Things In The Hitcher Essay, Research Paper

This was one of the first horror films I ever saw, and it still freaks me out everytime I watch it. Rutger Hauer plays a hitchhiking nut who accepts rides from people and gives them something in return: a slow and painful death. The Hitcher’s next target is a young man named Jim Hallsey (C Thomas Howell) who pretty much kicks ass. The Hitcher tries his usual methods of scaring the piss out of his victim, but Jim isn’t taking any of his shit. They wind up playing a “deadly game of cat-and-mouse” while the bodies pile up along the roadside. Convincing performances by EVERYONE make this movie one of the great classics of modern cinema. Jesus, C Thomas Howell is the bomb. Even in that movie Soul Man. But you’ve already seen this movie, right? If not you should head over to DISNEY.com instead. Because this movie is definitely a prerequisite for any horror fan or DVD collector in general. So here’s the review of the DVD itself.

VIDEO: The movie is presented in normal non-anamorphic widescreen only, but that is just fine with me. It looks fantastic, with the blood really standing out against the rest of the surroundings. I didn’t notice any compression problems or anything. Beautiful transfer, but they could make this movie look like a Gameboy game and I’d still love it.

AUDIO: The sound is Dolby 5.1 and Dolby 2 Channel, and it sounds great. It’s definitely sounding better than it ever has before. There are some great uses of the surround because most of the movie is driving and there are some rather nice explosions.

EXTRAS: I’ll admit that the disc is rather lacking in this category. However, it does have some great Cast and Crew Bios. Unfortunately, that’s all it has. But the menus are really kick-ass. They show some killer scenes from the movie in the rear-view mirror at the top it’s so cool you’ll have to see it yourself to appreciate it.

OVERALL: This movie is a bargain at any price, but I picked it up for 15 bucks and that is a hell of a deal. I love this movie to death and I’ve watched it probably 12 times since I got it on DVD. It’s one of the all-time greats and it deserves your attention. Although there aren’t any real extras, it’s a superb transfer and worth every penny.