White Wall Cinema: THE HITCHER (1986)
March 27 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
This rip-roaring vehicular thriller roars proudly in the tradition of motorway-stalking cult classics like Duel and Road Games – but The Hitcher boasts a far more potent secret weapon: the maniacal menace of Blade Runner legend, Rutger Hauer.
Tasked with transporting a car cross-country, young motorist Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell, of The Outsiders fame) begins to nod off behind the wheel and makes a decision that proves catastrophically misguided, he picks up a hitchhiker for company. The stranger (Hauer) calmly claims to be a killer, and although Jim manages to force him from the vehicle, any sense of relief is short-lived. What follows is a relentless descent into terror as the hitchhiker’s full psychopathic mania is unleashed. With the help of truck-stop waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh, later of The Hateful Eight and Single White Female), Jim is thrust into a desperate fight for survival
Despite unleashing one brutal set piece after another, The Hitcher remains lean, mean, and stripped to the bone. It plays like a sun-scorched fever dream, ruthless, existential, and soaked in dread. Marrying eerie, uncanny atmosphere with unapologetic B-movie thrills, it stands as a rare genre piece that is both artfully minimal, pulse-poundingly savage with a lingering stylistic mood that’s hard to shake. The Hitcher is a perfectly calibrated, tension-soaked Friday night big screen treat.
- DOORS: 7.30pm*
- START TIME: 8pm*
- RUN TIME: 97 mins
- CERT: 15 (Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)
*Please note – doors open at 7.30pm, Please try to allow extra time to get seated prior to the performance start time of 8.00pm. There will usually be no admittance from 20 minutes after the films stated start time. No hot food or alcohol from outside the premises is allowed. All alcoholic drinks consumed on the premises must be purchased from the bar as per the conditions of the venue’s licence
