Though popular through the 1970s into the 1980s, hitchhiking largely vanished from the US horizon decades ago. One suspects terrifying cautionary tales like 1986’s The Hitcher contributed to that severe decline.

As he drives all night through a desolate stretch of Texas highway, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) picks up stranded motorist John Ryder (Rutger Hauer). This new passenger quickly reveals that he slaughtered another driver and plans to do the same to Jim.

Although Jim manages to shove Ryder out of his vehicle and drive off, the terror doesn’t end there. Ryder continues to stalk and torment Jim.

According to this release’s back cover, Hitcher didn’t get much attention during its release but it gained a cult audience over time. I agree with the first part of that statement, as the movie’s $5.8 million US gross meant it landed precisely in 100th place for 1986’s box office.

However, I think Hitcher found an audience on home video quickly. I was still in my late teens back then and I recall it as a popular rental on VHS, one that we all wanted to see.

Though I viewed the movie’s lousy 2007 remake when it hit, I don’t believe I’d seen the original since 1986. Because I liked it back then, I found myself curious to discover if it still held up 38 years later.

My answer? Yeah – definitely. While I probably find Hitcher less impactful as a jaded 57-year-old than as an innocent 19-year-old, the movie continues to deliver a taut and unnerving thriller.

Much of the credit goes to the fact that Eric Red’s script refuses to make things easy on the viewer. Hitcher keeps Ryder as a mystery, a character whose evil never receives explanation.

Which I really like. Most movies would give us cheap and shoddy backstory to explain Ryder’s past and what made him such a monster as well as his motives.

But not Hitcher. It keeps Ryder a creepy enigma, one whose anonymity makes him all the more scarier.

Hitcher comes with solid pacing as well. Although it sets us on our harrowing journey early, it still builds tension gradually as it progresses.

Every time we think Jim finds himself safe, Ryder ups the ante. This means the viewer can’t ever really relax.

Hauer’s performance does a lot of the heavy lifting as well. Dead-eyed and spooky, he keeps Ryder restrained and calm, factors that mean he seems much scarier than he might if the actor played him as more wild and overtly crazy.

Howell does enough to ground the movie to allow the viewer the ability to relate, and as waitress/semi-love interest Nash, Jennifer Jason Leigh brings a little humanity to the proceedings.

Nash also becomes involved in one of the most shocking scenes I can remember. I won’t spoil it other than to note that Hitcher avoids the expected path.

All of this leads to a thriller that continues to pack a punch nearly four decades after its creation. Expect Hitcher to take you on a dark and unnerving ride.

The Hitcher appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though the Dolby Vision presentation showed the vestiges of its era, the movie still looked solid.

Sharpness worked fine. Some murkier nighttime shots could seem a bit soft, but most of the film seemed accurate and concise.

Neither jaggies nor moiré effects created concerns, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain seemed light but consistent, and I witnessed no print flaws.

Colors tended toward something of an amber tone to match the parched Texas environment, but they hewed fairly natural overall, with a bit of blue along the way too. The hues seemed well-depicted and rich, and HDR gave them added punch.

Blacks seemed solid and deep, while shadows came across and generally positive. HDR offered extra impact to whites and contrast. Nothing here turned into a visual showcase, but the image worked fine for a relatively low-budget film from 1986.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos remix seemed satisfying. Happily, it didn’t go nuts and attempt to give us a truly “modern” track.

This meant a soundfield that mainly focused on the front speakers, where effects broadened in a reasonable manner. Mostly we got localization and movement from vehicles and gunfire, though a few other elements popped up on the sides too.

Music appeared to remain monaural, which might act as an indication the disc’s producers couldn’t locate source stereo tracks. The back channels largely reinforced the front, though some of the louder scenes – car wrecks, etc. – made more active use of those speakers.

Audio quality held up fine over the decades, with speech that came across as fairly natural and mostly free from edginess. Effects boasted good accuracy and range.

The synthesizer score became a slightly weak link, as the music lacked much punch, but those components still seemed decent and lacked distortion. All in all, the mix seemed positive given the movie’s vintage and budget.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both offered identical audio.

As for the Dolby Vision UHD, it came with improvements in terms of delineation, colors and blacks. While the 4K didn’t offer a huge upgrade over the BD, it still became the more satisfying rendition.

A few extras flesh out the disc, and we find an audio commentary from director Robert Harmon and writer Eric Red. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, music, photography and editing, sets and locations, stunts and connected domains.

Due to lots of dead air, the commentary starts slowly and never recovers. When Red and Harmon speak, they deliver some worthwhile notes, but all the empty spots make the track an exercise in frustration.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a featurette called Bullseye. It goes for 41 minutes, 29 seconds and provides more from Harmon.

During this discussion, Harmon tells us how he got onto the project, cast and crew, and aspects of the production. Harmon compensates for the flawed commentary with a consistently informative interview.

A cult classic that deserves its status, The Hitcher still delivers a creepy experience. Thanks to a solid script, concise direction and a wholly unnerving performance by Rutger Hauer, the movie remains a warped winner. The 4K UHD boasts good picture and audio as well as a few bonus features. Hitcher continues to get it done.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of THE HITCHER