Den (film)
Encyclopedia
Den is a 2001 independent
drama horror film written and directed
by Greg Arce.
. Den places his victims in a large abandoned theater. He chains the captives to the walls and doles out meager supplies that will keep them alive. Den is truthful to the group: He admits he is a serial killer
and that they are on his "list of people to do." But he wants something... conversation. Through the course of nine days, he starts daily arguments and debates with the group. As the days pass on it is revealed that the group is not only tied by chains, but by personal secrets. Milton reveals that her passion to be a nun was squelched when she realized she had sexual attractions towards women
. She also confesses to having an affair with a married woman. Steven's darker side comes out early on when his racial
and biased belief system is heard. He has also been a disloyal spouse by seeing hookers, which is a surprise to Lolita, but not to Cassandra. Lolita has her own skeleton she wishes to keep in the closet, but Den opens the door when it is disclosed that she has also had an affair... with Milton. And when Cassandra admits to being an atheist, this shocks Den more than her work as a prostitute. But there is one very big secret that the group is not aware of: Den is storing them under a church. His church. Yes, he is a priest
. In this room, Den uses the captive's secrets to turn one against the other. But Cassandra takes all the physical and mental abuse and throws it back at Den with all the strength and stamina she can muster. Her first major strike happens when Den wonders how anyone can not believe in God. With a classic heroic comeback line, she says, "It takes faith."
As the final day approaches the body count rises: Den has cut off Lolita's finger because she was pointing at him. She dies from an infection, although Den was kind enough to cauterize the wound with a soldering iron
. With Milton's sexual orientation and affair with Lolita exposed, Den manipulates Steven into stabbing and killing Milton with a crucifix
-knife. He offers to let Steven get away with the killing, but recants, and when Steven attacks him in anger, Den ends up beating him to death. The final scene is a twisted, blasphemous one that has Cassandra verbally attacking the Bible
and Den's beliefs. She calls out several mistakes that are written in this holy text and, thereby proves, if there is a God, He had no hand in the making of this religious manuscript. Den, after supposedly killing a few children, returns to kill Cassandra. He stabs her in the chest with the crucifix-knife. He taunts her about pulling the knife out so she can kill him. She doesn't and he feels that this is proof of the "no atheist in foxholes" theory. But this is a brief victory. As he turns to leave, Cassandra removes the knife and tosses it at Den. The knife skewers his head. He removes the knife and rushes to kill her, but convulses and dies on her. Now Cassandra has killed the monster, but in doing so, had sealed her own fate. She is still chained up and this means death for her. Their final death tableau forms the Pietà
position.
. The film was completed June 15, 2001, and went on to feature in several film festivals.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
drama horror film written and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Greg Arce.
Plot
The film begins with a bearded man waking up in his house and going through his morning routine. He touches his cross necklace, grabs a stack of chewing gum, looks into the mirror and announces merrily "Showtime!". Den (although his name is never spoken) cruises the city on a skateboard and captures four future victims: a psychotherapist and his wife - Steven and Lolita Brewster; Cassandra - a militant atheist, who moonlights as a prostitute; and Milton Page - a respiratory therapist who once longed to be a nunNun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
. Den places his victims in a large abandoned theater. He chains the captives to the walls and doles out meager supplies that will keep them alive. Den is truthful to the group: He admits he is a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and that they are on his "list of people to do." But he wants something... conversation. Through the course of nine days, he starts daily arguments and debates with the group. As the days pass on it is revealed that the group is not only tied by chains, but by personal secrets. Milton reveals that her passion to be a nun was squelched when she realized she had sexual attractions towards women
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. She also confesses to having an affair with a married woman. Steven's darker side comes out early on when his racial
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and biased belief system is heard. He has also been a disloyal spouse by seeing hookers, which is a surprise to Lolita, but not to Cassandra. Lolita has her own skeleton she wishes to keep in the closet, but Den opens the door when it is disclosed that she has also had an affair... with Milton. And when Cassandra admits to being an atheist, this shocks Den more than her work as a prostitute. But there is one very big secret that the group is not aware of: Den is storing them under a church. His church. Yes, he is a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. In this room, Den uses the captive's secrets to turn one against the other. But Cassandra takes all the physical and mental abuse and throws it back at Den with all the strength and stamina she can muster. Her first major strike happens when Den wonders how anyone can not believe in God. With a classic heroic comeback line, she says, "It takes faith."
As the final day approaches the body count rises: Den has cut off Lolita's finger because she was pointing at him. She dies from an infection, although Den was kind enough to cauterize the wound with a soldering iron
Soldering iron
A soldering iron is a hand tool most commonly used in soldering. It supplies heat to melt the solder so that it can flow into the joint between two workpieces.A soldering iron is composed of a heated metal tip and an insulated handle...
. With Milton's sexual orientation and affair with Lolita exposed, Den manipulates Steven into stabbing and killing Milton with a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
-knife. He offers to let Steven get away with the killing, but recants, and when Steven attacks him in anger, Den ends up beating him to death. The final scene is a twisted, blasphemous one that has Cassandra verbally attacking the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Den's beliefs. She calls out several mistakes that are written in this holy text and, thereby proves, if there is a God, He had no hand in the making of this religious manuscript. Den, after supposedly killing a few children, returns to kill Cassandra. He stabs her in the chest with the crucifix-knife. He taunts her about pulling the knife out so she can kill him. She doesn't and he feels that this is proof of the "no atheist in foxholes" theory. But this is a brief victory. As he turns to leave, Cassandra removes the knife and tosses it at Den. The knife skewers his head. He removes the knife and rushes to kill her, but convulses and dies on her. Now Cassandra has killed the monster, but in doing so, had sealed her own fate. She is still chained up and this means death for her. Their final death tableau forms the Pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
position.
Cast
- Greg Arce as Den, a fanatical Catholic and the main antagonist of the film
- Stephanie Rettig as Lolita, a former Catholic (converted Jewish) and Steven's wife
- Lee Schall as Steven, Lolita's husband
- Dana J. Ryan as Cassandra, an atheist prostitute
- Sabrina O'Neil as Milton, a Catholic would-be nun holding many secrets
Production
The development of the film began in December 1995, when Greg Arce imagined the concept. It was almost picked up Miramax, but after Arce was told to tone down the film, he decided to make it independently. The film was shot over the course of 1 month, it was filmed in Jerome, ArizonaJerome, Arizona
Jerome is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 353.-History:...
. The film was completed June 15, 2001, and went on to feature in several film festivals.