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Poster for The Hitcher

The Hitcher

1986 · 98 min

A merciless highway nightmare that tightens like a wire, leaving you tense, parched and unsettled long after the credits.

Directed by
Robert Harmon
Genres
Horror, Action, Thriller
Starring
Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Tagline
The terror starts the moment he stops.
Overview
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.

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Stream in the UK
  • Shudder
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Robert Harmon
Genres
Horror, Action, Thriller
Starring
Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
relentless, 4 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • survival
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • violence
  • fate
Places
  • road trip
  • countryside
  • wilderness
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action7
Horror7
Humour1
Realism6
Romance1
Tension9
Darkness8
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
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Rent or buy
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Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
horror, action, thriller
Directed by
Robert Harmon
Written by
Eric Red
Starring
Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn, Billy Green Bush, John M. Jackson, Henry Darrow, Jon Van Ness
Music
Mark Isham
Cinematography
John Seale
Runtime
98 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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