The Hitchhiker Review

MPAA Rating: NR
Released: 1983-1991

The Hitchhiker was a long-lived HBO series (1983 – 1991) that took a page from The Twilight Zone by offering 30-minute suspense/horror vignettes exploring the darker side of humanity. Each episode, narrated by the perpetually traveling Hitchhiker, was a separate tale that usually focused on deceitful, egotistical or downright immoral individuals getting caught up in twisted situations whereby their actions eventually lead to their downfall.

If you enjoy vignette tales such as The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt then you'll want to continue reading our Feature Attraction.

When The Hitchhiker was brought to DVD I was a happy fellow, because this was a serious dose of nostalgia. I remember seeing advertisements for The Hitchhiker played throughout the day on HBO, but alas I never did get a chance to catch it much when I was a kid. Somehow the haunting theme and intriguing commercials stuck with me all these years, though.

There's no doubt that The Hitchhiker was a product of the 80's – which anyone viewing this website would know is a very good thing! The vignettes are equal parts suspense and campy fun. Although some of the episodes dealt with the supernatural, The Hitchhiker differed from The Twilight Zone in that the focus was more on humanity and its many flaws. Here's a quick rundown on the five episodes you'll see on DVD 1 of the first Hitchhiker DVD compilation:

The Last Scene

In order to coax some convincing acting out of a novice blonde actress, a director stalks and terrorizes her. But when she discovers the director was responsible for her sleepless nights and terrifying ordeals, she turns the table on him.

Night Shift

A sleazy and opportunistic nurse keeps watch over elderly residents of a nursing home, abusing them mentally and stealing their valuables to pawn off to her equally distasteful boyfriend. She comes to discover that one old man isn't what he seems, nor does he take kindly to her theft…

Ghostwriter

A writer that can't seem to gain much notoriety fakes his own death in hopes it'll boost sales of his works and give his name some serious attention. He soon discovers after his "death" that his unfaithful wife was having an affair with his publicist, and sets out to get revenge in this twisted tale.

The Miracle of Alice Ames

A charlatan preacher takes in beautiful homeless girls in order to brainwash them into prostituting themselves to "share love with the world" while stuffing his coffers with cash. One young believer that faithfully falls for the preacher's slick words begins prostituting herself, but when stigmata appear on her hands everything changes for both herself and the sleazy preacher.

Man's Best Friend

When his girlfriend leaves him, an aimless and dissatisfied man stumbles about blaming everyone else for the breakdown of the relationship. One evening he discovers a dog, and the two instantly strike up a deep bond. Good for the man, bad for all his enemies, for each night the dog heads out and kills them…

Like The Twilight Zone, the Hitchhiker features a wide variety of guest directors (such as Paul Verhoeven) and guest stars, such as Willem Dafoe, Robert Vaughn, Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Jerry Orbach and many others. The only constant in the series is the narrator / hitchhiker (originally played by Nicholas Campbell, then handled by Page Fletcher), who both introduces and closes each episode.

The Hitchhiker doesn't have the class of Serling's Twilight Zone, but it is campy fun nonetheless. Since this was an HBO series, many of the episodes contain some nudity and/or violence. They range from relatively inoffensive PG-13 material to light R material, so this vignette series is not for younger children.

Ultimately anyone that tries this series with hopes of it being on the same level as Serling's Twilight Zone will likely end up disappointed. The acting is neither good nor bad. The stories are neither sharp nor dull. For the most part The Hitchhiker is serviceable entertainment – some will love it, others will take a pass. Since I have a weakness for both The Twilight Zone and the campy horror/suspense vignettes of the 80's, The Hitchhiker gets a thumbs-up from me.

Movie rating: 7 stars

If you enjoyed The Hitchhiker you may also find the following films to be of interest:

Enjoy the Hitchhiker experience in the comfort of your own home with these products!

DVD - Vol. 1

DVD - Vol. 2

Other Resources:

The Hitchhiker IMDb Page

Movie Sitemap

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