The Hitcher (2007 film)
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| The Hitcher | |
|---|---|
_Poster.jpg) Original movie poster | |
| Directed by | Dave Meyers |
| Written by | Jake Wade Wall Eric Bernt 1986 Screenplay: Eric Red |
| Produced by | Michael Bay Andrew Form Brad Fuller |
| Starring | Sean Bean Sophia Bush Zachary Knighton Neal McDonough |
| Cinematography | James Hawkinson |
| Edited by | Jim May |
| Music by | Steve Jablonsky |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Rogue Pictures |
Release date | January 19, 2007 |
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $25,399,945 |
The Hitcher is a 2007 American action drama thriller film[1][2][3] starring Sean Bean, Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton. It is a remake of the 1986 film of the same name starring Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and C. Thomas Howell. The Hitcher was directed by Dave Meyers and produced by Michael Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes. This is the next feature film which Sean Bean collaborated with Michael Bay after Bay's 2005 film, The Island.
The film was released on January 19, 2007, in the USA and on June 1, 2007, in the UK.
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (August 2009) |
Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton) and Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush) are tormented by a mysterious hitchhiker named John Ryder (Sean Bean).
The couple hit the road for spring break. Ryder dangerously stands on the road, near his broken down car. Jim nearly hits him and his car spins out of control. Grace insists that someone else will stop to help and they speed off.
At a gas station, Jim sees Ryder climb out of a tractor-trailer cab while gassing up. Ryder introduces himself and asks for a ride. Reluctantly Jim agrees. While on the road, Ryder becomes violent and holds a knife to Grace's throat. Ryder tells him the only way to save himself and Grace is to say, "I want to die." Jim screams out "I don't wanna die!". He then hits the brakes hard, causing Ryder to hit his head on the windshield. Halsey then speeds up, kicking Ryder repeatedly until Grace opens the passenger door and he is ejected.
Later Jim and Grace drive down the road and see a station wagon with a couple of kids playing in the back seat. Ryder appears in the back of the car, apparently hitchhiking. Grace and Jim try to warn the family of Ryder, but they are run off the road by an oncoming tractor-trailer which totals Jim's car. With no other choice after Jim's car is totaled, the couple is forced to continue on foot. They eventually find the family's station wagon on the side of the road. Both children and the mother are dead, with the father slowly dying.
Hoping to find help for the dying man, the couple take the station wagon and head towards town. Ryder appears, and attempts to run them off the road in a stolen truck. Jim and Grace stop at a cafe, where the father dies. Suspected of committing the murders, Jim and Grace are arrested and brought to the police station. Grace is interrogated while Jim is held in a cell. Ryder shows up and kills everyone at the station except Jim and Grace, who flee on foot.
Shortly after, the couple arrives at a junkyard. Grace attempts to negotiate with the lone surviving cop from the station. When this fails Jim and Grace order him at gunpoint to get into his car to allow them to escape and prove their innocence. However, before he can enter the car and leave to get reinforcements he is shot in the head by Ryder. Another officer just arriving witnesses this and begins shooting at the couple as they attempt to escape.
Despite suspecting that there might be a third suspect, Lieutenant Esteridge (Neal McDonough) sends several cruisers and a helicopter after the couple, telling his men to use any means necessary to stop them. Ryder shows up in a 1979 Trans Am and helps Jim and Grace escape the police, managing to single-handedly blind shooting, take out all of the cruisers and the helicopter.
Grace and Jim walk to a motel after their cruiser breaks down. After sharing a shower, Jim steps out of the room to make a phone call. He's gone for several hours and Grace falls asleep watching Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. She is awakened by someone in the bed who is fondling her. Ryder tries to rape her, but Grace manages to fight him off and hide in the bathroom with a revolver.
Ryder disappears as Grace searches for Jim. The motel manager sees her with a gun and calls the cops. Grace finds Jim and sees that he is tied between a truck and a trailer. Ryder looks in the side-view mirror and revs the engine, backing the truck a few inches. This hurts Jim and Grace runs to the cab to find Ryder sitting in the driver's seat. Grace points the gun at him and tells him to stop the truck. Ryder keeps hitting the gas, brutally hurting Jim. The cops, who still thinks Grace and Jim are the killers, then show up and see Grace with Ryder at gunpoint, unaware that Jim is being tied up and tortured. They tell her to drop the gun, but Ryder tells Grace not to listen to them. Ryder releases the pedal (moving the truck backward) and Jim is split in half at the waist, killing him. Ryder and Grace are then apprehended by the police.
The next morning, Esteridge tells Ryder that he will be transported across the state. He also tells Grace, whose innocence has been proven, that he'll be taking her for psychiatric care. Ryder is bound in handcuffs with a bulletproof vest and placed in the back of a police van, with Grace and Esteridge driving behind them in an SUV. During the ride, Ryder is able to break free of his restraints and shoots the driver. The driver loses control and rolls the van, taking out an oncoming car, which crashes into Esteridge's SUV.
Lieutenant Esteridge's leg has been trapped in the accident. Grace takes Esteridge's gun, leaving him unarmed and helpless, and slowly makes her way to the van in which Ryder is caught. Grace opens the back door, whereupon Ryder takes her gun and locks her in the back. Ryder sees a pool of gasoline near the van, and shoots it, igniting the van. Grace manages to get a shotgun from the front seat of the van right before the gasoline explodes. Ryder shoots Esteridge and walks away. However, Grace survives the explosion and shoots Ryder several times, finally killing him and ending his rampage.
Cast
- Sean Bean - John Ryder/The Hitcher
- Sophia Bush - Grace Andrews
- Zachary Knighton - Jim Halsey
- Neal McDonough - Lieutenant Esteridge
- Kyle Davis - Buford's Store Clerk
- Skip O'Brien - Harlan Bremmer, Sr.
- Travis Schuldt - Harlan Bremmer, Jr.
- Danny Bolero - Officer Edwards
- Lauren Cohn - Marlene
- Yara Martinez - Beth
- Jeffrey Hutchinson - Young Father
Reception
Box office
The movie debuted at #4 at the box office with $7,818,239 made in the opening week.[4] After three weeks the movie placed #11 at the Box Office and subsequently made $16,366,370. [citation needed] 5 weeks after its nationwide release, The Hitcher had been pulled from most screens due to its poor performance at the box office and poor reviews, and was completely removed from cinemas after six weeks.[5] The Hitcher began its international release on March 1, 2007. As of June 30, 2009, the film has had a lifetime gross of only $25,399,945.[5]
Critical reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 86 reviews, with the consensus that the film is "interested in cheap shocks, and gratuitous gore and torture."[6] The movie did slightly better on Metacritic, gaining a 29 rating. Empire Magazine gave the film two stars and said that the picture was totally inferior to the original. The Guardian said "Don't even slow down for this one; certainly don't tag along for the ride."[7] The Times however gave it four stars and praised Sean Bean for his menacing performance.
DVD and Blu-ray
The DVD was released on May 1, 2007, featuring the theatrical R-rated cut in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks.
The Hitcher Became available on Blu-Ray in Australia December 10, 2008.
Awards and nominations
- Sophia Bush: 2007 Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller (Won)
- Sophia Bush: 2007 Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie: Breakout Female (Won)
- Sophia Bush: 2007 Vail Film Festival: Rising Star Award (Won)
- Crew: 2008 World Stunt Awards: Best Work In A Vehicle (Nominated)
References
- ^ A little thumbs up, a lot thumbs down, Pasadena Weekly
- ^ ‘The Hitcher’: Don’t Pick Up this Dude…with His Thumb Half Out and Leaning Downward HuntingtonNews.Net
- ^ Remake mediocre at best
- ^ The Hitcher (2007) (2007) - Weekend Box Office Results
- ^ a b The Hitcher (2007) (2007) - Weekend Box Office Results
- ^ The Hitcher - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ O'Neill, Phelim (June 1, 2007). "The Hitcher". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 25, 2010.