The detective Jim Halsey (C.Thomas Howell) is fired from the police force after a daring rescue of an abducted child, when he shot and killed the kidnapper. He is advised to look for psychological assistance, but he decides to travel with his girlfriend Maggie (Kari Wuhrer) to visit Capt. Esteridge (Stephen Hair), his old friend who believed and supported him some years ago after a traumatic experience. While traveling, Maggie decides to give a lift to Jack (Jake Busey), a weird man on the road, under the strong protest of Jim. Jack is indeed an evil psychopath, who decides to chase the couple, killing everybody around them. This movie is horrible, being a ridiculous sequel (or remake?) of a classic, but full of clichés and totally predictable! The promosing first five minutes cheats the viewer and are excellent, having a great plot point in the very beginning of the story. However, the rest of the story has a totally absurd screenplay, and none of the situations are resolved. The participation of C. Thomas Howell, a C-class actor, is minimum, basically to give his name to the credits, and his character is one of the unluckiest I have ever seen. Further, the change of the lead actor to a lead actress is very problematic, since Maggie is the guilty for the whole situation and her character is hysterical, non-charismatic, has a horrible voice and does not convince as a heroin. I do not understand the reason for the sequel of an excellent thriller after nineteen years. The end of "The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting" is one of the worst I have ever seen. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "A Morte Pede Carona 2" ("The Death Hichhikes 2")
