The Hitcher (2007)★★★★☆

I mentioned yesterday that I saw this version first and liked it. And it’s true – while I didn’t really like Michael Bay’s remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, I did like this one. In fact, aside from seeing his name in the opening credits, there was only one point during this remake where I even remembered that it was a Michael Bay movie (the car crash scene, specifically).

I didn’t realize this until seeing the original, but there were some interesting choices made for this film that I kind of liked. For one thing, it’s clear early on that the gender balance is better in this version – I don’t know if they realized that Sophia Bush would sell better than Zachary Knighton (whose real name I never remember but I just finished watching all of Happy Endings again so I couldn’t help but think of him as Dave Rose) or what, but the character in this one gets an upgrade to girlfriend and road trip companion.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that the gender shift is most apparent during the climactic scene at the end. And I liked it in this one. And you know what, I think Sophia Bush is easier on the eyes than Zachary Knighton, so I can see why they’d want to give her as much screen time as possible. Sean Bean is at his creepiest in this one as John Ryder, which works here.

I also really liked the music in this one. Apparently I really like Steve Jablonsky, most notably for his work on Desperate Housewives. Anyway, this one isn’t quite as creepy as the original, but it’s really entertaining and not as over the top as you might expect.