A young man held prisoner by a cab-driving serial killer must make a life or death choice between following in his captor's footsteps or breaking free.A young man held prisoner by a cab-driving serial killer must make a life or death choice between following in his captor's footsteps or breaking free.A young man held prisoner by a cab-driving serial killer must make a life or death choice between following in his captor's footsteps or breaking free.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 3 nominations
- Colin
- (as Alex Doerksen)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoth 'Jennifer Lynch (I)' and Vincent D'Onofrio have stated they would have preferred that the title of this film be "Rabbit".
- GoofsWhen Bob freaks out in his garage after having flashbacks, you can see a male crew member wearing a baseball cap in the side mirror of the taxi.
- Quotes
Bob: Without education, you're fucked. I mean, you've seen some things. I've showed you some things for sure, but you haven't understood them. You ever do a puzzle? You know the kind of puzzle that has the picture on the outside of the box? That's what people are. Pictures on the outside, pieces inside.
- Crazy creditsThe credits play over sounds of Rabbit in the house. There is no music. Among the sounds are what appear to be Rabbit cutting out an article for the scrapbook, exiting the garage, and leaving in the taxi cab.
- Alternate versionsThe throat slitting scene was originally more graphic, but was cut to avoid an NC-17 rating. It can be seen in the bonus features of the DVD and Blu-Ray release.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film '72: Episode dated 16 January 2013 (2013)
In the short time that Jennifer Lynch has been making her mark on cinema, I have grown to enjoy her style of film. At least, based on this one and her last effort, "Surveillance". I confess I am not familiar with "Boxing Helena". Her latest films are odd, but not absurd -- just odd enough to be unique and really draw people in by their novelty (a great quality to have). Here we have the serial killer story, but told in a very different way: through the eyes of a captive held for nine years. (Critics have said this idea was already presented in "Bereavement", but I would argue this is the better film.)
D'Onofrio gives a solid performance, one that may be among the best of his recent career. Trying to gauge his character is tough -- smart, stupid, slow? He is clearly clever enough to do what he does and get away with it, but his way of speaking clearly implies some sort of mental issues beyond the murderous intentions.
One could psychologically analyze Rabbit all day. He is the poster child for "learned helplessness", accepting defeat after years of beatings. Yet, he does not fit with the classic idea of Stockholm Syndrome -- he accepts Bob as his master, but only grudgingly so. And there could also be talk of nature versus nurture. Certainly, Bob is "nurturing" Rabbit to become a killer -- but will he accept it?
My friend and horror adviser, Aaron Christensen, had what he calls a violent, visceral reaction to this film and even had the urge to punch director Lynch in the face (particularly after she explained that the film was intended as a message against child abuse). For him, there is too much of a need for suspension of disbelief and this story could only exist in a "fairy tale" world. We are in disagreement. I have no opinion on the child abuse claim (though it seems rather strange), but I approach all horror films from the point of view of a fairy tale, more or less. Sure, this film was presented as more real than, say, "Nightmare on Elm Street", but I saw little need to pick out the plot holes -- some being so obvious that pointing them out is hardly a mental challenge (such as why Rabbit never escapes).
You may agree or disagree on the greatness of this film, or even have no strong reaction at all. I would be curious to hear more thoughts from people... I did not realize this film would be a conversation piece, but apparently it is.
- gavin6942
- Oct 14, 2012
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $77,839
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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