Was all of this in the mind of the lead character?
Played by C. Thomas Howell?
shareNo, it all played out for real for him. That would have been an interesting twist though 😊
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MovieChat Forums > The Hitcher (1986) Discussion > Was all of this in the mind of the lead ...
Nah, everything really happened. I love this movie.
shareNo that never occurred to me.
sharegod no .
those movies are stupid
"... oh and it was all a dream ... "
Maybe not so much a DREAM but a REFLECTION of one's own psychological state of mind moviechatterer.
Films like "Lost Highway" (1997) and "Fight Club" (1999) had most of the stuff in the characters' minds but they were no less compelling and in former case especially brilliant for that.
And some films portray certain situations as metaphors etc, look at films like "Possession" (1981) and "Antichrist" (2009) and maybe even "Blue Steel" (1991) - otherwise, beyond the supernatural explanations of which there is little to no evidence, how else do you explain all the downright bizarre events that happen there.
Films like Gaspar Noe's "I Stand Alone" (1998) ("Seul Contre Tous") also had stuff happening inside its lead character's mind on top of things happening for real and many found it compelling and brilliant BECAUSE of it, movies like even Lynch's other greatest masterpiece "Blue Velvet" (1986) questioned if ALL events really WERE for real or if it was in the lead character's subconsciousness, as did some other works like Abel Ferrara's "Ms .45" (aka "Angel of Vengeance") (1981).
So yeah, it isn't anywhere near as simple as "oh it makes a movie stupid" and on a simple level of it "being a dream".
Yeah , I get the distinction , and maybe those films have a little more to them than "it was all a dream" , I'm still not keen on them
wasnt "Secret window" with j depp one of those?
I'll need to re-watch that one to decide.
shareAnd thing is, MAYBE it wasn't all in his mind or at least not all of it, but I kind of gotten the impression and felt that a lot of the events that happen in "The Hitcher", especially how Rutger Hauer's almost supernatural serial killer constantly keeps appearing out of nowhere to chase the lead character no matter where he goes, and stays very cleverly ahead of the game all the time etc, sort of gives the impression that its all either in his head or subconsciousness or that it is a metaphor for something.
That doesn't make this movie any LESS great and entertaining though but it does raise a couple of questions.
Even some films like "The Devil's Advocate" (1997) make us question if all of the (albeit supernatural) events really happened in that movie or if it was all in Keanu Reeves' twisted imagination and even if all of it was real, a lot of the events that happen in that film seem like a metaphor for the dark sides of the American lawyer profession.
I'm going to give a big NO on that. This isn't Boxing Helena.
shareEven if it at least partially WAS that, the film is still much better than that slice of mediocrity with or without its twist. :) And RIP Julian Sands in any case though who sadly passed away last year.
shareBut even if it wasn't - do you not think its a bit far fetched all the stuff that Hauer's character managed to accomplish in this as well as how SPOILER - somehow the kid magically figures it out towards the end and forces that cop to stop and leave the car?
shareIt might be a bit over the top, but I wouldn't say it was 100% unbelievable either considering he was very elusive, kept himself under the radar, he had no real identity or identification on him, and no one knew who he was or could prove that he existed in the first place so that would make it easier for him to accomplish. At that point none of the police in that area had seen Ryder or heard of him, it was only Jim's word against theirs and they weren't going to go chase after someone who possibly didn't even exist and all in this kid's mind if you look at it from their point of view. I don't think it would be that hard for Ryder to get around that especially out in the middle of nowhere. As for the kid figuring it out magically towards the end, I've never interpreted it as that. At that point he knew what Ryder was capable of, knew the cops were incompetent and didn't know what they're up against, and that he would pull something, I don't think he knew to what extent either but had to make sure, also he wanted revenge for Nash. I think it was a combination of all those things and that's why pulled the gun on the cop and took his car.
shareThey already had that plot twist. It was called "IDENTITY" with John Cusack
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