foolish_m0rtal | I am now busy writing Hitcher fanfiction

I don't care what Roger Ebert says in his unfairly bad review of the film (the review which basically said 'it wasn't gay enough'), I freaking love the original 1986 version of The Hitcher.

THE CAST

C. Thomas Howell (a.k.a Ponyboy from The Outsiders) as Jim Halsey

Rutger Hauer (a.k.a sex god) as John Ryder

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Nash, a waitress at a truck stop diner that gets caught in the cross-fire.

THE FILM
The Hitcher is about an ingenuous young guy named Jim Halsey who is driving from Chicago to San Diego for reasons unknown. It's dark and raining when he meets John Ryder, a ~~hot-ass~~ creepy-ass hitcher that he picks up on the side of the road during a storm. "My mom told me never to do this," Jim says, which is pretty much the running mantra for the entire rest of the story. Ryder soon reveals that he is a murderer that hitches rides from unsuspecting drivers and then kills them in gruesome ways. Halsey attempts to stay one step ahead of Ryder as they play a deadly game of cat and mouse across the open deserts of the American south west.

C. Thomas Howell is out to shoot some cactus in their bitch faces

The film has an eerie sense of emptiness that is enhanced by its stunning minimalist Texan locations. While there is a lot of violence (this is a slasher film, after all), much of it is either shown off-screen or in the dawning horror of the aftermath, which is a surprisingly powerful technique. With a light film score, The Hitcher goes from moments of intensity to moments of disturbing quiet. Hauer and Howell are amazing in their respective roles and generate enough foe yay between them to power a small city.

"Hey, gotta kill some people now, but what are you doing later?"

One thing I have a slight problem with after watching this movie again is Nash's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) sudden transitions from being a badass in control to someone who completely hands over that power to other male characters and follows along. That being said, Nash is actually a person instead of just the female love interest and has her own personality. I can see her being a great main character if this movie were re-written to focus around her.

Some Background
Leigh and Howell signed onto the film because they both wanted to work with Rutger Hauer, who is brilliant in one of his last villainous performances before he began pursuing other roles. Hauer's method acting and intensity apparently unnerved the cast for the duration of filming, and Howell has said that he was genuinely afraid of Hauer on and off set, just as if they really were Halsey and Ryder. Yeah, and this is the guy they chose to replace their original choice, Sam Elliot, who was allegedly so terrifying in his audition that Edward C. Feldman (the producer) was afraid to walk to his car afterward.

WHERE CAN I WATCH IT?
The trailer for this movie is terrible. It gives away a lot of the major scenes and has that weird 80s camp vibe that you didn't know you missed until you...okay, you never really missed it.
In my opinion, the best thing you can do is watch the first few minutes of the film and decide if it's your cup of tea. The easiest way to watch the film is on Youtube in this series posted by 890slayer.

Inadvisable Drinking Games While Watching
Drink whenever:
1) Someone dies.
2) Something blows up.
3) Halsey and Ryder have unbelievable UHT (Unresolved Hatesex Tension)
4) Halsey and Ryder creep out everyone else in a ten mile radius with their symbiotic stalker bond.

Trust me, you will not make it through the first fifteen minutes of this damn thing.

Yeah, go ahead. Take a drink.

THE FANDOM
The Hitcher is a slasher film in all its definitions, but unfortunately, the fandom is almost non-existent. We're hoping to change that by pimping out the film and putting up some Hitcher prompts for this round of Small Fandom Fest. We hope you enjoy this beautiful little gem of a film!

Official film pimp for