10 Horror Movies That Missed Out The Money Shot

5. Splitsville For Nash - The Hitcher

The Hitcher Nash
TriStar

The death of The Hitcher's Nash is one of the most disturbing, tension-laced demise of '80s horror, yet it's one that we never see in any real detail.

In this 1986 picture, Rutger Hauer's John Ryder is the titular hitcher whose in the middle of a killing spree that sees him off random drivers and eventually a bunch of cops. Caught up in all of this is Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), who made the mistake of picking up Ryder midway through said bloodbath.

When Halsey makes friends with waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh), that inadvertently puts poor Nash in the crosshairs of Hauer's character. By that, it means that Ryder kidnaps her and ties her up between a truck cabin and the pitch of its trailer. Threatening to accelerate and tear Nash in two, Ryder has the cops and Jim where he wants them - as he knows they can't shoot him, for fear of his foot slipping off the clutch.

After a back-and-forth with Halsey, the villain of the piece simply goes ahead and releases the clutch, ripping Nash apart. The audience don't see this death, though, as The Hitcher opts to instead have a 'tearing' noise play over the top of Leigh's screams.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.