The Hitcher is a 1986 American horror thriller[2][3][4][5] film directed by Robert Harmon and written by Eric Red.

It stars Rutger Hauer as the title character, a murderous hitchhiker who stalks a young motorist (C. Thomas Howell) across the highways of West Texas.

The hitchhiker, who calls himself John Ryder, forces Jim's leg down on the accelerator when they pass a stranded car.

Esteridge tells Jim that his men cannot shoot Ryder because his foot would slip off the clutch, causing the truck to roll.

He found that the "elements of the song – a killer on the road in a storm plus the cinematic feel of the music – would make a terrific opening for a film".

[7] Script development executive David Bombyk received a copy of Red's letter and was intrigued by the description of the film.

[7] In the original script, an entire family is slaughtered in their station wagon, an eyeball is discovered inside of a hamburger, a woman is tied to a truck and a pole and then torn in half, two teenagers engage in sex, shootings and car crashes.

[7] Bombyk and Ohman were worried about getting it into good enough shape to show their boss, producer Ed Feldman, and his partner, Charles Meeker, and prove to them that it was more than an exploitation film.

Bombyk worked with Red via several long-distance phone calls to Texas and eventually the writer moved to Los Angeles.

Once they got it in good enough shape, Ohman gave it back to Bombyk and also to David Madden, a production executive for 20th Century Fox.

[7] The studio was not comfortable with the subject matter but felt that the writing was unique and interesting enough to give the filmmakers a letter-of-intent to distribute the film.

[7] In early drafts of the script, John Ryder had been described as skeletal in nature and so actors like David Bowie, Sting, Sam Shepard, Harry Dean Stanton, and Terence Stamp were mentioned.

"[7] Red mentioned to Hauer that he had Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards in mind when he wrote the part of Ryder.

[12] For the role of Jim Halsey, the producers mentioned Matthew Modine, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez.

[7] Unbeknownst to Hauer, Howell found him "frightening, intimidating, and that he was in a constant state of fear, almost as if he really was John Ryder and I really was Jim Halsey".

[13] Jennifer Jason Leigh agreed to do the film because she wanted to work with Hauer again (they co-starred in Flesh + Blood), and loved the character of Nash because "there was a real person there".

[7] In addition, veteran character actors Billy Green Bush (known for playing ill-fated police officers in Electra Glide in Blue and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday), Gene Davis (known for playing the naked psychopathic killer Warren Stacy in 10 to Midnight), Armin Shimerman (who would later be the voice of General Skarr in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), and Emmy-winner Henry Darrow, have supporting roles as police officers who pursue Jim Halsey.

[7] Independent producer Donna Dubrow heard about The Hitcher while working on another film and to her it sounded like "Duel with a person".

[7] When she went to work for Silver Screen Partners/Home Box Office, she contacted Feldman, a former employer, and asked for a copy of the script.

When she returned to L.A., Singer told her that Fuchs agreed to make the film but with the stipulation that the girl would not be torn apart and the violence would be reduced.

This restored version was released in both 4K and standard Blu-ray formats by Second Sight in the UK on September 30, 2024, and by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (via Studio Distribution Services) in North America a few weeks later on October 22.

The consensus reads: "Its journey is never quite as revelatory as it could be, but The Hitcher stands as a white-knuckle vision of horror, bolstered by Rutger Hauer's menacing performance.”[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

[20] Gene Siskel also gave the film zero stars, calling it "a nauseating thriller" and "a thinly veiled but more gruesome ripoff of Steven Spielberg's Duel".

"[23] In his review for The Washington Post, Paul Attanasio wrote, "The script (by Eric Red) is laconic in a dull way, much Cain but hardly able.

[24] In his review for The Globe and Mail, Jay Scott interpreted the film as a "slasher movie about gay panic, a nasty piece of homophobic angst for the age of AIDS".

[25] A rare positive review came from Newsweek magazine's Jack Kroll who called it, "an odyssey of horror and suspense that's as tightly wound as a garrote and as beautifully designed as a guillotine".

[29] In 2024, filmmaker Christopher Nolan cited it as one of his favorite films, saying "As a teenager, I never questioned the logic of this 80’s chiller, but now it seems mind-bendingly arbitrary plot-wise ...

However, it does feature the criminally under-appreciated Rutger Hauer in his finest and most influential Euro-psycho performance this side of Blade Runner.

"[30][31] The film spawned a sequel, The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting, in 2003, with Howell reprising his role as Jim Halsey.

[32] The remake using the original title, produced by Michael Bay and directed by Dave Meyers, was released on January 19, 2007, starring Sean Bean as John Ryder, Zachary Knighton as Jim Halsey, and Neal McDonough as Esteridge.