The original 'Hitcher' is one of the all-time horror greats...The Hitcher II is nothing more than a USA Network Pictures Original-esque follow-up. Luckily, I came into it with zero expectations, and while I got pretty much what I expected, I have to say that this film isn't necessarily awful...at least, not completely. It's actually a decent b-grade horror flick. It has good/okay cinematography, and in one scene it's able to build mood, and the action scenes are actually quite good, however, at its core, it simply has no soul. There's no humanity behind it, no real sympathy for the characters (except for Jim, which really has a helluva lot more to do with the original than anything else). The Hitcher himself is about as frightening as a...Well, I can't think of any good analogies off-hand, but suffice to say he isn't at all scary. Of course, Jake Busey is just so damn likable, it's hard to be scared of the guy. If he IS supposed to be John Ryder incarnate, he's too cocky and he talks WAY too much. Also, a warning for people whose lives depend on some kind of resolution, the end will TOTALLY leave you hanging...buyer beware.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that...I reluctantly must recommend The Hitcher II, speaking as a fan of so-bad-they're-almost-funny horror films. If nothing else, rent it for a good laugh and have fun pointing out the inconsistencies and bad dialogue. It's pure MST3K all the way.
