A mesmerising short thriller from the director of 1986's even more remarkable "The Hitcher". Set in a beautiful vast desert just like the Hitcher, this kept me enthralled from beginning to end. I believe that to make a movie villain watchable, he has to have a strong sense of mystery which Charles Napier as Donnelly, the psycho cop, has in spades. I'd say he is almost on a par with Rutger Hauer in the Hitcher who to me was the scariest and most beguiling "bad guy" I have ever seen in all my 37 years on this earth! I really do not understand why most modern movies do not take this approach - modern movie bad guys lack charisma so much, they are all young and cute no grit and the movies are soulless. No thanks. I'll stick to watching these types! I highly recommend this to horror fans old and young!
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
(2003 Video)
Not the original but not too bad.
12 October 2022
I am a huge fan of the original 1986 Hitcher with Rutger Hauer. In my opinion nothing beats it, nothing ever will, least of all that sexualised soulless remake with the very average and un-scary Sean "Boromir" Bean portraying the new John Ryder. If this movie was ever to be remade AGAIN, let's not have a rough northern Brit playing him. A mysterious and captivating European like Mads Mikkelsen would be perfect IMO. Anyway let's go back to this. Like I said it's good but not great, Jake Busey is decent as the psychopath Hitcher but he is no Rutger Hauer. He's got none of the allure of Hauer but he's quite scary at times... Jim Halsey is all grown up but he's not in it for long unfortunately. It's a "female empowerment" movie which is all good but these days there's too many of them. I did enjoy this but I recommend the original Hitcher every time.
The Hitcher
(2007)
Absolutely rubbish!
30 March 2022
I didn't even get that far with this! Shoddy sexualised remake of a classic sinister (and for me, cursed) horror movie from 1986. Rutger Hauer was THE John Ryder.. Sean Bean is.. ok.. but why did they get a British guy to play Ryder when they had so many others to choose from?! I'd like to see this PROPERLY remade with MADS MIKKELSEN as John Ryder. No sexy female heroine either.. just Jim alone at the end in the middle of the desert. The way it should be.
it was great but so frightening when I was a kid
4 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I remember this being the scariest thing i ever watched when i was small. The snakes and the poison..shudder!!!
The absolute worst though was the scene where the young woman is in the hospital and at first you'd think she looked ok but then she starts vomiting blood and bleeding from her eyes !!!!!!! it looked so real that at the time I thought she really was bleeding from a snake bite!!! She dies too which always made things worse for me watching when I was a kid. I was terrified of anything like blood and death. Still am ha ha!
I think Taggart was definitely one of the grittiest, realest programmes ever and I haven't seen anything quite like this on telly since.
This gave me nightmares and I still wouldn't advise anyone under about 12 to watch it. It is darn scary!!!
The absolute worst though was the scene where the young woman is in the hospital and at first you'd think she looked ok but then she starts vomiting blood and bleeding from her eyes !!!!!!! it looked so real that at the time I thought she really was bleeding from a snake bite!!! She dies too which always made things worse for me watching when I was a kid. I was terrified of anything like blood and death. Still am ha ha!
I think Taggart was definitely one of the grittiest, realest programmes ever and I haven't seen anything quite like this on telly since.
This gave me nightmares and I still wouldn't advise anyone under about 12 to watch it. It is darn scary!!!
Wanted: Dead or Alive
(1986)
Dated but still great!
3 April 2019
I can imagine if I'd watched this at the time, I'd have loved it even more than I do now, because now it feels a little ...dated, however I still find it very entertaining. Rutger Hauer is my favorite actor anyway, and he plays the tough bounty hunter role very well! Nick Randall is a fascinating character too, I just wish they'd fleshed his character out a little more. The terrorist Malik Al Rahim played by Gene Simmons is also pretty good if a little cliched. I give this movie 9/10 not perfect like the Hitcher or Bladerunner but still darn good!
The Hitcher
(1986)
This movie grips your soul!!
30 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This is the strangest film I've probably ever seen in the road horror genre. But interestingly, one of the best if not THE best.
Rutger Hauer is deadly, hypnotic, scary, cold, clever, seductive and fearsome as the mysterious John Ryder, the Hitcher of the title, who terrorises young innocent Jim Halsey (C Thomas Howell) through a wild, rugged desert.
Jim is driving a drive-away car from Chicago to San Diego, the desert road is bleak, it's nighttime and a storm is brewing..he's tired and trying not to fall asleep, but he's overcome with fatigue and drifts off...he nearly collides with a huge truck, but it wakes him up, and he's a little shook up. He spots a man at the side of the road..a mysterious figure in a trench coat, thumb out, waiting to hitch a ride. Thinking the man will keep him awake, Jim stops to let the man in.."My mother told me never to do this" he says...
It's just the start of a horrific nightmare for young Jim...the Hitcher is relentless in his pursuit..
This movie had me glued to the screen, it gets right into your soul. Rutger Hauer is one of my favorite actors, and in this movie he stands out and is excellent throughout. No one does unhinged like him. 10/10 from me.
Rutger Hauer is deadly, hypnotic, scary, cold, clever, seductive and fearsome as the mysterious John Ryder, the Hitcher of the title, who terrorises young innocent Jim Halsey (C Thomas Howell) through a wild, rugged desert.
Jim is driving a drive-away car from Chicago to San Diego, the desert road is bleak, it's nighttime and a storm is brewing..he's tired and trying not to fall asleep, but he's overcome with fatigue and drifts off...he nearly collides with a huge truck, but it wakes him up, and he's a little shook up. He spots a man at the side of the road..a mysterious figure in a trench coat, thumb out, waiting to hitch a ride. Thinking the man will keep him awake, Jim stops to let the man in.."My mother told me never to do this" he says...
It's just the start of a horrific nightmare for young Jim...the Hitcher is relentless in his pursuit..
This movie had me glued to the screen, it gets right into your soul. Rutger Hauer is one of my favorite actors, and in this movie he stands out and is excellent throughout. No one does unhinged like him. 10/10 from me.
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