10 Off-Screen Horror Movie Deaths That Will Haunt You Forever
1. Nash - The Hitcher
Why do people in movies pick up hitchhikers? It never ever ends well.
A prime example of this is the 1986 movie The Hitcher, which stars Rutger Hauer as a murderous nomad who receives a lift from an unsuspecting do-gooder. What follows is a tense game of cat-and-mouse, as the hitcher, who calls himself John Ryder, taunts his prey whilst causing as much mayhem in the process.
The hero of the movie, Jim, seeks shelter in a diner, where he meets kindly waitress Nash (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who inadvertently becomes a pawn in Ryder’s plan as he kidnaps her and places her in a deadly trap.
Nash is suspended by a rope between a truck and its trailer hitch with Ryder in the cab. If he lets go of the clutch, the truck will roll forward and rip Nash to pieces. Think of this as a nastier version of happens to Mike Teevee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Ryder eventually follows through on his sadistic scheme, but audiences are spared the visual of the young woman being torn in half. Still, it’s not hard to picture how awful this must have been.