MovieChat Forums > Abandon (2002) Discussion > You're all wrong. *spoiler*

You're all wrong. spoiler

posted 19 years ago by tnt-1
12 replies | jump to latest

I've read many threads about Katie's character and why she killed Embry and the detective. (although initially came to the forum to find out what he noticed in the video.)

Anyway...

Yes, she killed Embry because she didn't want to be abandoned. Then she forgot that she did because of the trauma.

But why did she kill the detective? He was not about to abandon her. SHE was the one who said, "I can't go with you to New Hampshire, can I". Why? because she just realized that she's a murderer and who would take a murderer? He said "We'll get you help." Because he knows she's psycho and he's going to turn her in. So she kills him to COVER HER TRACKS. Just think about what would happen to her and her cush new job if she hadn't.

Also, I don't believe that she had schizophrenia or multiple personalities. She was suffering from hallucinations that was a combination of the stress and her buried memories trying to emerge. And might have also been a side effect of her medication since her hallucinations also became stronger AFTER she was given medication by her doctor.

This means that by the end of the movie she has the knowledge of both her killings. When her friend asked what happened to the detective, she says quite happily and knowingly that maybe he's in NH. If she really thought that he never showed up to pick her up, she probably would have been a bit sad or bitter.

To me this movie was about the making of a serial killer.

If you enjoyed this movie, I recommend Taking Lives.

[–] shaneo6930 19 years ago

She killed the detective because he didn't want to be with her anymore after finding out she killed Embry. I loved this movie, cause it's so different to see Katie Holmes as a psycho.

Now who's the punk...Bitch?---Sara Sidle

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] shaneo6930 19 years ago

My question is did she kill the guy who dumped her at the very end?

Now who's the punk...Bitch?--Sara Sidle

[–] xKikix 19 years ago

who?

[–] shaneo6930 19 years ago

She was talking to a lawyer type guy and he said "It's over" and she got that look in her eye then the screen went back.

Now who's the punk...Bitch?--Sara Sidle

[–] shygurl36 19 years ago

I think the director wanted to leave us wondering what she was going to do next. She had clearly been having a relationship with this guy(just like the other guys). Honestly I think she probably pushed him out the window, but we will never know. That is really just my opinion really. Thanks

[–] Siriusje 19 years ago

I doubt she'd kill him on that place ;>

"Shame on you if you fool me once, Shame on me if you fool me twice

[–] Hez_Luvs_Capt_Spaulding 18 years ago

To me this is a great film, even with all the nay-sayers, any plot holes, etc

And Taking Lives was highly enjoyable too!

"HOW MUCH BLOOD WILL YOU SHED TO STAY ALIVE?"

[–] travis_kent69 18 years ago

I also figured that shes "triggered" by the words "you can't come with me" since thats what her father said b4 he left, Embry said it to her and she killed him and the cop said it to her... and she killed him. so that combined with everything..
-Jade*

[–] mf61581 18 years ago

I think it is silly to say that other users are wrong and that there is a "right" answer. The whole idea of a movie like this is that we can form our own interpretations. My guess is that the visual qualities of this movie were created for the sake of ambiguity (e.g., the choppy scenes of Embry and going back and forth between past and present).

Katie might have deliberately killed the cop to cover her tracks and avoid getting caught. She may have killed him because he was also abandoning her. Or, she may have been experiencing a flashback of the Embry situation and killed the cop while thinking that she was killing Embry again - in a sense, reliving that experience. I just saw this movie tonight and I am vacillating between believing that she killed him on purpose and believing that she killed him accidentally.

Katie may very well have been schizophrenic initially. Midway through the movie, I guessed (correctly) that Embry's reappearance was a figment of her imagination. From a psychological standpoint, there are many possibilities. Katie might have been suffering from post-traumatic stress from the trauma of committing the first murder. She may, as others have suggested, repressed the memories of the murder and had these memories re-emerge later on.

We can theorize ad infinitum, and it is fun to do so. Even the filmmakers themselves may have not have known for sure.

[–] Belletrist0 13 years ago

SHE was the one who said, "I can't go with you to New Hampshire, can I". Why? because she just realized that she's a murderer and who would take a murderer?

Actually, she said, "We're not going away together are we? We're not going to New Hampshire together, are we?" Also, at that point Wade did not know Katie had killed Embry (it is the next scene that he sees the corpse in the water). He just witnessed her having a mental breakdown complete with a vivid hallucination of her ex-boyfriend, and rightfully concluded that she made up the whole story of Embry coming back and stalking her. She saw the look on his face and realized that yes, he was going to abandon her. I think that was her main trigger: the fear of abandonment and not necessarily just covering up her tracks.

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[–] fiatlux-1 12 years ago

She saw the look on his face and realized that yes, he was going to abandon her. I think that was her main trigger: the fear of abandonment

I agree. That phrase was the trigger to her full blown psychosis.

And the film shows her 're-enacting' killing Embry in her mind as she kills the detective. She was merely reliving it in her sick mind.
She'll likely kill the last guy that way too, although whether she'll do it just then is left to interpretation. He didn't say 'the words', even though he was a jerk who abandoned her too.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."