http://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 195• 33signpost of his budding psychopathy. He is sadistic and exhilarated
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her right, he insists. It is unsurprising that they both underestimate
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gore. ‘You’re fucking'NLD KNMDtLQJ KLP"p H[FODLPV DUUHWW DV
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the fall, convincing him to write Ashley an apology that serves as
a suicide note, before creatively hanging him from his swing using
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sires. He is the embodiment of solipsism, and is as much a com
ment on male privilege as on fears about spoilt children. When
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me do it?’ He similarly blames Ashley, who, he feels, deserves
punishment for not reciprocating his feelings. He treats her like an
object, metaphorically and then physically – she is a prize that he
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could not possibly know what it’s like to love someone as much as
he loves her.
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This predictable manifestation of the Oedipus complex was implied
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to sleep, his childlike yearning at odds with his violent actions. He
acknowledges Ashley’s role as surrogate mother by performing the
maternal actions he misses as he stabs her, saying ‘goodnight’ and
kissing her on the forehead.
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cleaning up, in a montage recalling both1HRJX !TRHMDRR 3DXO %ULFNPDQ
DQG"2(that illustrates his deep lack of empathy. Upon dis
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seems he has gained the attention he has so craved. However, there
is a twist: Ashley is found alive. This was tipped off by the earlier
revelation that she is still a virgin – a fact that, according to slasher
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studies from the University of Sydney. She has written for interna-
tional publications includingThe Atlantic,i-D,Complex,Marie Claire,
RealTime,VICEandSenses of Cinema @MC GDQ kQRS ANNJ Australian
Artists Abroad, 1890–1914 HRCTDNTSVHSGŭ!KNNLRATQXHM
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Endnotes
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WR +RUURU RQ 'LVWUHVV 'HOLJKW DQG $WWUDFWLRQpJournal of Personality
and Social PsychologyYRO}QR} SS}t
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