 48 hours, basically to dump everything he is into Halsey, and his outcome is in question at the end of the movie. He also went further and stated that the hitcher would not avoid Halsey if he could turn back time knowing he would die as a result of engaging him.

[00:48:42]Another thing that adds to the supernatural take with Ryder is that he has no records, no prints, or anything.

[00:48:49]Another moment that really supports the supernatural theory is when Halsey says Ryder's name behind soundproof glass with a whisper. Ryder clearly hears him and looks in that direction. That is not something a normal person could do, no matter what movies say.

[00:49:09]>> Do you have a name?

[00:49:11]>> John.

[00:49:17]>> Now, we can see a serious change in Howell's character in that he literally abandons a cop on the side of the road to go after and kill Ryder. Now, the breakaway glass in this scene is a bit unbelievable, but it doesn't break, pun fully intended, the movie for me. It's one of those easily dismissed errors I can get by, I guess. For the car getting shot up, it was completely empty when they fired live rounds at the vehicle.

[00:49:47]Then, it was cut with Howell's footage at a different time inside the car. When Halsey strokes Rider's hair, the director stated clearly that it was Howell's character feeling a sense of appreciation for what Rider did to him in a sick twisted way. It was like he passed to a different level of awareness. Some suggest that at this moment Halsey has now become Rider. So, let's sift through some of the theories as to what the hitcher is. As I mentioned before, I'm approaching this as if the hitcher is spiritual in some way. So, those are the theories I will look at. The first theory suggests that Rider is Halsey's duality or a shadow and both characters are separate entities waiting to become one. It is suggested that Rider is the negative aspect of Halsey and Halsey is the positive. Now, the folks that support this state that when Rider is in the bus, he looks at the police officer's weapon before commandeering it and at the exact same moment Halsey does the same thing before taking Captain Estridge's gun. It is also proposed that during the coin scene, when Rider licks one coin and then uses Halsey's mouth to moisten the other, further suggests duality. The next theory proposes that Rider is a fallen angel or the devil that is somehow in human form who has no desire to exist on this earth and yet cannot help being violent and evil. I can only guess that this theory derived from a Newsweek review that was made about the time the movie released. The article stated Rutger had the depraved glamour of a fallen angel and from there, I bet the theory stuck. The fallen angel is now mortal and wandering the earth causing mayhem and finds Halsey who is the first person to stand up to it and therefore amused and wants to pass some amount of information onto this mortal before returns to where it came. Those who endorse this theory state that when Ryder is on the bus at the moment pictured here, he looks to heaven knowing he's about to die and that's why he's smiling, but that smile could mean a number of things. They also state that Ryder's awkwardness towards humans is another sign that this is so, but this can also be attributed to any supernatural theory out there. The next theory is on the same lines and honestly makes a little more sense. Ryder is demon possessed and therefore is completely mortal and yet he has the knowledge beyond man and therefore knows how to find Halsey wherever and has supernatural abilities. The body the demon inhabits means nothing to the entity, so it will kill until it is killed and it enjoys trying to corrupt its victim, Halsey, until he is broken and able to possess him. At the end of the film, when Jim is caressing the hair of Ryder's very wounded body, the demon has now went into Halsey, who it picked from the beginning, thus turning a generous, innocent person into a killer.

[00:53:04]And now, the demon has corrupted his soul enough to finish Ryder off, who then stands and symbolically throws his chains on the ground now that he's free of the spirit. Then, the demon-possessed Halsey turns and murders yet another victim. I have to say that's a pretty good theory, but there's yet another theory. Ryder is simply a ghost that refuses to be ignored. Ryder just appears wherever Jim is and acts like a personal poltergeist, localizing itself around him. Hauer referred to his character as a ghost from the desert.

[00:53:43]So, maybe that is where this theory came from. But, the thing is this ghost sweats and looks exhausted when it's in the truck. It also seemingly dies by gunshot at the end of the film, which is a problem for almost all supernatural theories beyond the possessed or fallen angel theory. My editor of this video believes that Ryder is literally the Grim Reaper. She states that judgement day is at hand and Ryder is there to exact judgement on everyone and Halsey is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everyone who dies in this film had it coming and has committed some wrong in the past, even Nash. We don't know what those wrongs were because we didn't know the characters before what we saw in this film. And before you say, "Well, he killed the kids in the car." we never see the kids slain. We know something is dead in the car and the film implies it is the kids, but that doesn't mean the implication is what we think it is. So, Ryder is just cleaning house and on the side the Reaper is toying with Halsey who amuses it. When its work is done, it allows Halsey to kill him. She states the coin in the eyes is a giveaway for this theory as everyone needs to pay for going across the river sticks. But, in this situation the Grim Reaper pays him money rather than taking him across the river sticks. These are just a handful of theories out there and there's a lot more like one that claims Ryder is stuck in a time loop like Groundhog Day and is on a killing spree because he has no repercussions and knows everything to the letter because he lived the same days over and over again for some time and you can take your pick over what theory you want to believe. You might believe one I haven't mentioned.

[00:55:46]Honestly, I don't want to state which theory I believe because I want to follow the example from Eric Red and Rutger Hauer. Red stated this, "I had the very, very clear psychology for why the hitcher, John Ryder, is doing this to Jim Halsey. I used to tell people what it was, but in recent years I've been struck by the fact that everybody has their own perception of it. They come to the movie and they have it because we don't explain it, not really.

[00:56:18]We hint at it, but we don't explain it.

[00:56:21]I've come to love the fact that everybody has different perceptions of what their relationship is and I mean and it runs the gamut from supernatural to every form of psychology you can imagine. And I actually thought that's part of the strength of this movie.

[00:56:39]So I don't tell people what I was thinking anymore. To piggyback on this, Rutger Hauer said this, "You see your movie. You don't see Rutger Hauer's movie. You see your horror movie." And that sums up how I see this movie. The beauty of this film is it's different for everyone and I don't want to influence anyone on how they see the ending of this movie. I will honestly reject divisive or assumptive labeling like Roger Ebert did, but when it comes to what matters most in this movie, I simply want you to take the info and decide for yourself. It's what makes this film so good. People see so many different things in this movie and some go too far with it, but the debate makes this one a cult classic that is still discussed today. Now, I'm going to be bold here and say that I liken The Hitcher to The Shining by Stanley Kubrick. Red script and Stephen King's book were the template for these films, but both evolved into something different. Both these films are great for exploratory thought. The Shining is no doubt superior than The Hitcher.

[00:57:50]Regardless, I would still note that The Hitcher would be in my top 20 for thrillers of all time. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the sequel. I have no intention of covering The Hitcher 2. I've been waiting, but I will tell you it has C. Thomas Howell returning to the series. He's now a suspended ex-cop who heads back to Texas. In this film, Jake Busey plays Jack, a new hitcher. Jim Halsey is then killed protecting his girlfriend, and now she has to kill the hitcher. My advice, ignore this one, period. Even C.

[00:58:27]Thomas Howell lamented the film in an interview later. Eric Red has never seen The Hitcher 2 and states he will never see The Hitcher 2. I could care less about The Hitcher 2. However, you can't keep greedy producers or studios down.

[00:58:43]What's worse than a straight-to-DVD movie? Well, a modern remake where Jim Halsey and his girlfriend are stalked by Sean Bean. But instead of respecting the original material, they decide to kill Halsey by splitting him in half by a truck and then having the obvious twist where his girlfriend Grace kills the hitcher. This one goes for the gore and the action and shows just how smart the classic film was. What's worse, it was produced by Michael Bay who in his later years as a filmmaker was just a factory of shallow cash grabs, and this film is no exception. Well, that's it for this video. We really appreciate that you were here. And if Michael Bay can't even speak on the stage about his job without a teleprompter, how in the world did anyone expect him to even comprehend how to remake The Hitcher?

[00:59:39]>> The type is all off. Sorry, but I'll just wing this.

[00:59:42]>> Tell us what you think.

[00:59:43]>> Yeah.

[00:59:43]>> We'll we'll just we'll we'll wing it right now.

[00:59:45]>> Um I take I try to take people on an emotional ride and um >> The curve?

[00:59:56]How does it How do you think it's going to impact how viewers experience your movies?

[01:00:01]>> Excuse me, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[01:00:04]>> Okay.

[01:00:06]Ladies and gentlemen, let's thank Michael Bay for joining us.

[01:00:11]>> I don't think we will ever know the answer to that question. We will see you next time. And if you like what we're doing here, please check us out on Patreon, where $3 a month will get you access to early videos a week before they come out, as well as our 1941 series, which won't release on YouTube for at least another month. For those who already support us there, we really appreciate you.

[01:00:35]Thanks so much. Keeps the lights on.

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