The Hitcher

(1987)

A classic tale of boy meets drifter: boy picks up drifter, drifter turns out to be a homicidal maniac with a fondness for psychological torment and a complete disregard for traffic laws. It all begins when a young man named Jim gives a ride to a stranger with more red flags than a Chinese parade. Next thing you know, bodies are piling up fast with a string of suspicious incidents involving roadside carnage, an exploding gas station, and one very traumatized hamburger, and Jim’s getting blamed for everything from vehicular homicide to a very unsettling incident involving a truck and two very unfortunate trailers. This Hitcher, real name John Ryder, proceeds to play a game of psychological cat-and-mouse across the American Southwest. Except the cat is armed, deranged, and possibly immortal, and the mouse forgot to pack pants with an escape route.

What follows is a trail of destruction: frame jobs, abductions, a semi-truck used like a deli slicer, and an entire police department reduced to confetti. In the end, it is a battle of wills, windshield wipers, and sheer existential dread. Will Jim make it cross country alive? Or should he have taken the train?