C Thomas Howell wishes he hadn't picked up icy passenger Rutger Hauer in this feature debut from director Robert Harmon. Hauer is a serial killer who quickly embroils Howell in a harrowing desert intrigue by implicating him in his sick crimes. Jennifer Jason Leigh, as the waitress who believes Howell's story, adds humanity along the way. Despite the film's huge lapses in logic and moments of wild self-parody, the plot twists generate considerable suspense. It has become something of a cult film thanks to its surreal style and Hauer's inimitable presence.

On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.