He was screwed up from childhood trauma. It's really that simple. He's not thinking clearly and he hasn't ever moved passed the incident when he was abducted. His character does creepy and seemingly stupid things but it's hardly surprising given what he went through as a child.
He doesn't trust anyone, not even his wife. He certainly doesn't trust the police who failed to protect him as a child. He's still so damaged that he sometimes gets confused about reality. He's a broken guy and he's not going to make the best choices.
Lying to the police while he was a suspect in the girl's murder. I think I would have fessed up once they found blood in my trunk. They probably would have gone easy on him considered the person he murdered.
You know that. I know that. But someone who got kidnapped and rapped as a child may well not have the same trust in the law. They may go "easy on him" but there's still a good chance he'd be doing jail time. The kid who was being molested ran away and Dave has no idea where that kid is. There's no witness to testify that he killed this guy who was molesting a child. The best case scenario would for him to plead temporary insanity given his history with sexual abuse and he'd still probably end up serving time, either in a mental hospital or in prison.
Granted, it's still a lot better than the police and everyone thinking he's a murderer but Dave is not thinking straight. He's so screwed up that he imagined his younger self at the murder (when he says, "me and the boy.")
Lying to his wife about killing a mugger. Would she had been that upset at him if he had just told the truth?
You need to learn more about victims of sexual abuse. Many would do ANYTHING not to let people know what happen to them. The reason is that they don't want to be seen as a victim or damaged goods. There's so much stigma for people who are victims of rape. So often we pity them but still look at them as broken human beings. No one wants that. No one wants their spouse to think of them as some little kid who got raped by two old men.
In the end when he is killed, I was more upset by his stupidity than his supposed innocence.
Remember Kevin Bacon's last line to Sean Penn? "Maybe we all got in that car...
Maybe we're all just 11 year olds kids dreaming that we escaped."
None of these guys have really grown up. Dave is the most damaged out of any of them. He's a scared little kid who gets confused, can't control his emotions, and doesn't think clearly. Just like Katy's real killers, Dave is a frightened child who doesn't know what he's doing.
If you or I were in his position, we'd probably be more rational. We'd probably say, "I killed a pedofile to stop him from raping a kid. I buried the body behind McGill's. Come with me and I'll show you the body and you'll see that I didn't kill Katy." But neither of us was kidnapped and raped as a child. We don't have his baggage.
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easy_fritzy
8 years ago
Great post.
> He certainly doesn't trust the police who failed to protect him as a child.
I didn't remember this detail until you pointed out but I think the reason for hostility to the police is because he is subconsciously reminded of his abductors who masqueraded as policemen.
> The kid who was being molested ran away and Dave has no idea where that kid is. There's no witness to testify that he killed this guy who was molesting a child.
Actually the kid wasn't being molested. He was a child prostitute who we can assume was paid by the pedophile. We know this because in the scene where Dave had a nervous breakdown while watching the vampire movie, he asks his wife, 'Did you know there were child prostitutes in Rome Basin?'
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Edward_de_Vere
8 years ago
What I found interesting about Dave is that he acted so irrationally around his wife and told such transparent lies that she suspected him of murdering Jimmy's daughter, yet he also had the intelligence, clear thinking, and sufficiently calm frame of mind to use his stolen car as an alibi with the police.
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beierfilms
8 years ago
Actually the kid wasn't being molested. He was a child prostitute who we can assume was paid by the pedophile. We know this because in the scene where Dave had a nervous breakdown while watching the vampire movie, he asks his wife, 'Did you know there were child prostitutes in Rome Basin?'
I used the term "molested" simply because, as a child, he can't give consent. Perhaps I should have said "sexually assaulted" or whatever. Even if he's getting paid by the pedophile, what's happening in the car would still be considered some form of rape by the law and by most people.
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Fire God
8 years ago
He wasn't molested? Is that why he was begging for them to stop coming for him while being locked in what appeared to be a dark dungeon? Him later mentioning child prostitution doesn't change the fact that the abuse was being completely forced on him.
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radonys
8 years ago
> The kid who was being molested ran away and Dave has no idea where that kid is. There's no witness to testify that he killed this guy who was molesting a child.
Actually the kid wasn't being molested. He was a child prostitute who we can assume was paid by the pedophile. We know this because in the scene where Dave had a nervous breakdown while watching the vampire movie, he asks his wife, 'Did you know there were child prostitutes in Rome Basin?'
He is definitely talking about the kid caught by Dave in the car with the paedophile. The one that ran away when Dave started to beat the paedophile.
He is definitely not talking about young Dave, who was indeed molested.
Vacation's when you go somewhere ... and you don't ever come back.
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