The Hitcher or Duel (71)

They're both part of my collection and I think they are great. However, I don't really get why people are so quick to think of the two movies as being the same. Yes, they both take place on the open road with a maniac terrorizing an unsuspecting traveler, but IMO, how the films are executed beyond this basic plot point is completely different.

1. The Evil

In Duel, the menace is left completely to the unknown. We dont see his face, he has no direct dialogue with his victim, and his motives are never revealed. In this case, the lack of depth or personality to the force of evil is actually what makes him terrifying(exactly how Spielberg handled the shark in 'Jaws' a few years later).

In direct contrast, The Hitcher handles this completely different. The killer's face, personality, and motive(although a lot of people seem not to pick up on it for some reason) are all revealed almost immediately at the beginning of the movie. John is not some faceless monster on the road. We know he is smart, sadistic and relentless.

In other words, both films do a great job of inducing fear from an unstoppable evil force. But the source of the fear is where they are completely different. Duel relies on symbolism. The truck represents evil. The Hitcher relies on John's sadistic personality and twisted mind. He is literally the face of evil. One movie is the fear of the unknown, the other is the fear of what is known.

2. The Good

I find the heroes of the two movies are also not the same. In Duel this character is inherently a good guy throughout the entire movie. He never changes or transforms. He represents the "good" and Duel genuinely is about good vs. evil. It's not so much about this character's development throughout the movie. He is more or less intended to induce the audience to think "Hey this guy is a lot like me. Just an ordinary person trying to make it through ordinary life and along comes this maniac trying to kill him. I really feel like that's me in this situation." We can relate to his character and that is why we root for him to win.

In The Hitcher, Jim's character starts out very much the same as the previous character does in Duel. The difference is that he is far from the same by the end of the movie. Because of John's horrific actions while pursuing and manipulating him, Jim completely transforms from an insecure and weak kid to a cold, calculating and strong man(just like John). Through this transformation is where the motive of John is made crystal clear to the viewer. He wants to die and has chosen Jim to be the one to kill him. To make this happen though, he realizes he must toughen Jim up to where he doesn't just want to extract vengeance, but has the stomach and nerve to actually execute it. I also believe John takes personal pleasure in being able to mentally manipulate Jim's very being to the point where Jim has become almost as psychotic as John. There is almost a strange, but palpible "master and apprentice" element to the arc of the movie. And thus, the viewer realizes that, just maybe, there is a little more John in all of us than we would like to admit. The storyline literally progresses through Jim's transformation.

To sum up, I think Duel's protagonist is meant to be a vessel for us to feel like we are in the movie experiencing the terror first hand. While in The Hitcher I believe the protagonist is meant to be a method for us to look inward unto ourselves. To realize that maybe, just maybe...we are capable of having a little more "John" inside of us than we ever thought possible.

Anyways, just my two cents(well, maybe more like ten cents since it looks like I may have gotten a bit wordy here, haha). All in all I would give a slight edge to The Hitcher as far as which I like better. The only reason being is that through subtle hints and slow burning transformation the characters are much richer and better developed. Duel makes you feel, but The Hitcher makes you feel AND think. I hold any movie that can achieve that in a high regard.

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