People keep asking did Loomis kill Caleb ? The obvious answer to that question is we don't know. The scene doesn't stay there long enough to give a definitive answer. The question you can ask yourself is do you think Loomis is capable of killing Caleb or is Caleb willing to walk away like Loomis suggested. I personally think Loomis is capable but I cannot say for sure if he did because we never see it.
shareCaleb walking away is completely illogical.
shareI don't disagree. I think we saw enough of C.E.'s darkside to know that his character was capable of eliminating someone he saw as a threat. I still the think the movie does a good job of making you think about it for a moment.
shareIf John did let go of the rope, he wouldn't have a way of getting rid of the body especially with the suit that probably would've floated. I dont think John killed him. I think Caleb did leave to explore the small village. But on the other hand him leaving so suddenly without any of his belongings or food and water seems off.
Great movie, I hope they make a sequel someday. I predict in the sequel Caleb will return with other people.
Caleb couldn't have killed John and just went back to her. She didn't completely trust him.
share***SPOILERS*** My interpretation was John let go of the rope and Caleb fell to his death, along with the radioactivity protective suit getting shredded as Caleb slid down the cliff face. Just the night before, Ann went to Caleb and began kissing him as he emerged from a bath -- the balance of that scene strongly implying they made love. Caleb's reaction the next morning, both at breakfast and as he and John were walking to the "wheel" suggested to me Caleb believed Ann, more or less, was choosing him over John and he no longer held any intentions of leaving. I believe John was coming to the same conclusion.
Rest in peace, Roger Ebert. You were the best.
Or Caleb slipped and fell to his death as he had already slipped and John had unhooked the pulley. However how would John have fished Caleb's corpse out of the pond?
shareI think love is a powerful, if not the most powerful of emotions, so for me John saying he loved her was reason enough for me to know he dropped him. 2nd fact I know he let him die was because of Calebs confession with the big minor that ripped his work mates apart with his own hands, Caleb had said he looked in his eyes and the guy let him go and then died himself. I think Caleb knew what his fate was as that is what his stare at John was about. Also Caleb told John "What could there be down there?" Meaning in his mind there was nothing worth going to town for.
shareJohn saved Caleb, Caleb knowing he would have dropped John in the same circumstance realizes he wouldn't have done the same and leaves. John wouldn't drop Caleb for two reasons - the fall might not kill him, and he would very likely damage the wheel on the way down and without the suit there's be no way to repair it.
shareNo, he did not kill him.
Everyone is forgetting that
- he slipped the second time - and first time John saved him! How's that for a bloody murderer with evil plan?
- the "stare" that Caleb gave to John (and that everyone seems to be obsessing over) had a completely different meaning - it is that Caleb realizing how convenient his fall would be for John, and yet John saving him and not letting go. Caleb was not a bad guy - and he simply decided in that moment that he should leave, and take his chances somewhere else
- he did not come to say goodbye to avoid complicating the situation for John, as she might have asked John to leave instead, and stayed with Caleb
At the worst case scenario, there might have been an accident, and then John just decided not to tell Ann because it would make living together further very difficult.
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I thought the whole point was that he did kill him, hence the name "Z for Zachariah". Adam was the first man and Loomis is the last (for this moment in time anyway.) Honestly, I was falling asleep watching this but as soon as I saw the book in the beginning, I kinda figured that's where it was going. I also thought there was something about when they were all swimming and going underwater. It was almost forcing me to think, "No one can go in the contaminated water or will ever look so why don't I tie a rock around this guys neck and push him in" Otherwise, they could have called it "We built a Waterwheel and kicked some dude out" or "2 people do nothing, 3 people do nothing, 2 people do nothing" I can think of all kinds of other titles that they could have named this movie but for the sake of being wholesome, I will stop at that.
shareI'm surprised there is any debate about this because I thought the movie made it clear that John killed Caleb. Caleb had made it known that he wasn't going anywhere, that he knew John was jealous and that Ann preferred him over Caleb, which Caleb hated because he loved Ann (as he even tells her after they go swimming). We also don't have to doubt that John is capable of killing because he tells the story of how he killed Ann's brother. That may be why he told that story, as to not leave any doubt in our minds.
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