The Hitcher (2007)

Director:

Dave Meyers

Writers (WGA):

Eric Red (screenplay) and
Jake Wade Wall (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Never pick up strangers.

Plot:

While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, the college students Jim Halsey and...

Plot Keywords:

Villain Played By Lead Actor | Truck | Motel | Throat Slashed | Rainstorm

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 29

4:30 AM

HBO

Cast

Sean Bean	...	John Ryder
Sophia Bush	...	Grace Andrews
Zachary Knighton	...	Jim Halsey
Neal McDonough	...	Lt. Esteridge
Kyle Davis	...	Buford's Store Clerk
Skip O'Brien	...	Sheriff Harlan Bremmer Sr.
Travis Schuldt	...	Deputy Harlan Bremmer Jr.
Danny Bolero	...	Officer Edwards
Jeffrey Hutchinson	...	Young Father
Yara Martinez	...	Beth
Lauren Cohn	...	Marlene
Michael J. Fisher	...	Transport Guard #2 (as Mike Fisher)
Joseph Michael Self	...	Transport Guard #1
Brad Robinson	...	Correctional Officer
Kurt Grossi	...	Officer Franklin

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, terror and language.

Runtime:

84 min | Croatia:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #39360) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIB | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Australia:R | Norway:15 | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Portugal:M/18 | UK:15 (re-rating, cut) | UK:18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Ireland:16 (re-rating on appeal) | Japan:R-15 | Germany:16 (cut) | Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

The movie that Grace is watching in the hotel near the end is The Birds (1963).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the car does the 360 spin, you can quickly spot the cameras and crew tied to the roof of the car whilst it's spinning.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Jim Halsey: He's not gonna stop

Movie Connections:

Features The Birds (1963)

Soundtrack:

The Cowboy

see the original if you don't mind "older" movies (its not even that old)

I just saw this at a preview screening, and I liked it. I think that if you haven't seen the original and have something against older looking movies then you will definitely enjoy this. On the other hand, I prefer the original and felt like society's money would be better spent actually purchasing the original on DVD (its cheap) then seeing this. That would be a great F YOU to Hollywood! Another idea would be for movie theatres to show the original movie for a little less price and see what kind of results they get.

The movie itself is plenty intense, a decent amount of "boo scares", quick pace, attractive leads, decent acting (for the most part). Compared to the rest of the movies being released these days, I would say this is definitely above par. The only thing that I can't get over is how much alike the original it was.

There are a couple differences (the girlfriend, and a few others) that didn't really add anything to the movie at all, and even with those differences (which you would think could actually change the movie a lot) a lot of scenes are almost shot for shot the same. Acting wise, I think the main male actor faired a little better than c thomas howell... and i like sean bean a lot, but unfortunately he seemed to be doing a rutger haurer impression the whole time (dunno if that was his choice, or the filmmakers) Sophia Bush, as attractive as she is... did not impress me very much acting wise, but she wasn't horrible either.

All in all, I give this a 7, and I would personally give the original an 8.5. This one did some things better than the original, i think the original was more intense without feeling as "forced" as this one does (the level of brutality in movies feels pretty forced lately, you may understand what i mean, you may not) I honestly think that Hollywood could make some money if they would retouch some old movies and re-release them, and advertise them correctly.