MovieChat Forums > The Hitcher (1986) Discussion > Excellent disturbing thriller, that bomb...

Excellent disturbing thriller, that bombed at box office

posted 8 years ago by rascal67
14 replies | jump to latest

The film opened in the US during the last week of February 86' and the only other hyped film it opened with was NINE AND A HALF WEEKS. Both bombed at the BO and I liked both of them. A week earlier, the big releases were THE DELTA FORCE and WILDCATS and both did good box office.

I can't say why people didn't like it or didn't want to see it, or perhaps they were saving their money for PRETTY IN PINK and the silly horror comedy HOUSE, which opened a week after THE HITCHER and both were popular. Goes to show the poor lack of taste of many of the general movie going public, as 'The Hitcher' is now a cult favorite of many. It was violent and scary, without being unduly graphic—most of the kills are off screen—and some of the action scenes were awesome and could rival MAD MAX 2-81'.

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[–] !!!deleted!!! (63828261) 8 years ago

I liked this movie also. Family saw it first so I had to check it out.

[–] rascal67 8 years ago

Whats not to like Nan? It had Jennifer Jason Leigh, a cute and vulnerable C. Thomas Howell, a menacing Rutger Hauer and violence portrayed in it's true form, ugly and terrifying, without having to resort too gratuity. I suppose it might have been seen as more of an arty horror film, than a generic mainstream one. 'Nine and a Half Weeks' would have suffered for the same reasons, due to it's impeccable visual style. The images told much of the tales in these films and they might have been too ahead of themselves.

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[–] !!!deleted!!! (63828261) 8 years ago

This is my kind of horror movie. I can't watch the graphic stuff like the slasher films but I like this and The Vanishing. Both suspenseful and scary without being gory

[–] rascal67 8 years ago

I was reading in the trivia, that the producers felt it flopped, because it wasn't gory enough and they needed to show the death of Nash spilt apart between the trucks. Nonsense! It had more impact, when the mind fills in the gaps and it was a tense well directed scene. In the remake, they did show it and many other graphic scenes and it wasn't as impactful. The had to replace directorial skill and lack of suspense, with bloody shock value.

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[–] !!!deleted!!! (63828261) 8 years ago

I agree. There's no need to show blood and guts. I haven't seen the remake

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] ralph_2ndedition 8 years ago

Aaaw man, don't trash House, it's one of my all time favourites. :-)
Hitcher and House aren't really comparable though.
One is an entertaining albeit silly horror-comedy (with some awesome make-up fx and masks) dealing in part with supernatural elements. While the other is a dark and unyielding thriller jam packed with stomach turning terror and some pretty horrific symbolism.
I think they're both great, in very different ways.

[–] Ray_Tango 8 years ago

It still remains one of the most underrated thrillers of the 80s. Rutger was at the top of his game, sparse yet effective dialogue, amazing cinematography, and a great minimalist OST. It's a shame it's often not mentioned in the best of the that decade.

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[–] Will21st 8 years ago

The Hitcher is a masterpiece, plain and simple.

This needs a Blu-Ray release, pronto!

[–] kcott44 8 years ago

The Hitcher is an excellent film but it tells you when you look at other box office bombs in the 80s like The Thing (My favorite horror film of all time), Manhunter, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, To Live and Die in LA, Thief, etc. were all bombs. It's even worse today, garbage most of the time is the only the thing that makes money. That's why you got to look at non-mainstream films most of the time to get a good one.

[–] JCrusher723 7 years ago

Darker films always have a tough time making money. When most go to the movies they want to escape their tough daily lives so they want to see happy movies. Thank god for video,dvd,bluray because movies like the hitcher can be rediscovered

[–] manram24 7 years ago

True it didn't do well, but it's become a well liked thriller and a cult classic. One of my favorite movies. I can watch it over and over.

[–] Jones70 (6195) 5 years ago

I agree 100%

[–] jdforyou1983 (1470) 4 years ago

Shame it bombed