Media, and fridge logic

[rmd]

First, I must share with everyone because it is fabulous: Merrimack valley kids do a shot-for-shot remake of the "Ghostbusters trailer

Second: OKAY. I saw "Se7en" back in the 90's. I don't think I saw it in the theater, but on cable or rental or something. But it just hit Netflix streaming, so I figured I'd watch it again. And so I watched it again.

I HAVE A QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MOVIE. I mean, even working from the context of the movie where this sort of freaky serial-killing is, you know, a kind of thing that happens. Maybe it's another movie in the same fictional universe as the NBC "Hannibal" tv show because in that universe "artful murder" is a pretty common cause of death. (The rest of this post contains spoilers for a movie that's even older than my pickup truck.)

So, John Doe is a methodical man. He has spent *years* making his plans, choosing his targets, ordering custom freaky leatherwork, spending a year with the sloth guy who he spends a year torturing, etc.

What was his original endgame?

He says he changed his plans after meeting Mills (who is brand new to the department and thus has been completely off Doe's radar until a few days ago at the earliest), and evidently he suddenly shifted gears - after years of planning, mind you - to make Mills his "wrath" victim and Doe himself the "Envy" victim. Was he originally planning to be the envy victim all along? Is there someone out there who he envies far more than Mills - envies with the momentum and depth of months or years of craving? What was this amazing denouement he had planned, and how big a mancrush does he have on Mills that he threw that all over in favor of intimate art murder with Mills?

What the hell, man.

Comments

[muffyjo]

That's a BRILLIANT reconstruction of the trailer! BRILLIANT, I TELL YOU!

As for Se7en, I'm afraid you're on your own there. Me and horror movies don't do well together. But it sounds like you have an awesome question.

[kjc.livejournal.com]

Maybe he realized his endgame was LAME without someone to SHARE IT WITH...

Er, I mean, torture with it.

I mean, he could've been planning a group death-by-cop scenario for Wrath and something else for Envy, but you know how you're really gungho at the beginning of a project, but as time goes on you lose some of your enthusiasm? Or maybe just the crazy energy drains off and you settle into head-down, working through it mode? Yeah. That's what I'm thinkin.

It's been long enough since I saw it that I don't remember how Mills gets ON John Doe's radar, but if it's thru Morgan Freeman's character Somerset getting assigned the murder because it's weird, maybe John Doe was aiming for Somerset but Somerset turned out to be too old & resigned by the time the project came to fruition, so making him miserable just wouldn't be as much fun.

Then there's Mills, all energy and optimism with the promise of a new family... what wrong-minded psychopath wouldn't wanna wreck that happyfest lovenest?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

John Doe discovers Mills when he shows up at the crime scene as a photographer when the cops are checking it out again and Mills yells at him.

[jymdyer.livejournal.com]

This may even be more awesome than the "Sweded" version in Be Kind, Rewind. The supposedly-forthcoming Ghostbusters reboot is using an all-woman Ghostbusters team.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

The all-woman Ghostbusting team should include Natalie Morales (if you haven't seen her sadly short-lived show "The Middleman", I recommend checking it out). And Annie Potts' character should be running the actual Ghostbusters business. Sigourney Weaver would be a great addition, but it might mess with her current niche in genre pieces of showing up in the last 20 minutes and dying.

[jymdyer.livejournal.com]

Sigourney Weaver had a great part near the end of Be Kind, Rewind (which I shan't reveal for the benefit of those who haven't seen it yet).