Alternate Best Supporting Actor 1986: Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher

Rutger Hauer did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying John Ryder in The Hitcher.

The Hitcher is a rather terrible film about a young man, Jim, traveling cross country (C. Thomas Howell) who picks up a hitchhiker, who unfortunately is a psychotic killer. 

Rutger Hauer unsurprisingly plays that psychotic killer, which watching this performance made me notice that when Hauer does fully an American accent, though his native accent slips in just occasionally, he sounds just like Paul Newman. Not that this is particularly important to this performance really, but was worth noting. As otherwise this is dumb film where Hauer plays a role that truly exists in a screenwriter's limited imagination, but lacks any reality, nor genuine inspiration. The film I think wants us to believe he is more so a demonic force, if not Death incarnate, which would make sense in that he is omnipotent in so many scenes, however at the same time I guess to beat death you just run him over, and shoot him a few times. Additionally the film does nothing with this idea, it isn’t though we get a bit of insight or interesting philosophical discussions, rather it just feels like an excuse for Ryder to basically do whatever he wants for the course of the film until he dies, and thankfully the film ends. I mention that because Hauer isn’t really working with a character as a just a slasher killer who exists on getting to the next kill logic, rather than any logic of reality or even of some supernatural approach. What the film does have is the fact that Hauer is an extremely captivating performer. There’s an innate charisma to him that lights up the screen, there’s also an innate intensity that just as quickly darkens the screen to grant such striking menace the second he decides to turn it on. Hauer does bring a natural variation in his scenes and is very playing around in the role, because honestly the scenes of what he’s doing are pretty repetitive, he does something to pester the poor kid, he brutally murders someone out of the blue, then taunts him some more. There’s no arc or exploration, really what Hauer presents more than anything is the idea that his character is just kind of bored. So Hauer is just having fun, by showing Ryder having fun, and coming into every scene with an intention to give some kind of chaotic energy to them. Hauer doing it all with such ease, as when he is taunting his hectoring is horrible in a most effective way with the smugness of his sneer, he can suddenly then be extremely cold as though he is giving the young man a lesson (though script wise he’s not), and whenever the killer comes out, Hauer can be a complete sadist loving every minute of his carnage, or the coldest of psychopaths where we just the most vicious directed intensity that is chilling. Hauer plays around with what villain Ryder is effectively to keep his performance unpredictable which keeps his character unpredictable, although the writing is more random than genuinely unpredictable where there’s an honest logic behind it all. Regardless Hauer holds up his end consistently to try to make something out of his scenes, even though the film itself isn’t at all worthwhile nor does it really make his character go anywhere interesting. Hauer does his job though, elevates his film consistently even though he doesn’t save it.