MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Hitcher’ is one boring ride that should be avoided
Two happy college-age lovers leave their textbooks behind for a road trip through New Mexico to rendezvous with friends for Spring Break.
But a crazy hitchhiker (Sean Bean, [“Silent Hill”], clad in the obligatory, rain-soaked trench coat) spoils their plans for fun by stalking them and murdering everyone in their path.
The original 1986 film version of “The Hitcher” serves as the template for this spooky ride, and while it is actually quite promising in its beginning scenes, it soon runs out of gas by using too many horror clichés and predictable turns. (No duh, girl! The murderer is hiding right behind the doorway, just like he has been the previous four times!
Sophia Bush (“John Tucker Must Die”) plays the frightened girlfriend who sprouts into a gun-toting murderer to survive in less than 72 minutes. (Is that a record of some sort?) We all know what will happen to her.
And Zachary Knighton (“The Prince and Me”), as the super-masculine boyfriend, follows the same path. (Dude, when you say you’re leaving the hotel room at night to find a pay phone, you’re probably not coming back.)
“The Hitcher” stretches out the suspense like taffy. And while it gets a little bloody at times, it’s comfortably laden with pop culture shtick. (I especially loved the crashing police car chase set to the Nine Inch Nails song “Closer”.)
There are a few moments of fun, but not enough to keep this trip interesting or original.
Casey T. Allen is the movie critic for The Utah Statesman. Comments, questions and recommendations can be sent to him a caseyal@cc.usu.edu.