| Director | Robert Harmon |
|---|---|
| Budget | $7.9 million |
| Box office | $5.8 million |
Jim Halsey, a young man delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego, spots a man hitchhiking in the West Texas desert and gives him a ride. The hitchhiker, who calls himself John Ryder, forces Jim's leg down on the accelerator when they pass a stranded car. Ryder states he murdered and dismembered the driver and intends to do the same to Jim, threatening him with a switchblade. Terrified, Jim asks what Ryder wants. He replies, "I want you to stop me." When Jim notices that Ryder's seat belt is unbuckled and the passenger door is ajar, he shoves Ryder out of the moving car.
Relieved, Jim continues his journey. When he sees Ryder in the back of a family car, Jim tries to warn the occupants, but has a minor accident. He comes across the family's blood-soaked car and vomits. Ryder corners Jim but simply tosses him the keys from Jim's car. Ryder leaves with a trucker and nearly runs Jim down with the truck, which crashes into the pumps of a gas station. As Jim flees, Ryder causes the station to explode.
At a roadside diner, Jim meets Nash, a waitress who cooks him lunch while he calls the police. He finds a severed finger among his French fries, indicating Ryder's proximity. The police arrive and arrest Jim, whom Ryder is framing for his murders. Though the police doubt his guilt, they lock him up overnight as protocol. Jim wakes to find the cell door unlocked and the officers murdered. He panics and flees with a revolver. At a gas station, he sees two officers, takes them hostage, and forces one of them to drive. Jim speaks on the radio to Captain Esteridge, the officer in charge of the manhunt. As Esteridge convinces Jim to surrender, Ryder pulls alongside and kills the two officers.
The patrol car crashes, and Ryder disappears again. After briefly considering suicide, Jim reaches a café, where Ryder confronts him. He points out Jim's revolver is unloaded. Ryder leaves him several bullets and departs. Jim boards a bus, where he meets Nash and explains his situation. After a police car pulls the bus over, Jim surrenders. The furious officers accuse him of killing their colleagues and are about to kill him. Nash appears with Jim's revolver, disarms the officers, and flees with Jim in their patrol car. As the police chase after them, Ryder joins the chase and murders the officers by causing a massive car accident and shooting down a police helicopter.
Jim and Nash abandon the patrol car and hike to a motel. While Jim is in the shower, Ryder abducts Nash. Jim searches for her. Captain Esteridge discovers Jim and enlists him to negotiate with Ryder, who is at the wheel of a large Mack truck. Ryder has gagged and tied Nash between the truck and its trailer hitch, and is threatening to tear her apart. Esteridge tells Jim that his men cannot shoot Ryder because his foot would slip off the clutch, causing the truck to roll. Jim enters the cab with Ryder, who gives him a revolver and tells him to shoot, but Jim is unable to do so. Ryder, disappointed, releases the clutch, killing Nash.
Ryder is taken into custody. Esteridge gives Jim a ride, but Jim, believing the police cannot hold Ryder, takes Esteridge's revolver and vehicle to chase down Ryder's prison bus. Ryder kills the deputies and leaps through Jim's windshield as the bus crashes. Jim slams on his brakes, sending Ryder through the windshield and onto the road. Ryder challenges Jim to run him over, which he does. When Jim leaves his car to look at Ryder's body, Ryder jumps up, but Jim shoots him repeatedly with a shotgun, killing him. Jim leans against Esteridge's car in a daze and smokes a cigarette as the sun sets.