Robert Harmon · 1986 · road

Robert Harmon's 1986 cult thriller. Jim Halsey, delivering a car cross-country from Chicago to San Diego, picks up a hitchhiker in the West Texas desert - the soft-spoken, murderous John Ryder. What follows is a relentless cat-and-mouse chase down the empty highways of the Southwest, Ryder framing the boy for his killings and daring him, over and over, to stop him.

1. 1
   Chicago

   Jim Halsey takes a drive-away car to deliver clear across the country to San Diego, and sets out alone into the night down through the plains toward the Southwest.

2. 2
   West Texas

   On a rain-lashed desert highway near El Paso, Jim picks up a hitchhiker to stay awake - John Ryder, who pulls a knife, confesses to murder, and says only: I want you to stop me.

3. 3
   San Diego

   Ryder stalks Jim across the desert toward the coast, killing as he goes and framing the boy, until the chase can only end with one of them dead somewhere short of the sea.