The Hitcher (2007)

(In French, On Cable TV, June 2020) The scourge that was Platinum Dunes remaking 1980s horror movies continues unabated with a new version of The Hitcher. While this new take keeps the near-supernatural psychopathic hitchhiker terrorizing a young couple, it amps up the gore (from an already gory original), gender flips the protagonist (which isn’t as interesting as it sounds) and throws in pop songs that are nearly forgotten thirteen years later. Some things, admittedly, are an upgrade—the budget is bigger, director Dave Meyers’ work is slick, the structure has been retooled to allow more action sequences, it moves the Big Splashy Moment closer to the end of the film where it has more impact, and having Sean Bean as the antagonist is almost always a good idea. Still, this version of The Hitcher is pretty much the same movie—a competent update if you’re favourably inclined, even if the move away from the grindhouse roughness of the original isn’t necessarily an upgrade.