Stars: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Neal McDonough, Zachary Knighton, Kyle Davis, Danny Bolero, Yara Martinez, Lauren Cohn, Jeff Hutchinson, Skip O'Brien, Travis Schuldt

Director: Dave Meyers

Summary: Grace and Jim embark on a road trip across the American Southwest. Things get off to a bad start when they almost run over a hitchhiker in the middle of a rainstorm, and then leave him to fend for himself. When they later run into the man at a gas station, their consciences get the best of them, and they agree to give him a ride to the next town. However, the couple's passenger quickly turns on his hosts...

Music video director Dave Meyers's debut film is an updated version of the 1986 shocker of the same name, featuring Sean Bean (LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY) in the title role of a chillingly sadistic hitchhiker. Twenty-something couple Grace (Sophia Bush from ONE TREE HILL) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) embark on a road trip across the American Southwest to meet up with Grace's friends on vacation. Things get off to a bad start when they almost run over a hitchhiker in the middle of a rainstorm, and then leave him to fend for himself. When they later run into the man (Bean), who calls himself John Ryder, at a gas station, their consciences get the best of them, and they agree to give him a ride to the next town. The couple's passenger quickly turns on his hosts, and although they manage to escape, he follows them and makes their lives a living hell. Soon, Grace and Jim find themselves framed for John Ryder's vicious crimes, and they are on the run from both the authorities and the Hitcher, of whose existence no one but they are aware. As their flight gets increasingly desperate and the Hitcher's methods of torture more brutal, Grace and Jim struggle desperately to discern what the man wants, and why he has chosen them. The film benefits from its beautiful, desolate desert setting, as it highlights the solitude and desperation of the couple's situation. Despite a few problems of plausibility and the frequent foolishness of the protagonists--to which horror fans are well-accustomed--THE HITCHER delivers fright in all the right places, as well as beautiful women and plenty of gore.

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20 years is a long time in the lifeline of movie plot-arc necessities. It's also a pretty big generational stretch in the lives of audience demographics, which may be part of the reason the producers of this remake of the 1986 cult horror classic felt the need to update the original spare mano-a-mano backbone into a girl-and-mano-a-mano. The Twilight Zone-ish setup is still a pretty neat idea: regular guy on a lonely highway picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a psychopathic killer with some very unsettling supernatural might. Fans of the original could hardly hope for a demon villain with such creepy charisma as Rutger Hauer. But Sean Bean makes a respectable replacement, with his understated stare and stewing rage that brings a new brand of hair-raising devilry to the role of hitcher John Ryder. The lone "good guy" originated by a boyish C. Thomas Howell has been upgraded to a lovesick couple.

In a twisty touch, Jim (Zachary Knighton) and Grace (Sophia Bush, of One Tree Hill fame) trade gender roles, with Jim turning wimpy and feminine and Grace becoming a shotgun-toting testoster-ette. The body count's a little higher and the gore factor increased by the power of 20 (years), but some of the original film's set pieces remain much the same-- body-snapping case in point being an 18-wheeler being put to use as a old-fashioned torture rack. While the original might have placed a bit more emphasis on the philosophical and existential elements of evil passing from soul to soul, it wasn't exactly an intellectual thrill ride. Likewise, 2007's The Hitcher is no art film, and it can't be faulted for choosing fright and might for audiences that are always looking for bigger and more elaborate splats for their horror entertainment buck. And if you stick out your thumb for this one, expect plenty of splat. --Ted Fry

Aspect Ratio:	2.40 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	Castilian Spanish
Year:	2007
Release Date:	October 5, 2009
Runtime:	84 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8249589
Keywords:	English, General, Hitcher, Horror, Occult, Suspense
Genre:	Horror/Occult