Today I walked in on my sister and my mom watching an episode, I didn't stay for long because I had decided a few days ago that I was going to start the show, so I didn't want to be spoiled. I saw some of the shots and immediately though 'Well, that's different'. Because it was really carefully done, you see these crime shows such as CSI and NCIS and they're all pretty average. Me being a fan of almost every crime procedural can vouch for that, they have a reoccurring plotline of terrorism and murder and all of the episodes seem to merge into one, because it's simple, get a case and manage to solve it in time for dinner.
With The Following it's so very different, sure he caught the guy in the episode but it didn't end there, this man has a cult, a following, and that is what this series is going to revolve around.
The synopsis of the show is very bland and it doesn't really interest you at first, because instead of a series synopsis it sounds like an episode synopsis, and that's what I though it was.
'A brilliant and charismatic, yet psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers following his every command.'
So the starting kinda threw me a little, it started with a prison, and all of the guards were saying 'Bye' or 'See you tomorrow' to this guard at his locker. (I say all, there was about 2) Him hiding his face, said bye back to them and left, successfully exiting the building in a car, even the gate man said bye to him (guys can you make an effort to look at the face?) He's obviously a sketchy character.
Next we see the 2 guards walking down the prison halls suddenly questioning the lack of other guards around them, as guards in TV shows do, they brush it off and head to the guard station. They begin to joke and open the door, BAM 5 dead guards (That's where they were) I wonder who could have done it? Maybe sketchy guy who they assumed was a guard they knew and clearly liked.
Cut to a scene of the car the sketchy guy is in, driving away from the prison as the alarms and lights turn on, telling the world some bad stuff has gone down. This is where you get conformation he's not who they thought he was, because he just smiled and continued driving, any other guard would have thought 'what the hell?' and turned back to offer assistance.
Change scene and bam a beat up ex-fbi agent who didn't want to communicate with people, someone who subconsciously thought they were so much better than everyone else is waking up to a ringing cell phone, he of course rejects the call and turns on the TV, it's not until he see's on the news a story about an escaped serial killer that he answers the next well timed call.
Cliche warning: he's the one who put said serial killer away in the first place, and the FBI wants him back.
Cut to a shot of him filling up a water bottle with Vodka and off we go, a man who hates where he's going and still thinks he's better than the people he's going to. And up himself enough to know he'll need vodka.
Cut to a scene of a woman being protected, she's obviously the victim that lived, cut to a court case of what happened to her and viola we have a backstory to connect to this woman. Cue the gay next door neighbor rushing in to comfort the girl. I say it like that because with that angle they seemed to try to appeal to the masses, you see it on most shows now, a very diverse character selection.
Next we see 3 cops, an Asian badass woman character, a big black tough-as-nails sort and a scrawny white nerd-vibe techhy guy - now we're getting a diverse setting.
Anyway back to the main character played by Kevin Bacon, I'm unsure why but a really confined seemingly obsessive fbi kick-out character for him seemed really ironic. In the next scene he's standing somewhat awkwardly among the FBI agents listening to techhy guy list the suspects behavior and why he did the killing - WRONG. Swoops in Bacon's character to take over from techhy guy (Played by Shawn Ashmore) and basically throw everything he said back in is face, saying that the suspect killed because of Poe and he wanted his 'work' to be art. Because stabbing women multiple times is 'art' now.
Whoomph the little meeting is over just like that and Ashmore's character is sucking up to Bacons, saying he did work on this killer for a thesis (I think it was thesis?) and that Bacon's characters book about said serial killer (oh yes, just putting a little more cliche in there, he wrote a book about the guy who escaped) really helped him through. Soon to be father like character achievement unlocked.
Then we find out what really happened to Bacons character, he was stabbed by the serial killer and now has a pacemaker, hence the reason he is no longer in the FBI, thanks for that delivery of information I was waiting for since the start.
Next we find out more, one guard wasn't at the prison but had control over the serial killers internet access. Home run on that one, go to his house, find a creepy cork board full of missing puppy posters just as Ashmore's character brings up a video of the guard with a puppy on his computer, oh I see where this is going. I turn away in hope I don't see a faked puppy murder, luckily it cut to a scene of Bacons character walking away mid-video, obviously he also knew what was going to happen as well, and finding a slaughter room, blood everywhere. Everyone walks in.
'What's that?' Ashmore's character asks.
'German Shepherd I'd guess' Bacon sassily responds about the dead dog on the table.
Oh, don't go to touch it. He goes to touch it and the dog barks and whines in pain. Well not only did I just see a dead dog, but it wasn't dead but was cut open in excruciating pain. It's a TV show but come on.
'He's been training'
Well done, I had already figured that out. They all exit the room and Ashmore's character angrily states 'I can handle dead people. You kill a dog? I GO CRAZY' Took the words right out of my mouth actually... that sounds bad scratch that.
Anyway what happens next doesn't really matter, a few filler scenes (if I'm remembering correctly) and the introduction of a new character, the serial killers wife. She'll only talk to Bacon's character. Okay then.
Cut to a next scene of a woman saying she has info on the serial killer, another woman hands her a form and tells her to fill it in a sit down with the rest of the people. SHe's nervous and sits down then it cuts to Asian cop and Bacon's character again. (I will learn names eventually) She's telling him how the serial killers wife will only speak to him.
More filler stuff happens and he asks who all the woman waiting are. Groupies. I forgot serial killers had groupies. This particular one had over 100 prison visits, okay then. As they're walking away we cut back to the woman who was nervous. She receives a text and exhales. taker her feet out of her shoes she picks up her purse and walks to he center of the room. My mind shot straight to shoe bomb.
Nope, wrong. She begins to take off her dress, exposing her flesh covered in writing, I cant remember what she says exactly but I know it's something important that I probably should have taken the effort to remember. she bends down, we now see she's only in panties and she pulls an ice pick out of her bag. Yeah, now it's the time to scream and notice.
The A team rush back through and Bacons character says: 'hey, look at me. You don't have to do this' Nice pep talk there buddy, totally not what everybody says. She proceeded to mutter off an Egard Allen Poe quote and then stabs the ice pick through her eye. Well now she's dead.
We see her body being photographed. Ashmore's character starts a sentence that Bacon's finishes (come on guys, you're not a couple). Her body is covered Poe quotes.
More stuff happens that I don't really remember, I had to pause to get my pizza half way through this so for the second half my whole attention wasn't being given to it.
They find out the victim that lived has been taken, somehow. Oh there's a hole in the wall that connects her room to her gay neighbors apartment. I fear they are dead. We find one of the dead guards somewhere in the house. Then they go downstairs to what i thought was the basement but it turns out it's the garage. We see a males hand dripping with blood and hear a loud annoyed shout from Bacon's character telling them to turn on the lights. It's guard number 2. Okay then. The garage door opens and every other character but Bacons seems to notice the giant message written in blood 'NEVERMORE'
Another shout out to Poe.
Bacons character seems to have some sort of breakdown before going to let off some steam by throwing a chair in an alleyway in full view of the people standing at the tape, we hear his heart beating, obviously some subtle hint to him being under too much pressure for his pacemaker. We learn that the gay couple drove off about an hour ago and the cops didn't check the car because the woman was asleep. Okay then don't check the neighbors cars, assume the girl in the house is safe protected by guards, they're no threat. Americans.
Bacon's character (Okay i'm somewhat sure his name is Ryan now, maybe I'm wrong) seems to have recovered from his mini-breakdown session. He loudly points out that the men were in fact no gay and were working for the serial killer.
'But they've been living here for 3 years' damn that's dedication. Anyway he goes to look around the apartment and sees a picture of the men outside a lodge or something called 'Lighthouse' another reference to Poe. This guy was obsessed, he wrote a book about it. Anyway Bacons character tells no-one and googles it, heading off on his own.
When he arrives the place is run down. he calls out for the serial killer saying he's alone. Then he hears screaming of the victim (come on that's obviously a recording) and runs up the stairs to its location. he enters an empty room and gets hit on the back of the head. Serial killer guy comes into the light. Bacons character looks up like he's surprised that just happened.
The guy starts to talk about how Edgar Allen Poe's last piece of work was unfinished, and he connected that to his last victim living. He starts to beat Bacons character and laughs about his pacemaker limitations. I personally at this point think the girl is still alive.
He begins to talk about how he removed his victims eyes, cutting every muscle and whatnot individually. Then he pulls a chain and the eyeless girl is hanging from her feet dead. Suddenly Bacon's character's pacemaker doesn't matter anymore and he jumps up to strangle the serial killer as he strangles out the words 'I turn myself over' or something along that lines, once again, I was eating pizza and at this point i was more 'playing with it' than eating it so i may have tuned out a little.
Anyway just before Bacons character can finish the job the BAU team (did I say they were BAU? I don't think I did, they are BAU which means the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI) burst in the room, I'm assuming they saw the picture and managed to connect the dots, well actually i'm counting on Ashmore's character figuring it out.
Anyway they arrest the guy and or extra measures he has shackles connecting his feet and hands. Because he seems like a NINJA.
He will only speak to Bacons character. Of course. He starts to talk about how he and Bacon's character will write a book together. And how all this was a prologue. Now comes the huge slap in the face. As he explains everything you see how his ex wife is going to say goodnight to her son, and you hear serial killer explains how he wants to meet his son, he also points out how Bacons character slept with his wife, okay then.
Her son is gone. Like any mother she starts screaming his name 'JOEY' (so that's a name I remember) all over the house filled with cops, and nobody is helping her. America. Anyway we see his dog murdering friend who he trained to kill approach a young woman entering a sorority house, he's wearing his guard clothes so she assumes she's safe, he says how he needs to do a check on the sorority's security. She says yes, I would too, he's dressed as a cop.
The we shoot back to the killer blabbering on about more stuff I should have been listening to as the woman looks for her son, realizing her live-in baby sitter is gone too. We see the babysitter int he car with the drugged child on the back seat. Hey I get it he's drugged but I'm sure the killer wants his son alive, but a belt on him at least!
Anyway we now see Bacon's character breaking serial killers fingers, he breaks an entire hand and starts on the next one before cops come in to stop him. AMERICA. We see the babysitter hand off the child in an empty parking lot to the 'gay' couple' and gets in the car with them and drives off, abandoning the car there.
And it ends.
So yes, it was very interesting and I liked it very much, I didn't expect a lot of what happened, especially the ending. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars, it could have gone with a little less american dumbness but it was great, well edited and good continuity. I enjoyed it and recommend watching it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2071645/
LJ
No comments:
Post a Comment