Grace Andrews and Jim Halsey are a collegiate couple who are tormented by the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher. The young couple hit the road in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, en route to spring break. But their pleasure trip soon turns into a waking nightmare. The initial encounters with Ryder are increasingly off-putting for Grace and Jim, and they bravely fight back when he ambushes them.

Slasher flicks and thrillers have been always been a staple in the cinema business. The adrenaline rush through your veins from fear can be a near-addiction, and the film industry is more than happy to churn out such movies every now and then.

"The Hitcher" is one such movie in the style of "Texas Chain Massacres" but ends up being more of a psychological thriller. We have John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher, but he is undeveloped and irritatingly mysterious. The reason why films like "Psycho" and "Silence of the Lambs" have always been well received was because the characters had depth and focus while the psychotic killer here ends up being more of random serial killer.

The movie starts out with a couple, Grace Andrews (Sophia Bush) and Jim Halsey (Zachary Knighton), driving on the interstate highway to join their friends for the spring break. During the night, Jim nearly runs over a man who is standing in the middle of the road. At Grace's urging not to pick up hitchhikers (it looks as if the man's car has broken down), Jim drives off. The two run into the man later at a gas station and he introduces himself as John Ryder (Sean Bean). Ryder politely asks them to drop him off at a motel further up the road and Jim agrees to, out of guilt. However, in the car, the man breaks Jim's phone, pulls out a knife and threatens him. The couple manages to overpower him and kick him out of the car.

Now begins a chase across New Mexico as the couple find themselves being stalked by the hitchhiker at almost every turn of the road. The police, meanwhile, believe these two to be responsible for the murder of a family and nearly everyone in the local sheriff's office.

A remake of the 1986 film directed by Robert Harmon, Myers' "The Hitcher" retains only fragments of the original film. The rest is a slow ride, relying on shock tactics to make you jump. After watching enough of the popular TV series "Heroes", seeing blood splatter in this film can be a little numbing, and at times, boring. The plot is weak. It loses direction near the ending, making it seem like a normal serial killer movie. We never find out why the killer is killing people or how he is able to catch up with the two victims.

Sean Bean gives an adequate performance as Ryder, but the lack of character development in the movie makes it hard for him to portray the killer with enough depth. He even seems almost wooden at times. His talents are wasted here - and the performance we saw in "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" where he played Boromir is probably the best we'll ever get.

Zachary Knighton makes his film debut here, and he doesn't fare too badly as the panicky Jim. Sophia Bush plays the typical college girl but is unconvincing during the panic-stricken moments. Incredulously, she's suddenly able to handle a huge shotgun, kick down metal doors and hold an automatic gun with the finesse of a trained shooter. At that point, the story becomes ridiculous, as the college princess is suddenly able to avoid the killer who has managed to massacre a group of policemen in a matter of minutes.

Director Dave Myers is a well-known name in the American music industry, having produced and directed a number of music videos for stars like Britney Spears, Pink and Missy Elliott. However, he should stick to making music videos as he brings the same style over to the film, turning this into a disaster instead of a memorable piece.

If you get a thrill out of watching flicks like "Joy Ride", "House of a Thousand Corpses" and had hoped for less gore in "Texas Chain Massacres", "The Hitcher" may be appealing. However, the movie falls short of entertaining, and isn't worth comparing to the classics by Alfred Hitchcock and Wes Craven.