9. The Hitcher (1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXmbdHW4jb4 'On the road, no one can hear you scream' could have been the film's tagline. A young driver picks up a hitchhiker on a deserted road and has to run for his life, as his new acquaintance happens to be a mean psycho killer. Rutger Hauer's John Ryder is a terrific villain, clever and ruthless. He always shows up when you least expect him and never gives up, always coming back after his prey - playing a terrifying game of cat and mouse. His motivations are unclear, which makes the character even more unpredictable. One scene in particular surpasses the expectation of most deranged minds: he kidnaps the hero's girlfriend (a waitress he had just encountered in a diner) and ties her up between two trucks on a parking lot. Surrounded by the police, he just waits for the hero to come and save the damsel in distress - what you would expect him to do. Ryder lets him sit next to him in a truck, gives him a gun and asks him to shoot him. But when he sees that the young lad is too scared to pull the trigger, he drives forward and the girl is torn in half between the vehicles. Interestingly enough, Ryder displays a morbid fascination for ancient history. During one scene, he puts two coins in a dead man's eyes (in ancient Greece it was part of a burial ritual for the ferryman of the Underworld river). Likewise, the trucks scene may remind us when condemned prisoners used to be chained to horses and pulled apart in ancient Rome. This is the least graphic kill on this list since everything happens off-screen but it is nonetheless a tough one to watch. Hauer is creepy as hell, and the progressive tension - the engine roaring ever louder and the close up on the girls hands tied up - makes you want to close your eyes. A perfect example of less is more.