MovieChat Forums > The Hole (2001) Discussion > The hospital scene....... WHAT??!

The hospital scene....... WHAT??!

posted 13 years ago by ktotheoc-1
14 replies | jump to latest

OK, I know it's not madly important to the plot, but it drives me crazy everytime I watch this film.

At the beginning, after Liz is picked up, there's a very short scene where she's lying on a bed in a white surgical gown - 2 nurses come in, one spreads Liz's legs, and the other tries to insert this sort of thick, see-through cylindrical tube inside her. So my questions (for the medically experienced among you) are:

1) Why does Liz immediately shrink into a ball, mewling and squeaking like a scared cat? Is it some kind of trauma thing?

2) What on earth was that tube supposed to do? Seriously, if anyone can explain the procedure, or what it's testing for, i'd be grateful - instead of getting bugged everytime I watch the film!

Cheers!

"A day without laughter is a day wasted" - Charlie Chaplin

[–] HenryCW 13 years ago

They are testing for evidence of rape. The doctors are collecting things such as blood, body fluids, tissues, hair etc. from various parts of the victim's body to determine if there is indication of sexual assault. My understanding is that this is done automatically or routinely for female victims if they appear to be battered or otherwise injured, or in a trauma (like Liz), and of course if they are dead. At that point, they had no idea what had happened to Liz, except that she was in a horrible physical and mental state.

I am not a "medically experienced" person however. So perhaps some doctors here can explain to you in greater details the procedures shown in the movie.

[–] ellec 13 years ago

They had a speculum. It's part of every gynecological exam. Even untraumatized people hate them, lol. I sure don't look forward to it. The other poster answered the rest of your question, but there's the technical name for you.

[–] CartmanRocks 13 years ago

Speculums are traumatic in and of themselves. I had a pelvic exam when I was 13 due to bleeding issues, and the pain was excruciating enough to make me literally scream throughout the procedure. I had nightmares about it for days after.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqDv4FHBw3A

[–] dannibear 13 years ago

Rape victims, or even just women who can't have sex, sometimes have horrible flashbacks or muscle spasms when anything is inserted in their vaginas - even something as small as a q-tip. I think her freaking out had to do with remember "making love" with Mike just a few short days before he croaked.

You can argue that those things are painful for women and its understandable, but that isn't true. Uncomfortable and cold? Yes. Painful? Not always. [Though CartmanRocks ..I couldn't even imagine having that done at 13. I would have nightmares too].

I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear. -Freddie Mercury

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] dannibear 13 years ago

They test for that kind of stuff after trauma, especially when she has been missing for 18 days and can't seem to remember what happened.

She had sex with Mike just before Frankie died. You can hear them, and they show Jeff? laying there listening to them being pissed off.

I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear. -Freddie Mercury

[–] artisanne03 12 years ago

Side note: It can be very painful if the speculum is the wrong size (too large for the opening) or the doctor is too rough. The exam can be more physically painful if you've never had sex or have had children. Many women do have painful gynecological exams.

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[–] KaoticKlown 13 years ago

I think that the main reason she freaked out was because she and Mike had sex and she wanted to keep his seed inside her. hah. as gross as that sounds, I could see that being the case.

Be who u are and say what u feel because those who mind dont matter and those who matter dont mind

[–] sheppard330 13 years ago

After watching the commentary i got the feeling that one of the reasons she went hysteical when the internal was going to be performed ( this is a rape kit btw, to work out if any sexual dna evidence was present,etc) was because she may've hid the key inside her when she escaped from the hole until she went in to the hospital so they didnt find it on her presents and she then planted it on martin before she pushed him in the river! just my take on it...
La Semilla del Diablo...

[–] artisanne03 12 years ago

Liz is totally manipulative. I think she faked that reaction as she did with faking not to remember. Seeing her smile at the end makes be believe she was never as traumatized as she pretended to be. She smart and she knows that's how she's supposed to act. I just really question her sympathy and her reaction as genuine after I see her face at the end.

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[–] modelajb 12 years ago

i definitely don't think she was ever truly traumatized. she was in total control the entire time, so the situation was never dire in her mind. heck, she even rationalized and got over mike's death pretty fast.

anyway, i agree that she was faking being traumatized by the rape kit. it was just part of her act in convincing people that she was also a victim, so they wouldn't be suspicious about her being the only one to make it out alive.

[–] blacknyellowsquid 11 years ago

^ yep, agree, by the end I concluded she had been faking it.

The other posters are right, speculums can hurt like a mofo if you're tense/stressed etc. But I think she was faking it.

[–] pitchxperfect 8 years ago

Okay, I know this post is years old, but I just watched this movie for the first time, and the explanations seems to be obvious.

Liz didn't want the doctor's to perform an examination because they would've found evidence of her having sex with Mike. This would not have aligned with her story, so she couldn't have that; ergo, she manipulated her way out of the exam by acting like a traumatized victim.

[–] ChefLucretia 8 years ago

It was obvious to any female viewer, but I get why guys didn't know exactly what was going on. I never went back to the ob/gyn after a bad speculum experience! Traumatic!