**SPOILERS** Disturbing and scary insight of what make a serial killer tick in that he, like almost all his type, has both a good as well as murderous side to him. Which makes him more dangerous in that he's not that easy to identify by both the police and his unsuspecting victims.
In the movie recovering alcoholic and armature film maker Mickey "Mick" Garvatski,Wes Bently, catches on video tape serial killer James Lemac, Mark Borowski, in the act as he brutally murders a young women in a dark alley. Instead of turning the tape over to the police Mick decides to blackmail James in giving him the story behind his actions and later, if James is either caught or killed by the police, releasing the video as a TV documentary. To make sure that James doesn't include him as one of his victims Mick has a number of copies made of the tape by his friend Gino, Albert Lopez-Murtra, just in case James decides not to cooperate with him.
Having no choice but in going along with Mick's unusual plan James starts to manipulate him into being an accomplice in a future murder of his that will, if Mick decides to turn James over to the police, make him just as guilty of first degree murder as James is! To get Mick even more under his control James tracks down his somewhat not too mentally stable mother Klara, Maria Haufrecht, and kidnaps her to doubly make sure that Mick doesn't rat him out to the police.
As Mick starts to get closer to what's behind James murderous impulses he starts to realizes that it all started when he was six years old. Abused by his mother Emma Lemac, Beth Grant, who not only mistreated him but his kid sister Megan, Joanna Baron, as well had James when he reached adulthood strike out at society. Starting his career as a heartless killer by torturing and killing cats James graduated in doing the same to young women who he, in James sick mind, substituted for his hated and deceased mother!
****SPOILER ALERT**** It's towards the end of the movie that James comes to realize that the person-his mother-that initiated his extreme hatred is in fact alive not dead like he was lead to believe all these years! It's then that the cool clam and collective James Lemac for the first time in the movie loses it. With that shocking revelation a mentally and emotionally destroyed Mick is driven, by circumstances beyond his control, to do what even the cold blooded serial killer James Lumac couldn't! And that leads to the horrific bloodbath that breaks out, in a major Philadelphia hospital no less, at the end of the film!
Despite the films many inconsistencies it does make it's point in what's the reasons behind the actions of serial killer James Lemac. The big surprise in the film is how someone like Mick Gravatski could let himself be taken in by the clever and ruthless killer. Not being all there, in him being a recovering alcoholic and drug abuser, to begin with Mick completely underestimated James ability to short-circuit his mindless plan to use him to his advantage. And it was that what lead Mick to end up doing something so bloody and outrageous that even the mindless psycho killer James was incapable of doing!
In the movie recovering alcoholic and armature film maker Mickey "Mick" Garvatski,Wes Bently, catches on video tape serial killer James Lemac, Mark Borowski, in the act as he brutally murders a young women in a dark alley. Instead of turning the tape over to the police Mick decides to blackmail James in giving him the story behind his actions and later, if James is either caught or killed by the police, releasing the video as a TV documentary. To make sure that James doesn't include him as one of his victims Mick has a number of copies made of the tape by his friend Gino, Albert Lopez-Murtra, just in case James decides not to cooperate with him.
Having no choice but in going along with Mick's unusual plan James starts to manipulate him into being an accomplice in a future murder of his that will, if Mick decides to turn James over to the police, make him just as guilty of first degree murder as James is! To get Mick even more under his control James tracks down his somewhat not too mentally stable mother Klara, Maria Haufrecht, and kidnaps her to doubly make sure that Mick doesn't rat him out to the police.
As Mick starts to get closer to what's behind James murderous impulses he starts to realizes that it all started when he was six years old. Abused by his mother Emma Lemac, Beth Grant, who not only mistreated him but his kid sister Megan, Joanna Baron, as well had James when he reached adulthood strike out at society. Starting his career as a heartless killer by torturing and killing cats James graduated in doing the same to young women who he, in James sick mind, substituted for his hated and deceased mother!
****SPOILER ALERT**** It's towards the end of the movie that James comes to realize that the person-his mother-that initiated his extreme hatred is in fact alive not dead like he was lead to believe all these years! It's then that the cool clam and collective James Lemac for the first time in the movie loses it. With that shocking revelation a mentally and emotionally destroyed Mick is driven, by circumstances beyond his control, to do what even the cold blooded serial killer James Lumac couldn't! And that leads to the horrific bloodbath that breaks out, in a major Philadelphia hospital no less, at the end of the film!
Despite the films many inconsistencies it does make it's point in what's the reasons behind the actions of serial killer James Lemac. The big surprise in the film is how someone like Mick Gravatski could let himself be taken in by the clever and ruthless killer. Not being all there, in him being a recovering alcoholic and drug abuser, to begin with Mick completely underestimated James ability to short-circuit his mindless plan to use him to his advantage. And it was that what lead Mick to end up doing something so bloody and outrageous that even the mindless psycho killer James was incapable of doing!