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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Rogue Pictures
Salesrank: 33080
Released: May 1, 2007 |
| Our Price: $2.47 |
| Used Price: $1.89 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
From the producers of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes The Hitcher an action-packed bloody thrillride. This movie delivers intense edge-of your- seat chilling suspense and relentless terror as the race to reveal the terrifying truth about the Hitcher ensues making this the definitive DVD for all action/horror fans.Runtime: 84 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 025193327727 Manufacturer No: 62033277
Description of The Hitcher (Full Screen Edition):
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, sorta unknown) 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
The Hitcher (Full Screen Edition) Reviews:
0.o SICK @$$ MOVIE! 
2008-07-13 - REALLY, one hell of a horror film so yea i advise you to watch this if you wanna be freaked for a while.especially the ending so WATCH IT! 0Hh and it`ll also make your PENIS stand if your a boy cuz of sophia bush! I HAD aN ORGIE!
Hitcher (2007) Review 
2008-05-11 - This remake of the original Hitcher starts fairly nicely but it becomes rather unrealistic and mindless as it progresses; nevertheless, it's still watchable. One comment: Before the film starts, a statement appears on the screen saying that according to the US DOT, an estimated 42,000 people are killed on the highways. Well, this is a true statement; however, it refers to 42,000 deaths due to TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS annually.
Post-apocalyptic 
2008-03-29 - This movie, which I just tried to watch on HBO, is symptomatic of a complete and utter moral and aesthetic breakdown in our society. Whaaaa? Yu wan exampoo? Well, first off the movie starts with the male character allegedly picking up the female character at her... dorm? Sorority? The exterior shot is of what is clearly a lecture hall. So we, the movie-going public are supposed to just not get too critical. Hey, howz about Romeo picks Juliette up at a Greyhound bus station and then asks her about her flight? That be swell? Anyhoo, so Romeo and Juliette hit the road so that Romeo can dramatically, cathartically, all-importantly "meet the girls" -- that is, meet Juliette's friends during... spring break at Lake Havasu. (no, I'm not making this up. Apparently we are supposed to be on board with the idea of Romeo "meeting the girls" while swilling down beers and going, "Whooooooooo!" This, apparently is the younger generations' idea of quality social interaction.) Seemingly, we are not supposed to find this vulgar and aggravatedly shallow. We are supposed to... want them not to die? Anyway, so then they pick up the Hitcher, who begins to terrorize them mucho, and rightly so. Romeo, when the Hitcher pulls a blade on him in the car, begins to cry. So much for role-modeling. The Hitcher then puts said blade to the eye of Juliette and says something to the effect of, "If you don't want me to do it, say 'I want to die'" at which point Juliette blurts out, "Don't say it!" This is where I stopped watching and put on Shall We Dance in order to heal. Ginger Rogers, toward the end of her life, said she refused to go to movies anymore. She said, "They're not going to get my money to see the junk that's made today." Comparing The Hitcher with Shall We Dance both saddened and enraged me. Anybody who thinks the Hitcher is even tolerable is a walking corpse.
Not A Full Tank 
2008-03-13 - Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company had great success at the box office when they re-made "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" a few years ago. Since that worked with the green, they must of figured that it would every time. More re-makes came, and now there are at least three more in the pipeline(Friday The 13th, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Rosemary's Baby). When will this "real" horror be over?. And now we have this. The original film, starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh, was a fun and suspenseful little film from 1986. Maybe not phenomenal cinema, but a good movie. No real need to give it an update. No need to update any of these movies(well, maybe 'The Amityville Horror').
The plot and movie have some different twists, but basically, it's the same thing. Two young twenty-somethings(Zachary Knighton, Sophia Bush)get in a near accident on the road. They later run into the man they almost hit, John Ryder(played by the always good Sean Bean), who they give a ride. Baaaaaaad mistake. 'Ol John is a raging psycho who stalks and torments the two, leaving a bloody path in his wake.
There are no real surprises here, or anything new. The movie is what it is and it's probably what you expect. It's not bad as a cliche road thriller, but it is absolutely nothing else. Since it's 20 some years later, the bar is much higher in terms of violence, blood, and action. The female becomes the hero, while the boyfriend pretty much becomes the damsel in distress. Otherwise, it pretty much stays the course not only to the original film, but to other modern/young adult type movies of it's kind. However, the movie looks really good and has a nice feel and tone to it. It was a nice looking movie from start to finish.
Cast-wise, not a whole lot to praise. Sean Bean has been a James Bond baddie("GoldenEye"), to a good guy("FlightPlan"), and he excells at both. He is pretty good here with a pretty strong presence. He is no Rutger Hauer, but he does what he can with the role. Neal McDonough, as the sheriff, basically has the simple task of figuring out what's going on. His role is pretty minimal, but likeable. As for our two young leads, there is nothing spectacular here other than Sophia Bush's amazing beauty.
"The Hitcher" re-make is by the book. There's nothing beneath the surface, but it is what it is. If you absolutely have to re-make something, then don't make the same movie. At least try something a little different, like Rob Zombie's recent 'Halloween' film. Otherwise, what's the point?. And this one is pretty pointless.
If it ain't Broke ...
2008-03-09 - Yet another pointless remake of a PERFECT original. Why do they keep doing this???? THE OMEN, WICKER MAN, HALLOWEEN, BLACK CHRISTMAS, TEXAS CHAINSAW, etc. were all just fine the way they were, (thank you very much), and their remakes brought nothing new to the party. (If anything, these horrible horror remakes will keep newcomers away from the wonderful originals - IN DROVES!)
And the films that could use a facelift - (Not quite good but almost good horror films such as THE FOG, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, APRIL FOOLS DAY) - were botched even worse than the original films that they hoped to fix! And now we have PROM NIGHT waiting in the wings.
Has Hollywood run out of ideas???? Can FRIDAY THE 13TH, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, THE EVIL DEAD, THE EXORCIST or JAWS be far behind? And while it may not seem like that much to you 20 or 30 somethings, (after all, its just OLD movies right?), let me remind you that one day you'll be crying out as SCREAM, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and SAW join them.
Please, Hollywood, stop this insanity! Stay away from our beloved, treasured horror classics and give us some NEW CLASSICS to savor.
We're begging you.
