elijah wood character..

Interesting take.. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I watch this film (I really enjoyed it).

I wanted to add that the cowboy character, that gives the guy his shotgun, whose character is called "The Man" on IMDb (and it's on his truck's license plate), has some kind of weird aura about him.. almost as if he's Death. One of the first things he says is "they ran off and left you for dead, huh?" He has a Grim Reaper tattoo on his forearm, and he's wearing all black. I think The Man/Grim Reaper was there to originally take him, and the meth addict was actually dead, but then The Man decided to let him get revenge. He says "I'm not giving you the gun. I'm offering you salvation." The gun is all chrome plated (kind of strange), and might be interpreted as a modern-day scythe.

However, his belt buckle has a cross on it with a cowboy right beside it, beside a heavenly sky scene... maybe "The Man" is actually "The Man" Jesus..? It would make sense if he were offering him salvation, and he could still could've originally been there to take him to the afterlife. And would fit in with the redemption/good-vs-evil/religious theme trickled throughout the film.

This may also explain how Elijah Wood is back from the dead: maybe The Man gave him back his life, as well. But that certainly wouldn't make sense if he were Jesus! It makes sense in a way with the meth addict, because he was completely innocent from the other white supremacists' accusations of taking their money, and was killed anyway for it. No, I think Elijah Wood was a demon or The Devil himself. (Though I hesitate to say that, because I kind of think the two guys in the pawn shop are God and Lucifer: they argue a lot, though not violently, and one is even white and the other black, which could be seen as opposites.) Perhaps all the girls in his morbid harem actually sold their souls to him, and that's why they're perpetually glassy-eyed and seemingly, well, soulless?

I think the barber shops might be a metaphor for different Christian religions; perhaps representing Catholicism and Protestantism. They may have different names on the front, but they're nearly identical in every important way; yet they're still inexplicably arguing and fighting with each other. It's only at the end, through the hymn "Amazing Grace," that they put their differences (such as they are) aside and get along.

BTW, what the guy was snorting off the book (titled What About Baptism?, written by author Richard Dragon or Dracon, I couldn't tell.. I also googled the hell out of the internet to find that book, but it yielded nothing) was obviously meth. Though rat poison may not be far off then, haha.

I don't know, it's all pretty interesting to think about. Now I have to look for the blues guy in the liquor store and notice Lou's Fire Pit more. Thanks for the theory!

The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but to be in the mystery. -Fred Alan Wolf

I just see the movie, and I think that your comment is very interesting, because in many moments it looks me one episode of Twilight Zone series.

I'm pretty sure the dude in the white suit handing out the pamphlets was The Devil. Maybe Elijah Wood sold his soul to the Devil to be able to control women or something?? Similar to how Brenden Fraser sold his to sound like Elvis. :)

Takin' out the trash, trailer park style!!

Obviously you didn't understand the movie. First off, the filmmakers are not morons that they're going to forget they killed a pivotal character. When he turns up at the end, he looks super pale and he's got wounds all over his face.

If you got the film, you'd understand that the entire town is some form of purgatory; all of the clues are there in the names of stores, restaurants, etc. Woods' character is someone who lost his soul in this town and is condemned to be there forever. He can't die, although that doesn't mean he can't feel pain when he's tortured by Matt Dillon. The girls he's been keeping in the silo are also condemned souls which is why they go back with him in the end. Every frame of this film reeks of characters making choices that condemn them. If there was ever to be a sequel, you would see Matt Dillon and his wife alive again, trapped in the town. Same with Ricky, I don't think he ever leaves. If you stop at that pawn shop in the first place, you're going to be 'tested.'

Seeing the name Lou's Fire Pit as the name of a restaurant is not 'a theory.' They were clearly intending to evoke the name Lucifer. The Man (Thomas Jane) has a grim reaper and an angel tattooed on his arms. Satan himself (or his emissary) turns up to offer to buy Brendan Fraser's soul, accompanied by the iconic bluesman playing the guitar. The address on the liquor store is 666 something. The liquor store itself is called CROSS ROADS LIQUOR with a cross instead of the words 'cross.' The logo of the liquor store is a clock with no hands. A town where time has no place!!! How many more clues do you need to figure it out? If the critics picked up on a fraction of the nifty production design and subtext , they wouldn't be crapping all over the film.

Are you an idiot or trolling?

^^^^this x9000

I don't want to have to "Read the effin manual" just to understand some half baked plot point.

It didn't matter what was in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, but to have absolutely no explanation about EW's character... PLOT HOLE

The ONLY character we know who sold his soul was Brendan Fraser. The Devil never implied, nor do we see, anyone else benefitting. So why would we assume so?

It's not really a copout because the film hints at that all along. It just doesn't come out and scream it in your face.