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The Daydream Theory

posted 12 years ago by Justincblount
2 replies | jump to latest

Ricky seems CONSTANTLY spaced out in this movie. The part where he is daydreaming about Joanne and Deadgirl is clear. But shortly before this, it cuts from the basement to the school and he's absorbed in drawing a hanged ghoul during class. This theme is repeated again while he's sitting alone on the bleachers zoned out, and Joanne comes up chasing a basketball. It also cuts from the basement to him throwing a tantrum, but I guess that could go either way. Depends if he has blackouts... but he is prone to fainting!! The fainting could signify breaks in the dreaming at points that shock him awake.

None of this is evidence, only foreshadowing. The real evidence is at the VERY beginning, and the shot right after Ricky is holding Joanne and she's stabbed. The shot I'm referring to is of Deadgirl running through the brush. It has the same slow fade-in effect as the very beginning. It then cuts to Ricky DAYDREAMING in class!! He has a completely different appearance and carries himself differently, posing the question is Ricky just an alter ego? Open and shut for those who choose to interpret it this way.

The guy in the ending might not be Ricky anymore, but a guy everyone knows as Richard. He is shown sitting at the foot of a tree with a comic, appearing to have no friends. A guy is seen romancing a girl up against the fence in the same way as Joanne and her jock boyfriend, but it's not them. A random dog is shown, but it's not the same random dog from the basement. The ending is suggesting that Ricky is a normal guy on the outset, but is tormented by his social failings and finds comfort in demented fantasies.

[–] ricecooker 11 years ago

I see where you're coming from and gauged something similar from the movie. The ending really provides evidence for this theory as well; Ricky's mannerisms, style of dress, everything is completely evolved. The fact that he's reading comic books didn't really fit with his initial "I'm too cool for life" stoner-persona either. "Ricky" could very well be an alter ego, or a fantasy version of himself and his life where he has badass/depraved friends and constructs elaborate and equally depraved fantasies. I honestly think that he did kidnap and potential sex-slavify Joanne though, as it's the part of his fantasy that he "acted on", whereas the rest of it was constructed. I don't think she's a zombie deadgirl, though, just some poor soul caught up in a misguided teenage boy's *beep* fantasy. What are your thoughts on this?

[–] TheDybbuk 10 years ago

I think we're reaching here (afaik people who listened to the commentary on DVD/BR reported nothing of the sort) but hey, why not, it's fun. With that in mind, it would be decent indeed if the movie pulled The Fight Club on us. That JT never existed, and was just this imaginary psycho "friend", the dark twisted side of Rickie.

Note how it's always him who encourages Rickie to do bad things (from the innocent "let's skip class" to all the atrocities we witness in the movie). This allows Rickie to believe he is the clean, good one, the hero (he tries to save the deadgirl, he outsmarts the jock, etc.). In the end, Rickie is fine with who he is -- "This is what you truly want, admit it" -- JT keeps repeating throughout the movie -- and thus does not have the need for JT alter ego anymore.

This hypothesis would also explain why the real world is not in panic. It's "just" one girl missing (kidnapped by Rickie). He went from fantasizing to execution.

While, again, it's probably not what the movie really was (i.e. a mess), I like that version and I'm sticking with it ;)