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Scary Movie Reviews
The Hitcher (2007)
Release Date: January 19th, 2007 (wide)
Length: 1 Hr. 23 Min.
Rated: R for strong bloody violence, terror and language.
Distributor: Rouge Pictures (Focus)
Starring: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Kyle Davis, Neal McDonough
Directed by: Dave Meyers
Produced by: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller
Written by: Jake Wall III, Eric Bernt, Eric Red
The Hitcher is a remake of the classic 1986 psycho-thriller staring Rutger Hauer and
C. Thomas Howell. The 1986 version is a cult classic and we eagerly awaited the remake. Rutger Hauer played a truly memorable psychopath, that commanded your attention. Here again we are taught the same lesson: Never Pick Up Strangers.
This film contained situations from the original as well as new scenes and twists.
Our biggest criticism of the movie might be that Zachery Knighton and Sophia Bush
are too pretty for their roles. Knighton portrays "pretty boy" Jim Halse and Sophia Bush does a good job playing the tough-minded and beautiful Grace. In this version, Grace is the strong surviver. We aren't told much about the character's backgrounds here.
The acting was good overall, but we had a hard time believing Grace would be able to shoot a pump shotgun so handily. The character development of Jim Halse was lacking in our opinion. Certain scenes do provide the gore that horror movie fans feast on and there are no needless extremes of nudity or sexuality found in this film.
The hitcher named "John Ryder" and played by Sean Bean is an interesting character. Rutger Hauer is a hard act to follow but Bean does so in his own unique way. Yet what motivates John Ryder to do the bad things he does? This is never explained unfortunately. Even with the decent performances and overall direction, the movie doesn't quite measure up to the original. Possibility the novelty of the situation has worn off.
Overall the story and action flows and keeps your interest. The ending was all too predictable but still acceptable. The acting was good but we prefer the original cast and version. We enjoyed this remake and do recommend watching it.
The Hitcher is a remake of the classic 1986 psycho-thriller staring Rutger Hauer and
