Hitcher, the highway killer

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Movie
German title Hitcher, the highway killer
Original title The Hitcher
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1986
length 94 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Robert Harmon
script Eric Red
production David Bombyk
Kip Ohman
music Mark Isham
camera John Seale
cut Frank J. Urioste
occupation

Hitcher, the Highway Killer (Original title: The Hitcher ) is an American action thriller written by Robert Harmon from 1986, based on a script by Eric Red .

action

His mother always warned him never to hitchhike . But Jim Halsey fights the fatigue and monotony of the transfer of a car from Chicago to San Diego and decides to take the rain-soaked John Ryder with him. At first he proves to be taciturn, but then quickly gets down to business. Ryder is a psychopath, a serial killer who searches for victims on the highway. He soon threatens young Jim with a knife and asks him to repeat the following four words: I want to be dead . At the same time, however, he informs him that Jim should defend himself. But resistance threatens him with a life-threatening injury. Jim can solve the dilemma - aided by the not completely closed passenger door -: He manages to push Ryder out of the car while driving.

At first relieved about his own integrity, he soon witnesses Ryder overtaking him, sitting in a family car. Shortly afterwards, Jim finds the car with the murdered family. He comes to a rest stop, from where he informs the police and meets the waitress Nash. When the police arrive, they arrest Jim, believing he was the killer. In fact, the cops find Ryder's blood-smeared switchblade that he slipped into Jim. Despite some doubts about his guilt, Jim is jailed and falls asleep. When he wakes up, his cell door is open and everyone at the police station is dead. Jim leaves the police station with a gun and escapes on foot. At a gas station he threatens two police officers approaching and forces them to take him away. But during this trip there is another encounter with Ryder, who shoots the two police officers. Jim thinks of suicide , but changes his mind and comes to a rest stop. Shortly thereafter, Ryder sits down with Jim and lets him know his intentions. Jim gets into the toilet of a waiting bus and goes with him. When he comes out of the toilet, he meets Nash again. The bus is stopped by the police and Jim wants to surrender. But when one of the two police officers provokes Jim so that he can shoot him, Nash helps him to escape. On the way to the next precinct, where both want to go, Ryder attacks the chasing police officers. Again, Jim and Nash remain the only survivors.

The two fugitives reach a motel where they want to relax first. When Jim comes out of the bathroom, Nash has disappeared. In search of her he is intercepted by the police. She now knows that Jim is innocent. Ryder tied Nash between a truck and its trailer and released the clutch beforehand. He demands that Jim come into the driver's cab. Again he asks Jim to stop him, but with the certainty that Nash would also die if he was shot dead. When Jim does not comply, Ryder sets the truck in motion, killing Nash.

After an unsuccessful interrogation of the psychopath, he is to be transferred to a prison. But Ryder can overwhelm his guards during the transport. Jim has already guessed this and just at the moment when his escape might succeed, he followed the van in a stolen police vehicle and faced Ryder one last time. It comes to the showdown in which Jim ultimately kills the highway killer. The film ends with Jim standing by the car at sunset.

Remarks

  • Inspiration was an episode of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone: In "The Hitch-Hiker" (January 1961), a young blonde girl drives from New York to California and is chased by a hitchhiker who shows up again and again when she thinks he has been left behind.
  • The opening scene was inspired by The Doors ' song Riders on the Storm .
  • The rough cut was over three hours long.
  • Robert Harmon's first feature film is not free from film errors. Hitcher 18 errors are detected in internet movie forums (such as movie mistakes) .
  • Hitcher, the Highway Killer , was shot in Twentynine Palms in the southern California desert, as was director Robert Harmon's short film China Lake .

Frames

The second and third exploitation of the film is remarkable for reasons of indexing . While a retail version cut by 13 minutes was offered in addition to the uncut rental cassette, only a few seconds had to be removed for TV broadcast. The complete cinema version as a DVD edition was rated as outstanding by the Catholic film critics (in film-dienst ) , also because of the bonus material, and was awarded the 2003 silver disc. The indexing remains, however, the film receives an FSK 18 rating, but may not be publicly advertised or exhibited. In March 2007 the film was released again on DVD. The bonus material from the Kinowelt DVD, which was awarded the 2003 Silberling , is also used on this FSK 16 version. The film was shortened to a duration of 80 minutes. As a result, z. B. the entire end of the film is missing in this new version.

The uncut version of the film was removed from the list of media harmful to minors in September 2012 by the BPjM. A new evaluation of this version is still pending.

Reviews

The lexicon of the international film said: "An effective, but extremely bloodthirsty horror thriller with psycho-mythological undertones, which, however, are largely sacrificed to excessive shocks."

Heyne Film Jahrbuch 1987 (quoted from tip ): "Extremely aggressive psycho-thriller as a mean study of the constant struggle between good and evil, the tension of which, however, seems considerably reduced by the constant illogical moments."

In Heyne Filmbibliothek - The 100 best action films, reviewer Wolf Jahnke thinks the film has a mixture of stylized suspense and action. It is a rousing mixture of the violence of technology and nature.

The Fischer Film Almanach ruled in 1987: "Perfect speculative nightmare tickle that stirs hostility and hatred towards strangers."

In Reclam Film Genres: Crime it says: (Cameraman) John Seale has captured this auto-reflective, self-destructive ritual in beguiling widescreen compositions. 'The Hitcher' is the legacy of the disaffected Late Western.

The 12/1986 issue of the film magazine Cinema dedicated the cover story to the "Hitcher". The reviewer saw Robert Harmon's work as a “sensational first film” and compared it to John Carpenter's attack at night . It is a demanding, profound five-star action film and also brilliantly photographed.

In the US press, however, the film initially received little approval:

Variety : “Extremely unimaginative brutal piece. A massacre every 15 minutes, with car chases and collisions in between. It's not enough that the plot consists of lots of holes, you can't laugh once. "

The Reporter : “This on-the-road horror cabinet is a textbook example of visual manipulation. What are such films actually supposed to do? "

Los Angeles Times : “Bloody hash from countless role models. What remains is disgust at the senseless, pathetic way in which human feelings such as fear and pain are dealt with. "

Los Angeles Herald : “A bunch of gruesome bang effects that the viewer plays badly. Debut director Robert Harmon is at least an excellent technician and Rutger Hauer plays terribly well. But you (take) nothing but a feeling of emptiness. "

LA Weekly : “What is particularly striking are the many borrowings from Spielberg and Hitchcock, as well as serious shortcomings in the moronic script. From now on, cameraman John Seale ( the only witness ) will hardly be able to save himself from offers. "

Awards

Robert Harmon won three awards at the 1986 Cognac Festival du Film Policier .

continuation

In 2003, a sequel entitled Hitcher Returns was released direct to DVD. Howell returned to his role.

Remake

On March 1, 2007, a remake with the title The Hitcher ran in German cinemas, including with Sean Bean in the lead role. In this version, Ryder is shot by the female leading actress, in this case Sophia Bush , and her male counterpart is killed by the truck.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Hitcher, the Highway Killer . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2006 (PDF; test number: 56 885 V / DVD / UMD).
  2. ↑ Cf. Alain Charlot in Heyne Filmbibliothek - The 100 best crime films .
  3. ↑ See Lexicon of International Films . 2003.
  4. ↑ Hitcher, the Highway Killer. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ Hitcher, the Highway Killer . Cinema.de
  6. ↑ Hitcher, the Highway Killer . December 31, 1985
  7. ↑ Hitcher, the Highway Killer . February 21, 1985