New to 4K and Blu-ray this week is the horror thriller, The Hitcher. Directed by Robert Harmon, the movie stars C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Rutger Hauer, and tells the story of a young motorist who crosses paths with a psychopathic hitchhiker.
In the film, Jim Halsey is travelling from Chicago to San Diego. Along the route Jim spots a lone hitchhiker.
Feeling sorry for the man, Jim does the one thing his mother warned him never to do: He offers the hitchhiker a lift. And of course, Jim’s mother was right.
The man – who calls himself John Ryder – is psychopathic and within minutes of letting him in the car, Jim comes to regret it. John threatens Jim’s life and forces him to keep driving.
A few minutes down the road, Jim acts on impulse and is able to get John out of the vehicle, leaving him injured on the road. However, to Jim’s complete dismay, this isn’t the last he sees of John.
If you’ve never watched The Hitcher, but you love a dark thriller, and especially a dark thriller from the ‘80s (1986 to be exact), then do yourself a favour and slap your eyeballs around this new 4K / Blu-ray collectors edition release from Second Sight. Not only is the film a suspense filled thrill-ride, with a nerve-shredding premise and a superb turn from Rutger Hauer as John, but this is an all bells-and-whistles release with a wealth of bonus features and supplementary material.
I’ll get to the features and material in a moment, but in terms of the film itself, The Hitcher is a stone-cold classic. The film essentially follows Jim as he finds himself caught up in an excruciating game of cat and mouse, with constant escalation and the threat of death at every turn.
It is essentially a ramped up version of Spielberg’s Duel (1971), only with less driving and more character interactions. The story starts with Jim being a Good Samaritan and then goes to some twisted places as he is toyed with by John, while simultaneously being chased up and down the highway by the police for a crime he didn’t commit.
I said this film is about escalation and this is exactly what’s on offer. The story moves from a rain-soaked run-in with a nut job, to a police helicopter chase, and then a tense stand-off with a truck.
And the great thing about The Hitcher is that while this movie is a gem from the ‘80s, it’s not an over-exposed gem. The Hitcher did spawn a belated sequel in 2003 (ignore it) and a remake in 2007 (worth a watch), but it often flies under the radar meaning it is always ripe for a revisit.
Onto all the goodies now, and as noted above, this set is crammed to the rafters with content. However, before I go any further, let me make something clear: This is a limited edition set, so if you want what’s on offer you had best be quick before it sells out (as these limited edition sets from Second Sight tend to go fast).
Anyway, here’s what is included on the discs:
- 1 x 4K UHD copy of The Hitcher
- 1 x HD copy of The Hitcher
- A new 4K restoration of the film supervised and approved by director Robert Harmon
- Dolby Atmos and original stereo audio mixes
- New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Audio commentary with Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red
- Scene specific audio commentary
- The Projection Booth Podcast featuring Robert Harmon and Rutger Hauer
- Bullseye: A new interview with Robert Harmon
- Penning the Ripper: A new interview with Eric Red
- Doomed to Live: A new interview with C Thomas Howell
- The Man from Oz: A new interview with John Seale
- A Very Formative Score: A new interview with Mark Isham
- Duel Runner: Leigh Singer on the evolution of The Hitcher and Rutger Hauer
- China Lake short film
- The Calling Card: Robert Harmon on China Lake
- Telephone: A short film by Eric Red
- The Hitcher: How do these movies get made?
- Trailers
And here is what you get as supplementary material:
- Sturdy slipcase featuring new artwork by Adam Stothard
- A 200-page hardback book with exclusive interviews and essays, archive article from
- Fangoria, and behind the scenes photo gallery
- Eric Red’s original screenplay book
- Six collectors art cards
All-in-all this is another amazing set from Second Sight, who in my mind are the leaders when it comes to these limited edition releases. The care and attention they have given to The Hitcher is outstanding and it puts this boxset up there with Second Sight’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre set.
If you are a fan of this film, this boxset is for you. And if you’ve never seen it, it might be one to consider.
The Hitcher 4K / Blu-Ray collectors boxset retails for around £50. Should this be out of your price range, a standard copy is available, which includes the discs and all the bonus features, just not the supplementary material (hardback book, art cards, etc).
Anyway… the film gets four-stars, but the overall release is getting full marks. Well done, Second Sight.
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