MovieChat Forums > Swiss Army Man (2016) Discussion > Hank was a super creepy stalker

Hank was a super creepy stalker

posted 8 years ago by boova
11 replies | jump to latest

The biggest twist for me was the fact the movie set up for you to feel sorry for Hank, but then at the end it takes a super dark turn. This is what I took from the film. The movie is a mix of real and imagined things since it is shown through Hanks perspective. There was a dead body. No, he didn't talk, shoot rock bullets, chop wood, etc. You can't even say it's all a dream in his dying moments because of all the stuff at the end.

Hank was never lost. He was never on a deserted island. Hank was a depressed, super creepy stalker that found a dead body. He didn't happen to find his way out of the woods right at the girls house he's been stalking by coincidence. He was camped there the entire time. Hank slid down the hill and got to it, and the little girl was easily able to sneak off and walk there. He was probably going up there to find supplies and at some point somehow went and stole Sarah's diary, which you see she wrote in on the bus and was found in his camp. Hank is also not completely delusional to the point where he truly thinks it was all real. This is why when he realizes they found his camp he says "oh *beep*, they are going to see everything" meaning he understands what he is doing is super creepy.

[–] gmcdonnell_1969 8 years ago

I was surprised that people have said he was on a deserted island when that clearly isn't the case.It starts with him trying to commit suicide because of who he was and how he perceived himself. I think Paul Dano plays this kind of part really well (I recently watched Prisoners) and think, in this kind of role, you do flit back and forwards between sympathy and unease.This is the kind of film that people will either love, hate or just not get. I loved it.

[–] alicatrr2 8 years ago

Agree/- totally creepy stalker... but also sadly mentally ill and maybe homeless. He clearly struggles with depression and suicide.

[–] kelleyjewell97 8 years ago

But everyone saw the body fart away at the end so not all of it could have been in his mind. He did have depression. I thought it was a mock diary made out of garbage like everything else. did he really know he was behind her house? I mean a bear attacked him didn't it? I would have thought he was farther away, unless that was in his mind.

[–] wayne-robb 8 years ago

It was a mock diary made out of twine n trash. The ending should have stopped when he was took away in handcuffs, i can get all the other stuff in his head but everyone saw the body moving at end, spoilt it.

[–] kyizen 7 years ago

Hank saw everyone watch the body fart away...it doesn't mean it was real. It was to give us a 'happy' ending. Rather than just seem him hauled off to the nut house

[–] therefdotcom 7 years ago

no, that would have been the biggest mistake. it would have been formulaic and there are like 100s of films like that. i always feel cheated in such cases. oh, it was all in his head? how innovative.

it is the ending that makes this special in the end.

[–] lemming11 8 years ago

Just wanted to say - the diary we see in the bus model is NOT Sarah's diary. Look at the photo of Sarah writing on the bus Vs the book in the bus tree house. They are not the same book! The book on Hank's bus is clearly handmade. It's a mimic of Sarah's notebook not the real thing.

I don't think Hank stole ANYTHING from Sarah. I think the only thing that Hank ever took from the neighborhood near the woods was trash. Hank only took things that nobody wanted anymore.

The clue is in the raccoons we see throughout the film. Raccoons are nocturnal creatures that scavenge from trashcans at night. Hank was living like a raccoon. That's why at one point in the movie we see Hank wearing animal furs with a nose and whiskers drawn on his face.

[–] skribb_Mk2 7 years ago

Sounds about right.

I thought maybe he was a murderer who had kept the corpse as company. But it was pretty confusing. Especially the part about his estranged father showing up and acting like it's no big deal that his son is cavorting with a corpse.

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[–] einstein (2292) 4 years ago

He was not a stalker!! He was just daydreaming he did nothing to stalk her.

[–] orangeflava (1726) 2 years ago

But he was obsessed with her right?

[–] einstein (2292) 2 years ago

Not sure if he was obsessed with her, maybe yes.....I had the feeling he was in love with her, but deep down inside he knew she would never love him back which resulted in great frustration. the only coping mechanism he had, were his daydreams and fantasies.