The Hitcher(2007)
2007 · Dave Meyers · 84 min
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Crime · Horror · Thriller
5.91k votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How The Hitcher scares
It kicks off fast with a tense highway encounter and never really slows down, turning into a long, punishing chase across empty desert roads. The fear comes from feeling hunted by someone who seems to be everywhere at once, calm and unstoppable, with the law unable to keep up. There's real bloodshed and physical danger throughout, but the bigger dread is the sense that this man can't be outrun or reasoned with. It's a tense, mean-spirited ride more than a deep psychological gut-punch, good for fans of relentless road-set slashers.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Hitcher rates psychological 3/5, visceral 4/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 55 of 100 — balanced
Supernatural vs Real-world: 95 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A quick jolt into danger followed by a relentless string of chases and confrontations that barely lets up until the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4.
How scary is The Hitcher?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Hitcher rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, balancing creeping dread with well-placed shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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