The 1980s were filled with a plethora of great movie villains that we still remember today. There’s the usual suspects, like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers, but the decade also gave us some phenomenal bad guys outside the realm of the supernatural that were just as memorable. Hans Gruber from Die Hard and Khan from Star Trek II are just a couple that come to mind, but perhaps none are more overlooked than the villain in a 1986 thriller that still hits hard today.
Starring C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hitcher is one of those movies that starts off tense and doesn’t let up. That’s something a lot of movies claim and usually fail to deliver on, but in this case it’s really true. From the opening scene to the end credits, The Hitcher is filled with unstoppable dread mainly thanks to its central villain, John Ryder.
Portrayed by the late, great, Rutger Hauer, Ryder is hands down one of the best villains of the 1980s. He’s relentless in his pursuit of Howell’s character, approaching everything with a calm menace that’s almost charming at times. He’s charismatic, but also a complete psychopath. The most chilling thing of all is that he’s never really explained in The Hitcher, making him feel more like a force of nature than anything else. He’s not supernatural, but he is evil, and Hauer plays the part to perfection. It’s a shame he doesn’t get more recognition for this one outside the film’s cult followers. Check out the official synopsis for The Hitcher below:
“While transporting a car from Chicago to San Diego, Jim Halsey (Howell) picks up a hitchhiker named John Ryder (Hauer), who claims to be a serial killer. After a daring escape, Jim hopes to never see Ryder again. But when he witnesses the hitchhiker murdering an entire family, Jim pursues Ryder with the help of truck-stop waitress Nash (Leigh), pitting the rivals against each other in a deadly series of car chases and brutal murders.”
‘The Hitcher’ Still Holds Up as One of the Best Thrillers Ever Made
Released on February 21, 1986, The Hitcher was a box office dud that failed to impress critics. Both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave it zero stars, criticizing the film’s violence and ambiguous villain. Critics be damned, though, because in the decades since its premiere, The Hitcher has gone on to be regarded as one of the best thrillers ever made by fans who appreciate its blend of horror, suspense, and psychological tension.
Called “epic” by some on Rotten Tomatoes, and “frightening” by others, The Hitcher was remade in 2007 with Sean Bean portraying the part of John Ryder, but it failed to resonate with anyone. It was sleek and stylish instead of gritty and atmospheric, and tried way too hard to explain everything rather than leave in the suspense that made the original so great.
If you want to relive all the thrills of the 1986 classic and remind yourself of how great Hauer’s performance really was, The Hitcher is now streaming for free with ads on YouTube Movies & TV.
- Release Date
-
February 21, 1986
- Runtime
-
98 Minutes
- Director
-
Robert Harmon
- Writers
-
Eric Red
