The Hitcher (2007 film)

College students, Jim Halsey and Grace Andrews are driving across New Mexico to meet their friends for spring break. On their first night of driving, they nearly hit a hitchhiker, who was standing in the middle of the road. Jim swerves, and the car spins out of control to a stop. As the man approaches, Grace insists that someone else will stop to help him, and they take off.

Later that night at a gas station, Jim meets the hitchhiker, who introduces himself as John Ryder and asks for a ride, and Jim reluctantly agrees. While on the road, he becomes increasingly violent and attacks them, holding a knife to Grace's eye. He tells Jim the only way to save them both is to say, "I want to die". Jim hits the brakes, causing John to hit his head on the windshield, and then Jim kicks him out of the car. Grace tells Jim she wants to go home, but he persuades her to continue with their trip.

The following day, Jim and Grace spot John in a family's car. The two try to warn the family, but crash their car. They are forced to continue on foot and eventually find the family's car on the side of the road; both the children and mother are already dead, with the father badly wounded. They take the car and stop at a nearby cafe to tend to the wound, but the man dies.

Suspected of having committed the murders, Jim and Grace are arrested and brought to the police station. John arrives shortly after and kills everyone at the station, while Jim and Grace flee. Lieutenant Esteridge orders the rest of the station to pursue the couple, but John shows up and single-handedly takes out all the police cruisers and a helicopter, helping Jim and Grace escape the police.

Grace and Jim check in at a motel. Grace falls asleep but is woken by John, who attempts to sexually assault her. She fights him off and hides in the bathroom. John disappears, so Grace leaves the motel to look for Jim and finds him chained at the wrists and ankles between a truck and a trailer. Grace approaches the truck, which John is revving, and demands that he stop. The police arrive and tell her to drop her gun, as John drives forward and splits Jim in half, killing him. John is then apprehended by the police.

The next morning, Lt. Esteridge tells Grace that the real John Ryder is missing, and they do not know the true identity of the hitchhiker. He informs her that the hitchhiker will be transported across the state to another prison. During the journey, the hitchhiker breaks free from his restraints and kills everyone in the police van, causing the vehicle to crash, with Lt. Esteridge and Grace crashing close behind them. The hitchhiker shoots a pool of gasoline, igniting it with Estridge's handgun. Grace goes to search for and kill the hitchhiker, but is ambushed and disarmed, then thrown into the van and trapped by the hitchhiker, though she then manages to escape. The hitchhiker shoots and kills Lt. Esteridge with his own gun while he is injured and trapped in the car. Grace shoots the hitchhiker in the back with a shotgun and then in the chest. The hitchhiker asks her, "Feels good, doesn't it?" to which she replies, "I don't feel a thing," before shooting him in the head.

• Sophia Bush as Grace Andrews
• Zachary Knighton as Jim Halsey
• Sean Bean as John Ryder / The Hitchhiker
• Neal McDonough as Lieutenant Esteridge
• Kyle Davis as Buford's Store Clerk
• Skip O'Brien as Harlan Bremmer Sr., Sheriff of Torrance County
• Travis Schuldt as Deputy Harlan Bremmer Jr.
• Danny Bolero as Officer Edwards
• Lauren Cohn as Marlene
• Yara Martinez as Beth
• Jeffrey Hutchinson as Young Father

The Hitcher is a remake of the 1986 film of the same name. It is the third remake of a horror film to be produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, following the commercially successful films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and The Amityville Horror (2005).^[5] Bay said of the original: "I loved it as a kid and we can add some cool twists and turn it into a rocking film".^[6] Bay also suggested that the protagonist in the remake would be female.^[6][7][8][9] Dave Meyers was hired to direct the remake.^[10] Sean Bean and Sophia Bush were cast in January 2006; in June, Zachary Knighton joined the project.^[11][12] Production began in June.^[13]

The Hitcher held a special screening on January 18, 2007, at the ArcLight's Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California; a majority of the cast and crew were in attendance.^[14][15] The film was released in theaters the following day.^[16]

The film was released on DVD and HD-DVD on May 1, 2007.^[17] The Hitcher became available on Blu-ray in Australia on December 10, 2008.