Product Details

• Actors: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Neal McDonough, Kyle Davis
• Directors: Dave Meyers
• Writers: Eric Bernt, Eric Red, Jake Wade Wall
• Producers: Alfred Haber, Alma Kuttruff, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: March 4, 2008
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NQQ4LK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,041 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Hitcher (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Universal The Hitcher (HD-DVD)
From the producers of "TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre," comes "The Hitcher," anaction-packed, bloody thrill-ride. This movie delivers intense edge-of-your-seat chilling suspense and relentless terror as the race to reveal the terrifying truth about "The Hitcher" ensues, making this definitive DVD for all action/horror fans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lethal And Jolting - One Of The Year's Top Horror Movies, July 12, 2007

By 

Stephen B. O'Blenis (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hitcher (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

An improved version of the already high-caliber 1986 "Hitcher" starring Rutger Hauer, this new incarnation casts Sean Bean ("Lord Of The Rings", "The Dark", "Silent Hill") as an even deadlier and more twisted title villain, and Sophia Bush ("Stay Alive") and Zachary Knighton ("The Prince And Me") as young lovers Grace and Jim, who on a road trip encounter the hitcher in the middle of a rainstorm, and become the prime targets of his obsession.

The Hitcher has been upped to where he's about as dangerous as a human being can be without raising the question of the supernatural. No remorse, apparantly no fear of death or pain, disturbingly with no apparant motivation, indisputably evil, and yet retaining an undeniable charismatic edge, as well as a huge air of mystery (his background, and even his real name, are never revealed) the character slashes and shotgun-blasts his way into the upper tier as one of the most instantly memorable killers to rampage across the screen in recent years. Zachary Knighton and the smolderingly gorgeous and cute-as-a-button Sophia Bush are likable and believable as the main couple of the film. Strong performances are turned in by the rest of the cast as well, and the tight flow of the movie encompasses psychological terror and suspense, up-close visceral carnage, and some of the most intense and high-octane highway chase/battle action ever seen, way above that seen in many higher profile action blockbusters with five times the budget. It attains a highly active tension and tightness the likes of which have not quite been reached by many of its more famous horror-thriller hybrid peers.

"The Hitcher" delivers on all counts it takes on, and is highly recommended for fans of such movies as the '86 original, "Highwaymen" (by original "Hitcher" director Robert Harmon), the "Hills Have Eyes" movies, and "The Vanishing".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than I thought it would be, June 18, 2007

By 

Kelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hitcher (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

THE HITCHER is actually a pretty good remake, and a pretty good thriller. I think we all know the premise: a young couple meets a hitchiker who ends up being a murderer. It's more than that though.. you get to care about the characeters, and you get to know them.
The two stand outs are clearly SEAN BEAN and SOPHIA BUSH. They both do a wonderful job. Sean Bean is just creepy as hell in this.. he will really scare the hell outta you. Sophia Bush shows that she can do more than One Tree Hill and teen drama's.. she is a good actress in this.
Have fun with the movie. Don't expect a masterpiece, but it certainly is good. Don't write it off because you don't like remakes.

-Kelly <3

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Road-Killer, May 26, 2007

By 

Mark Eremite "This Is A Display Model Only" (Seoul, South Korea) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Hitcher (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

"The Hitcher" is a so-so film that desperately wants to be a killer music video. Starring Sophia Bush (that One Tree Hill girl who is so pretty it makes my eyes water) and Zachary Knighton (I'd never heard of him before, but he looks like the type who'd date Sophia Bush), the film wastes no time with pleasantries. The two lovers hit the road, and then the road hits back.

The road in my oh-so-clever analogy turns out to be John Ryder, the hitcher, a man with a grudge against life. Literally. In one of his first lines of the film, Ryder admits that the reason he tortures, maims, and kills people is because he wants someone to stop him. This sort of Swiftean take on nihilism is often used by scriptwriters to give a character license to indulge in flat-eyed melodrama (emotive beef jerky, I call it), but Sean Bean -- as the unflagging madman -- lets his desperation and his senseless rage simmer without boiling over into false theatrics. Bean is really the reason to watch this film.

It's too bad he's not in it more than he is. Most of the time we are forced to watch Bush and Knighton wander around making typically bad decisions and then griping or whining about it to each other when there's a break in the action.

I don't blame the actors. These sorts of brash bonanzas of violence and destruction don't really need much in the way of plotting to do their job, but they do need some kind of decent writing. I mean, take a look at Spielberg's Duel. For a movie with such a minimal plot and perhaps two pages of dialogue, this film works macabre magic. "The Hitcher," in lieu of compelling characters and a solid build-up of tension has, instead, the rat-a-tat-tat subtlety (and pace) of a semi-automatic. Short bursts of loud chaos, interspersed with brief moments of silence. You don't want that barrel to melt.

I give the film a thumbs up for its dervishes, for the car chases (set to blaring Nine Inch Nails), the near-misses, and the bold direct hits (I'll admit that I was shocked and surprised by the scene with the semi-truck and the chains). But, just like the (lack of) beliefs of the title character, the movie doesn't seem to care about much of anything, making it easy for the viewer to feel likewise.