If I remember correctly; and it has been many years since I’ve seen it, the original Hitcher film was not only better than this remake, but it was actually somewhat scary and suspenseful. I’m sorry but this film was not; At all! Yes it was entertaining and even thrilling. But not what made the original so much more better was that you never really knew what was going to happen next, in this film it cried out the next scene to you.
The Hitcher is somewhat of a remake of the 1986 cult favorite of the same title. While the films are both similar in plot to one another, this rehashing of the original updates the plot into a more modern day dilemma. That being four wheel drive, cell phones, fancy guns and so on…
The movie follows two young college students both of whom are in love with one another. It’s spring break and the couple is taking a road trip though New Mexico. While driving though the desolate land in the rain, they almost hit a stranded motorist on the side of the road. After realizing the man is alright they start the car and move on.. However when they pull into the nearest gas station to gas up and tell the clerk in the mini-mart about the stranded motorist, that motorist ends up being dropped off by a trucker. He then asks the young couple to drive him 15 miles north, and they agree. However what they don’t know is that this man, is a murderer and he will do anything to make their lives a living hell.
While The Hitcher is a very easy film to watch, the script is nothing special. In a nutshell it’s nothing we all haven’t seen before. It’s not that it was a bad script, but it wasn’t anything great either. With all these remakes popping up you figure the studio would want to remake a film that actually made money in the past, I was kind of shocked that they remade The Hitcher as the original only really made money on video. So yes, as I started above the overall plot was alright, but like I said there really was nothing original about it.
As far as the acting in the film goes I was impressed with the casting of the young couple as the actors in the roles were clearly new comers to the acting world, and were not the usual known young movie stars. However in the part of The Hitcher; and this is nothing against Sean Bean, but I think they should of cast a nobody in the role. When I see Sean Bean on the screen the first thing I think of is; oh look it’s Boromir from Lord of the Rings. And as much as we know that character didn’t last very long in the first installment of the trilogy, Sean Beans will always be Boromir to me, so seeing him in the role of the hitcher kind of threw me off.
In terms of production design and visual effects the film delivers. It obvious with Michael Bay producing the film that your always going to get top notch set design and great location scouting with your films. The movie is top notch in these areas. As far as make-up effects and CGI goes, the movie has the great car crash scenes and the infamous body rip scene between the trucks. Which is not a brutal as many made it out to be. The film does not offer much other than that, I mean we have a few stabbings, some shooting and a sliced neck here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall, The Hitcher is just another remake that seems to not have what it takes to be anything great, but it does entertain. I can’t say that I disliked the film because it was one of the better films I watched this week. (Which doesn’t say much.) but the movie is not as bad as some have made it out to be. The DVD is packed with a lot of extras including some pretty decent behind the scenes stuff and some deleted scenes. It worth checking out if you can’t find anything better to rent in the video store, but you won’t be missing much if you passed it over.
-Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
