A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
- Sergeant Starr
- (as John Jackson)
- Trooper Donner
- (as Billy Greenbush)
- Trooper Dodge
- (as Eugene Davis)
- Photographer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Remembering Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)
Remembering Rutger Hauer (1944-2019)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn Rutger Hauer's book "All Those Moments", Hauer mentioned how executive producer Edward S. Feldman settled on Sam Elliott for the role of John Ryder. Hauer states that "Apparently, Elliott was so scary when he came in to audition that Edward S. Feldman was afraid to go out to his car afterward." Sam Elliott had a scheduling conflict and had to back out of the role.
- GoofsThe car that gets hit by the bus loses its bumper, but the bumper can be seen in a subsequent shot.
- Quotes
John Ryder: Gas stations have cigarettes.
Jim Halsey: What about gas?
John Ryder: I don't need gas.
Jim Halsey: What do you want?
[John starts laughing]
Jim Halsey: What's so funny?
John Ryder: That's what the other guy said.
Jim Halsey: What other guy?
John Ryder: That guy back there, the one we just passed. The guy who picked me up before you did.
Jim Halsey: That was him in there?
John Ryder: Sure it was. He couldn't have walked very far.
Jim Halsey: Why's that?
John Ryder: Because I cut off his legs... and his arms... and his head... and I'm going to do the same to you.
- Alternate versionsA copy of "The Hitcher" currently playing on HBO Max as of July 12, 2022 is a very poor, dark, standard definition print.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Hitcher: 'How Do These Movies Get Made?' (2003)
- SoundtracksDON'T STOP LOVIN' ME
Performed by Mickey Jones
Published by Mickey Jones Music (ASCAP)
The first scene between the Hitcher and Jim Holsey was superb, Rutger puts in a chilling performance. Mr Hauer has a reputation for pulling off some memorable bad guy performances, namely this, Blade runner and Nighthawks, but this is my favourite of his performances. The lines he has were brilliant. The pacing of the film was very good and apart from Rutger stealing the show the other actors were good. Jennifer Jason Leigh was good in her small role and of course C Thomas Howell in the lead does a good job. Overall this gets a 9/10 from me.
- supertom-3
- Jan 2, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Hitcher, der Highway Killer
- Filming locations
- Roy's Motel and Cafe, Amboy, California, USA(Roy's diner)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,844,868
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,134,214
- Feb 23, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $5,844,868
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1