The Hitcher is a 1986 thriller, directed by Robert Harmon and written by Eric Red. The film stars Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jeffrey DeMunn. Jim Halsey , a young man delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego, spots a man hitchhiking and gives him a ride. The man, John Ryder , is brooding and soft-spoken; when Jim passes a stranded car, however, Ryder's personality suddenly shifts. Ryder calmly states that the reason the car is stranded is because he murdered and mutilated the driver, and he intends to do the same to Jim. Terrified, Jim asks what Ryder wants. He... replies, "I want you to stop me." Ryder produces a switchblade knife and taunts Jim for several moments before Jim realizes Ryder had never put on his seat belt and that the car door was left ajar, so he knocks him out of the car's passenger door. Relieved, Jim continues on his journey but sees Ryder with a family on vacation. He tries to warn them but loses control of his car and spins off the road. He continues driving and after a while comes across the family's car, with blood oozing out the doors.
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| Release date: | February 21, 1986 |
| Directed by: | Robert Harmon |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 97 Minutes |
| Producer: | David Bombyk, Kip Ohman |
| Editor: | Frank J. Urioste |
| Music by: | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography: | John Seale |
| Screenplay by: | Eric Red |
| Estimated budget: | $6,000,000 |
| Genre: | Thriller, Action |