Review: The Hitcher – Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu-ray – “Worth the wait.”

This has been a long time coming, but Second Sight Films has brought us a brand-new restored 4K version of 1986’s The Hitcher from the original camera negative supervised and approved by director Robert Harmon, set for release on 30 September 2024.

The Hitcher was a film that I first became aware of back in the good old days of VHS video tapes. The younger teenage me would pop along to the video shop, get out various films and settle down to watch them. Of course there were the trailers at the start of each film and they always fired my imagination. Then there was the one for The Hitcher.

“Heading west on a long, lonely highway….”

It shows numerous action scenes from the film and through it all Rutger Hauer being seductively menacing, before ending in that brilliant shot of him slowly standing up on the highways as the camera zooms towards him, framing him with the cloudy sky, looking like an earthbound giant.

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I wanted to know more. Why was C.Thomas Howell driving across America? Why did he stop to pick up Hauer even though his mother had told him not to do so? Who or what was The Hitcher and why was he killing everyone?

Strangely enough, I finally saw the film quite a few years later. I’d never managed to find it in the video shops and it must have been one night in the early 1990s when I finally saw it.

I was flipping through channels, only a handful in the UK back then. A show was just finishing and the announcer said that next up was The Hitcher. All the memories of the trailer came flooding back. 97 minutes later I sat in silence. Taking in what I had just watched. A small slice of perfection – horror, thriller, road movie – all that and more.

The wide open spaces of the desert, captured so beautifully by cinematographer John Seale, were strangely claustrophobic making us feel trapped alongside Howell’s Jim Halsey. Then there was Rutger’s John Ryder. Always one step ahead of Halsey and turning up when least expected. He could somehow plant a bloody knife without being spotted and disappear without a noise.

A lot of people get killed in the film, yet you rarely see the act itself. Usually just the aftermath with Halsey stumbling upon the body or bodies before realising he was once again getting set up to take the fall.

What was he? A force of nature, a Terminator on a mission we couldn’t comprehend, a Devil stalking the highways of America, a restless spirit of a dead hitchhiker or just a sadistic bastard with a death wish who wanted someone to kill him?

The fact the script is so tight and stripped back meant we could interpret things in so many different ways which also made the film eminently rewatchable.

And I watched it many times over.

I finally got hold of a VHS copy… or maybe I recorded it from the TV. Then a DVD came my way. They were good, but I always wished I could have seen it on the big screen.

Over the years there was talk of it getting new Blu-ray versions and, as technology moved on, restored versions that would make it all pop on the screen, but various rights issues constantly messed things up. I thought it was never going to happen.

Then the review copy finally arrived and I settled down to watch it once again. The first time in a good few years.

It was been well worth the wait as the film looks stunning. Those desert scenes are just stunning making you want to pause those sunlit scenes and take it all in. That scene in the barn when Halsey and Ryder confront each always had something special about it, but now seeing those beams of sunlight shine down through the dust makes it all seem like something out of myth. A timeless tale, as if you would imagine it if someone was telling you the tale as you sat around a campfire in the desert.

The colours pop in the diner scenes with Jennifer Jason Leigh and the shadows seem darker than ever. Plus there is still that lovely bit of film grain that I always feel is needed with the films from before 2000.

It simply looks incredible and like something made just a few years ago. The sound mix has also been done magnificently with the wind howling through scenes, engines roaring, and the moments of stillness that make everything so menacing. Second Sight Films has done an incredible job.

Rewatching the film again made me realise just how good the principle three actors are. C. Thomas Howell initially brings such innocence to the role of Jm Halsey. Then, as his journey continues, the fear and tiredness he shows – in that scene in the diner when Hauer sits opposite him, Howell shows so many emotions without saying a word –  is just sensational. He then brings toughness to the character as events move on.

Seeing present-day Howell talking about the film in one of the extras brought to light many of the choices he made at the time. The scene when he is kneeling and all seems lost then raises the gun was all improvised by him and it was just pure luck that the sun shone on him at that moment, to make one of the many memorable moments in the film.

Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Nash as the strong, good-hearted person that Halsey needed at that time. She brings a lot of depth to a character who is not in the film that much, but has such a sadly pivotal role in what transpires.

Then we have Rutger Hauer as John Ryder. I cannot imagine another person in the role. Although I would like to see the screentest of Sam Elliott’s that apparently scared the bejeezus out of everyone who saw it. Hauer plays it all so calmly and contained that you read so much into every little thing he does or says. You never question the fact he can just appear out of nowhere to shoot down a helicopter or watch Nash as she sleeps.

As you have probably guess I loved the film and I love this new edition. I have been working through…well that makes it sound like a chore. I have been watching the extras and so far they have all been brilliant. There are just so many of them and I am looking forward to watching the film with the various commentaries to hear more about what went on during filming.

The limited edition box set also comes with a 200-page book that contains an exclusive Robert Harmon interview by Lou Thomas, an exclusive Eric Red interview by Matt Thrift, new essays by Heather Drain, David Kittredge, Craig Ian Mann, Rebecca McCallum, Meagan Navarro and Jon Towlson.

It has been a great read and made me want to rewatch various scenes along with tracking down some of the other films mentioned.

Is it worth the money? In this day and age things are getting more expensive and with so many options for streaming it can seem pointless picking up new Blu-rays. Some films, such as this one, are not on streaming (and if they are they are often poor-quality versions) or can get taken off at any time. They have done an amazing job on the restoration and I can recommend getting it just for the film. The box set is just under £50, which is a lot. However, you are also getting that 200 page book, plus the original screenplay and a whole heap of extras which I feel actually makes it more than worth that amount. Plus you can just pick up the Blu-ray by itself so what are you waiting for? I am not going stop you.

The Limited set is presented in a stunning collector’s package with new artwork by Adam Stothard and a 200-page hardback book. All three versions come complete with a truckload of special features including new interviews and a new commentary plus tons of archive material, two short films and much more.

Hit the road with The Hitcher for a ride from hell wrapped in a box set from heaven.

Special Features
• A new 4K restoration by Second Sight Films from the original camera negative supervised and approved by director Robert Harmon
• UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
• Features 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 with Robert Harmon, Eric Red, Executive Producer Edward S Feldman, Composer Mark Isham, Director of Photography John Seale and Actors Rutger Hauer and C Thomas Howell
• 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: a short film by Robert Harmon newly restored
• The Calling Card: Robert Harmon on China Lake
• Telephone: a short film by Eric Red
• The Hitcher: How do these movies get made?
• Trailers

Limited Edition Contents
• Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Adam Stothard
• 200-page hardback book with exclusive Robert Harmon interview by Lou Thomas, exclusive Eric Red interview by Matt Thrift, new essays by Heather Drain, David Kittredge, Craig Ian Mann, Rebecca McCallum, Meagan Navarro and Jon Towlson
• Eric Red’s original screenplay book
• Six collectors’ art cards