The Hitcher is far better than critics at the time thought it is. On the surface, it's just a violent thriller about a seemingly insane killer who plays cat and mouse with a young man.
But that is far from the truth. Ryder isn't insane. We don't know why he started to do what he does, but if you watch closely, you'll see that he doesn't want to live.
He wants someone to "stop him"/kill him. Just that it shouldn't be anybody.
We don't know what the guy in the beetle did or didn't do. But it seems Ryder wants to make sure that whoever kills him has to sacrifice something.
He even pays Charon's obol, a symbolic fare to hell to the boy. A strong symbol that he knows well where he'll go and that he wants to go there.
That's why he never kills the boy. He isn't stupid. He pushes him because he wants the boy to change. Maybe that's how Ryder himself started out a long time ago? Maybe it has importance to him for other reasons. That's why he is disappointed when the boy fails to shot him in the truck, fearing the girl would die in the process. Maybe he would have made sure she doesn't, but he wants the boy to risk it! The same way he is willing to take a hell of a lot of risks, just to keep pushing and pushing.
I guess only someone like Rutger Hauer could make you feel some sort of sick sympathy with his character. Yes, he is a vicious butcher. But I can't help but think that something has turned him into this. Especially in the scene at the motel when he seems to enjoy a moment of peace and serenity when he spoons the girl. Maybe it reminds him of what he once had? But alas, it can not be. Not for him. He knows where his journey has to end.
We can only wonder where the boys will go...
But that is far from the truth. Ryder isn't insane. We don't know why he started to do what he does, but if you watch closely, you'll see that he doesn't want to live.
He wants someone to "stop him"/kill him. Just that it shouldn't be anybody.
We don't know what the guy in the beetle did or didn't do. But it seems Ryder wants to make sure that whoever kills him has to sacrifice something.
He even pays Charon's obol, a symbolic fare to hell to the boy. A strong symbol that he knows well where he'll go and that he wants to go there.
That's why he never kills the boy. He isn't stupid. He pushes him because he wants the boy to change. Maybe that's how Ryder himself started out a long time ago? Maybe it has importance to him for other reasons. That's why he is disappointed when the boy fails to shot him in the truck, fearing the girl would die in the process. Maybe he would have made sure she doesn't, but he wants the boy to risk it! The same way he is willing to take a hell of a lot of risks, just to keep pushing and pushing.
I guess only someone like Rutger Hauer could make you feel some sort of sick sympathy with his character. Yes, he is a vicious butcher. But I can't help but think that something has turned him into this. Especially in the scene at the motel when he seems to enjoy a moment of peace and serenity when he spoons the girl. Maybe it reminds him of what he once had? But alas, it can not be. Not for him. He knows where his journey has to end.
We can only wonder where the boys will go...