Episode 158: Episode 158 - The Hitcher (1986).

On Episode 158 of The Film ’89 Podcast, we’re joined once again by our very good friend and frequent guest-host, filmmaker and podcast producer, Kyle Reardon, to discuss, for its 40th anniversary, a cult classic film we’ve wanted to cover for some time now, starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell and Jennifer Jason Leigh, it’s director Robert Harmon’s multi-genre-straddling cult classic, The Hitcher.Released in 1986, The Hitcher was the brainchild of screenwriter Eric Red, whose initial inspiration for the story of a young man being stalked by a murderous hitchhiker was The Doors’ song, Riders on the Storm. A commercial failure upon its initial theatrical release, The Hitcher was one of several films from the 1980s that died in theatres only to find a second life on home video. Much like John Carpenter's The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, The Hitcher benefited from positive word of mouth at video stores and became very much a cult classic. Skye and Kyle delve deep into the film, they discuss its refusal to hold the audience’s hand and the huge scope for interpretation as to the motivation of Rutger Hauer’s psychotic John Ryder. Beautifully shot and impeccably directed, with a haunting score by Mark Isham, The Hitcher is a film that’s aged like a fine wine and one ripe for the in-depth Film ‘89 treatment. All content is the property of Film ‘89 and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Any copyrighted material used in this episode is used under the principles of fair use for review, commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. No part of this episode may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, except where permitted by law.