The first half of this film held some promise as it seemed like the film was going to be a low-key character psychodrama like THE MINUS MAN but then the whole thing collapses into cliche and the viewer slowly loses all interest. There's a decent cast here but the film is lifeless and the talent completely wasted.
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Eegah Guy7 August 2001
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HeadBangerBLR24 August 2001Well This Movie Starts Off Horrible, Through The First Half Of The Movie I Was Board To Tears. Then All The Second Half Really Grabbed My Attention and Got A Little Better. If I Rated The First Half I Would Give It A 1, The Second Half I Would Give About a 5. All I Can Say Is If You Watch This Movie, Just Get Through The First 45 Min and Then Its Decent. Over All This Movie Was Not Good, But It Is Worth Watching Once. All In All I Gave It A 5 (Only Because The Second Half)
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refinedsugar2 October 2023'The Pass' aka 'Highway Hitcher' is a fun little thriller if you like William Forsythe, simple low-budget stories and don't expect more than the necessary basics. There's adequate tension, a few twists & laughs. It also happens to have one of the worst trailers out there that ruins the movie and all it's moments if you can believe that.
Charles Duprey's (Forsythe) wife Shirley (Nancy Allen) leaves him. He enjoys gambling and the two were going to take a trip to Reno. A co-worker & friend Willie (Michael McKean) recommends he go anyway so he takes to the road and along the way picks up Hunter (James LeGros) who's car has broken down. In a short span of time, they bond but Hunter's deranged, weird side starts to show. He ditches him given an opportune moment, but the road ahead to Reno gets closed due to bad weather. Charlie spends the night at a roadside motel & tavern. Allowing this guy to catch up and the craziness resumes. The only thing left to question is was this random bad luck or is something deeper going on.
One reviewer calls Forsythe's character a loser. I disagree. He's a mild man with his life together but in a rut. He starts to find himself again, but has to go on this ride surrounded by death to get there. A young Jamie Kennedy appears as a state trooper and Elizabeth Pena plays a lady who provides equal parts sexuality & surprise.
I originally saw 'The Pass' on late night tv - the home to movies of lower quality - and in many ways this title fits right in. I don't blame anyone if they say this movie doesn't have a lot going on, but I enjoyed it's simplicity & atmosphere with Forsythe at the center of things. Seeing it again many years later didn't change that fact. -
JBoze31322 November 2002this movie is not that bad in the end. the dvd sound quality is terrible. i got the disc in a 2 disc set with 2 movies on each disc...i wanted the movie kolobos which i liked on showtime beyond, so i bought it. i watched this one first because it looked like the most watchable of the 3 i had never seen before. the acting is decent, tho some parts are a bit silly, but only due to a somewhat weak script. some of the plot is just illogical, like the 911 operator who just laughs off the murder call, the fact that the hitcher so easily tracks this guy down, etc...but overall it doesnt hurt the movie in overall entertainment value. it is what it is...its a cheaply made movie that is somewhat ominous and enjoyable. its not oscar-worthy, but not too many movies are anymore. i liked the setting a lot (the desert), you usually cant wrong with this setting in the horror genre...some nice direction as well. 7/10
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Rodrigo_Amaro4 May 2020"The Pass" has commendable acting from everybody involved. William Forstyhe, James LeGros, Elizabeth Peña, Jamie Kennedy, Michael McKean and Nancy Allen are all kind of memorable in their roles. It's Kurt Voss writing and direction that makes this a forgettable experience but one that cannot be washed away from your memory so easily.
Here's another hitcher type flick destined to thrill you, kick you with some excitment but overall it's a messy disappointment because time and again the director/writer thinks he can fool audiences with ridiculious plot twists. That twist is what really kills the film, you'll be shaking your head is disbelief.
One simply does not treat your lead character as a complete loser of whom we don't care from the get-go because we don't know exactly the extent of his problems. When Charlie - Forsythe's character - is presented with a nice job of which he's lame since he spends his time gambling on the internet, and then has a marriage collapsing for no onvious reasons and thanks to the dull dialogue he has with wife I couldn't fill the blanks, I was too anxious for a change.
He gets it when a mysterious man (LeGros) needs a ride from him and the rest is all random murders and random encounters through highways when "our hero" is travelling all the way to Reno. That's when he finally realises he's not a loser, he's a fearless fighter and that's when the movie doesn't make any sense. A wimp that fights like a brave to the point of getting psychotical is insane; he became an action star after spending half of the movie being a white collar crying baby. And his only expertise was playing mini-golf!
Dream-like sequences, awful editing where you can easily spot goofs and inconsistencies permeates this nightmarish flick. The thrill is there, good action sequences such as the dog attack on the villain or the insanely disturbing moment of the duo with a state trooper makes it all interesting.
But if you need a more frightening and realistic PSA for dealing with hitchers, then "The Hitcher" (1986) is your film. "The Pass" is passable, embarassing and neither the good acting of Forsythe playing against type for most of the film deserves your attention. 2/10. -
The Pass A guy whose down on his luck on his way to a Reno gambling therapy course to reconcile with his wife (who has no intention of reconciling). On the road he picks up a male hitch-hiker one night.
The wife of the man suffering from a gambling addiction leaves him under excuse of his gambling so she can have an affair and plot is death then waits around (believing him dead) for insurance money but he discovers the plot from a woman he met on the road then returns to blow her and boy friend up with a bomb. This seemingly innocent act draws him into a dark world of corrupt police officers and strange behavior; it also brings him into contact with a lonely waitress with seduction on her mind he met on the road then returns to blow her and boy friend up with a bomb. Who shares with him "beware and stay away from your wife" (having. -
I just watched this today on TV. It was on ABC's Sunday Afternoon Movie.
This wasn't a very good movie, but for a low budget independent film like this, it was okay. There is some suspense in it, but there are so many bad qualities that really bring the movie down. The script is pretty lame, and the plot elements aren't very realistic, such as the way a 911 operator would laugh and hang up when someone is reporting a murder. I don't know what the writer was thinking when they came up with that idea, but it isn't very realistic.
I thought this movie was going to be a good suspense thriller, because there were a few scenes that seemed like they would lead to something good, but unfortunately, they never did. There were a few plot elements that have been used in other movies similar to this, and in the end, didn't prove to be very creative.
If there is something good about this movie, it is the cast. Every actor in this movie did good with what they had to work with. The terribly underrated actress Elizabeth Pena was great in this movie. She is very sexy, and has an incredibly sexy voice. However, if you want to see a movie of hers that is really good, watch the excellent animated movie The Incredibles. In that movie, she put her sexy voice to good use.
What can I say, this movie isn't really worth your time, but the actors were good. Unfortunately, they were all wasted on this movie, which is a real shame. This movie tried to be a good suspense thriller, but in the end, it fell flat. If you want to see a good movie that is similar to this, but much better, see The Hitcher. If you want to see something with the cast members of this movie, watch any of their other movies. You can real easily pass on this movie if you ever get the chance to see it. -
anonreviewer6 May 2006What is it that this movie is rated? A 4.2 or something like that? No way! It should be rated about a 6.5 or so. I gave it a 7.0 This movie is well done with professional actors and good production values.
It is not clichéd and has several surprises.
Good music, good suspenseful atmosphere. How could it be rated a 4.2? That tells me it is not worth watching. But this movie is definitely worth watching.
I ain't it saying it is the second coming of the Godfather or anything like that.
But a solid movie worth watching. -
stevenjgross27 September 2001I never thought that a movie could be so watchable. I've heard of people who have watched the same movie 10 times, now I have seen one that I feel that way about. A thriller-with a lot of hidden messages and meanings. The name was changed to "Highway Hitcher", a cheap attempt to sell a GEM of a pic. 5 Stars! Cudos to William Forsythe. James LeGross, and Elizabeth Pena. Watch it!
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mdonahoe15 July 2004I loved this movie from the plot, to the cast, to the finale. James LeGross has the role of his life. He is hired to kill (cowardly) William Forsythe and would succeed if it wasn't for the pesky cops and Forsythe's elusive demeanor. The best part of the movie is when LeGross goes for his signature move the "jump punch" but it wasn't a direct hit so it didn't kill Forsythe, only injured him. I don't want to give anything away, so I will let you formulate your own opinion. But I don't think that you will be disappointed with the acting or the plot in this movie, it all seems to come together perfectly throughout the entire film without any dull moments. Just give it a chance and I guarantee you won't be let down, holla.
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FieCrier7 March 2002Saw this for free on the B-side of a DVD I rented of Dark Waters.
Awful clichés and contrivances in Highway Hitcher (The Pass).
What if Duprey chose not to go to Reno, or if he went by plane, or didn't pick up the hitchhiker, or reported the whole story to the police earlier?
Apathetic 911 workers who hang up, or don't investigate hang-ups.
Other plot holes wider than "the pass" itself.
Some odd direction seemed to be pointing towards a more interesting movie. Duprey and the hitcher both seemed to be having flashbacks and/or visions, some of them occasionally suggesting that they might be the same person, but no. -
I can't see this movie's point. I mean... the story is terrible, the acting ridiculous and the direction very, very lame. So I can't see how did the writer and director wanted to convince us that this movie was good. If they tried to make something scary they failed
My Rating: As I can't give it a 0 I give it a 1. -
MontyMarwood29 December 1999This movie is terrible, it was just really dull and i don't blame the actors for being so bad in it 'cause the script was awful, so much talent wasted - james le gros,william forsyth, jamie kennedy - the film was gut wrenchingly rubbish. I'm glad jamie kennedy was hardly in it because it enraged me to see such a talented young actor in this dross.
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Wizard-814 February 2012I enjoy watching made-for-DVD movies, so I am often in a forgiving mood when they have various shortcomings. However, "The Pass" (a.k.a. "Highway Hitcher") has moments that are so silly or so dumb that even I can't generate much enthusiasm. The movie is poorly paced - it takes more than half of the movie before the protagonist finds himself in serious danger. And the second half of the movie contains some of the most ludicrous plot developments I have seen in a long time. Among other things, the evil scheme of the antagonists depends on the protagonist doing exactly the right things that well couldn't be anticipated with confidence. Then there are things like someone changing into a cop's uniform in a few seconds, a corpse's eyes moving, and someone dropping a gun yet is shown still holding the gun in the very next shot! The talented cast tries, but can do nothing with the dumb script and direction.
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mkoskela8 June 2000I've seen recently many hitchhiker films, and this one is not a good one. Stupid Plot, lousy script, but good actors. The Question is: What is actor like Forsythe doing in a film like this? or James LeGros? This Film is total waste of time, If you watch it be sure you are drunk. I would give it 2/5, just because of acting.