The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting (2003)

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

THE HITCHER was a good thriller of the 1980s that's been well remembered by a lot of fans, not least thanks to Rutger Hauer giving one of his best performances as the ice-cold, stop-at-nothing serial killer. In more recent years, Hollywood has tried, unsuccessfully, to have another slice of the cake, first by releasing this straight-to-video sequel and then by releasing a bigger budgeted remake with Sean Bean in the Hauer role. I've seen the latter, and it's nothing special, so this undistinguished sequel was the last of the 'hitcher' films (not counting the countless rip-offs) that I had to see. I wasn't missing much.The most interesting thing about the film is that C. Thomas Howell reprises his role from the first film. I didn't like him much in THE HITCHER, but he's grown up a lot since then and I actually found that he gave a pretty good performance. For me, he was the most interesting person on screen. He provides a nice, fitting link between the first and the second films, and as the sole returning actor, a lot rests on his shoulders, but he doesn't let that stop him.The worst thing about this sequel, though, is the story, which is just a blatant copy of the first film's plot. A hitcher is picked up and then dropped off after being revealed to be a psychopath. There's shtick with severed fingers, roadside cafes, and somebody who gets tied up between a truck cab and its stationary load. Once again, the intrepid sheriff department don't believe a word of what's going on, so it's up to our youthful hero to stop the hitcher in his tracks. Yep, we've seen it all before and done better, so aside from the plane vs. truck climax (which I liked, and which is something new), don't go expecting originality here.This time around the hitcher himself is played by regular bad guy for hire Jake Busey, son of Gary. Jake's been burning up the screen in the likes of ROAD HOUSE 2 and IDENTITY, so he seems an obvious choice for the part. He doesn't come close to Hauer's performance, though, or even Bean's for that matter. Busey's encouraged to go way over the top at all times, with plenty of wisecracks and humour along the way. I appreciate the vitality he brings to the film, and I do like him as an actor, but he just doesn't sit right here. Better is Kari Wuhrer, as the attractive heroine forced to go up against the maniac. Many women in modern horror films are pretty, young and poor actresses to boot, but not so Wuhrer. She really delivers her part and it was a delight to have her on screen.Anyway, things play out as you'd imagine, and there's nothing in the way of shocks or indeed surprises (although the film does open with a most effective twist). Saying that, the desert locations are well used and the action has a certain slickness about it that makes it appealing, so I can't say I didn't enjoy this one; for a straight-to-video sequel made almost twenty years after the original, I think it does okay.

The Hitcher 2 is the sequel to the hit 1986 original 'The Hitcher' where a young man Jim (C. Thomas Howell) picked up a hitchhiker who turned out to be psychotic. Part 2 is about the main character from the first (again played by Howell) going back to the same area where the events from the first took place in an attempt to move on from his trauma. He takes his girlfriend (Kari Wuhrer) with him on the trip where, once again, a hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be psychotic.When I picked this up, I was excited to see Howell reprise the role he had from the first. I was disappointed however when he was killed off in the first half hour. This movie is really about his girlfriend trying to fight off and kill the man (Jake Busey) who murdered Jim. Kari Wuhrer did a good job in the lead, but the character makes so many bad decisions throughout the movie all you can do is laugh at her.She picks up almost all of the weapons Busey uses to kill the cops and townsfolk which makes her the prime suspect. After a while, it got really tedious to watch her make the same mistakes over and over again. Yes, it happened in the original film, but it was really laughable in this one. Busey played a good "psycho", but wasn't as convincing as Rutger Hauer from the first.The ending leaves us hanging as we never really find out what his motive behind the killings are. Was he the son of the original Hitcher or was he a reincarnation of the first Hitcher? We never find out. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except maybe horror completests. The first half is pretty good, but it falls apart from the middle right through to the end.4/10

I like to give films a chance when I first watch them, but this sequel to the brilliant 1986 film is rather weak. It may contain some stomach-churning scenes and other startling moments, but it still proves a failure.I don't know why sequels are made if I'm honest, because they just seem to go on and on....Some superior movies are terrific without sequels, and The Hitcher was one of them. The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting simply ruins the whole aspect of the first movie, although the fact that Jim Halsey is now a policeman is an interesting premise. Kari Wuhrer is rather convincing in her role, even if Jake Busey is not.Flashbacks from the first film is a strong point, as well as the new plot being based along the same stretch of road, but as a whole, The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting is extremely unconvincing. It isn't that bad a movie, but the budget was wasted (not surprising the film went straight-to-video really). I certainly had NOT been waiting for a sequel to The Hitcher, hence my rating of just 2/10.

When I first saw "The Hitcher 2: I've been Waiting" on SciFi I found it to be extremely underrated. I thought it was pretty entertaining and I enjoyed very much.. It was thrilling, action packed, & dramatic all mixed together. The elements in it were extremely good to say the least. Although the story was relatively the same as the first one, yet it makes up for that with a few shocking moments which conclude with a big showdown at the end.Now to all who may be wondering if you should check it out well don't listen to all the negativity. I recommend you all give it a try and make your on decision. Either way I give The Hitcher 2: I've been Waiting ***1/2 stars out of five.