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Four Questions (of course they are spoilers!)


I really enjoyed watching this movie for the first time the other night.

If Fats was not alive, how was Corky able to stick his arm out of the closet and move Fats' eyes AND arm without Duke noticing Corky's arm or hearing Corky breath??

Why did Corky make Fats appear jealous of his upcoming travels with Peg?

Why did Corky make Fats threaten Corky ... I'll tell ... I will ... I swear ... ???

Why did Corky even consider murdering Peg?

Thanks much!,
Lucinda

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If Fats was not alive, how was Corky able to stick his arm out of the closet and move Fats' eyes AND arm without Duke noticing Corky's arm or hearing Corky breath?? I believe any time you see Fats kill, it really is not Fats, but Corky.

Why did Corky make Fats appear jealous of his upcoming travels with Peg? Because Fats is a separate personality of Corky. That personality is jealous.

Why did Corky make Fats threaten Corky ... I'll tell ... I will ... I swear ... ??? Because Fats (the personality of Fats) would crack. Like how Fats told about the card trick.

Why did Corky even consider murdering Peg? Because he's crazy.





"Save your speeches for Malcom X, I just wanna get laid." -Heathers

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Hopefully this will help......
I really enjoyed watching this movie for the first time the other night.

If Fats was not alive, how was Corky able to stick his arm out of the closet and move Fats' eyes AND arm without Duke noticing Corky's arm or hearing Corky breath??
Answer: Corky is a Paranoid Schitzophrentic , with homocidal tendencies. Corky IS Fats....Fats IS Corky!!!! Corky was hiding behind the drapes. You can breathe without being heard as well. I am a former navy SEAL, and (not to creep you out)I could be behind you right now, inside of 3 feet, and you would never even hear me breathe once. If you were a mark, or an enemy, The only sound you would hear me make would be me snapping your neck. Again, I don't mean to come off as creepy, and yes, I know I have had YEARS and YEARS of training, but then again, so has Corky. Being a ventriloquist, he needed to have complete control of his breathing, so he could project and "Throw" his voice as fats. Hope this helps. And finally, Duke didn't notice Corky because he too transfixed on Fats, by then it was just too late to react.

Why did Corky make Fats appear jealous of his upcoming travels with Peg?
Answer: Corky didn't make Fats appear Jealous. FATS made FATS appear jealous. Remember, Corky is a Paranoid Schitzophrentic blah blah blah (refer to above diagnosis HA HA) Fats is a separate personality from Corky, so it is easy to assume that Corky made Fats Jealous. We need to separate the two, even though they are the same person. fats also knows that Peg is EXACTLY what Corky needs to get his life back on track. The "love of his life" would make him complete, and successful, and he would not want or need anything else.

Why did Corky make Fats threaten Corky ... I'll tell ... I will ... I swear ... ???
Answer: Again, Corky didn't make Fats Threaten Corky, FATS made FATS Threaten Corky. Again, it's the split personality issue. The best example I could give for this is the Nutty Professor plot. Professor Klump (of Corky for sake) is a shy resigned good hearted person who does his best to do right. Buddy Love (Fats) is the Egotistical, Self Centered, selfish A-hole who only wants what He wants. However, Professor Klump (Corky) found the girl of his dreams (Peg), who saw the inside of him, the kindness, the honesty, the love(Peg). Fats knew that if Corky and Peg ended up together, Corky wouldn't need to rely on Fats' personality. Corky would realize that he could "get by" without Fats, and that scared Fats, which is why he threatened to tell.

Why did Corky even consider murdering Peg?
Answer: Refer to the last answer, but I'll just add this. Fats Realized that Corky didn't care anymore if Fats "told." he knew that Peg would stick by him, and stay with him, and help him no matter what. If "Fats" killed Peg, well, that would be all Fats needed to take over for good.

I hope these answered your questions. This movie is deeper than just a horror movie, it's a more psychological thriller than horror. Although having the DVD, being a former Navy SEAL, and seeing the TV Trailer when I was 2 years old, it STILL horrifies me. LOL

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"Hocus Pocus, sitting on his knee..." I was 3 when this movie was released, and I must say that the trailer on TV was far more terrifying than the film ever turned out to be (nightmares!). It didn't help that my older brother memorized the rhyme, and tortured me when he wanted amusement. I was fifteen before my family finally helped me get over the image of those EYES, and I was able to watch the film. Today, it's one of my favorites, though I still get an instinctive jolt when I see a copy of it or on TV. Excellent answers, by the way, even if you did sound kinda creepy at first.

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gburdash -- duuuuuude. you took the words outta my mouth. great answers. i concure!!

http://www.unofficialbenhellerfansite.com/bhhome.html

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Those are superb explanations, gburdash, and I'm getting an extra lock on my door to protect against you. ;-)

Another, probably very obvious comparison would be to the book and movie "Sybil," where many conflicting personalities exist in one person. We all have a degree of ambiguity in our lives (love/hate relationships, addictions that we know are harmful but can't avoid, "evil" thoughts that we regret later), and most of us find a happy medium or resolution. Corky (and Sybil), however, developed distinct alter egos to channel those thoughts. In the end, Fats took control and basically destroyed Corky's career, relationship and very existence. It's the equivalent of a person reaching his goals and committing suicide because he can't handle getting what he wants (or think he wants).

I think there's a danger of getting too analytical for something that is "just" a thriller, but this film has a great deal of logic and much to say about motivation, ego, guilt and desire. And unlike most horror films, it's quite credible and believable. They don't make 'em like this anymore, and they gave up trying years ago.

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i had 4 years MMA training and i know i'd kick the fock out of you

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I really enjoyed watching this movie for the first time the other night.

If Fats was not alive, how was Corky able to stick his arm out of the closet and move Fats' eyes AND arm without Duke noticing Corky's arm or hearing Corky breath??


Corky and Fats are two aspects of the same mind. Corky killed Duke, but it was Fats dominant personality that actually "committed" the murder. It makes more sense if you read the book.

Why did Corky make Fats appear jealous of his upcoming travels with Peg?


Again, Fats is the dominant personality of the two. He makes Corky believe he (Corky) is in control, but in truth, Fats is in charge of Corky's weaker personality. That's the whole twist, really. Corky physically controls the dummy, the dummy mentally controls Corky. Corky doesn't realize that he and Fats are the same person, really.

Why did Corky make Fats threaten Corky ... I'll tell ... I will ... I swear ... ???


See above

Why did Corky even consider murdering Peg?


Fats made him do it. Fats is in charge, he can make Corky do anything he wants. Because he IS Corky. He is the dark, uninhibited part of Corky's mind.

I definitely recommend reading the book. It gets way deeper into Corky's personality and past than the movie, and really sets you up for the present story and how Fats came to be so dominant.

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Great expansions of my answers. I completely agree. I have been trying to get a copy of the book for YEARS, and for the life of me, can NOT find a copy of it. Any answers? Any suggestions?

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Are you still looking for a copy? I just saw it in a thrift store near me.

I read Goldman's novel 30-some years ago when I was too young to see an R-rated movie. I even did a book report on it for my English class. It's excellent and develops the characters and atmosphere quite well -- even better than the movie (which, of course, novels generally do).

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I read the book when it first came out and it is far superior to the film. Although Goldman did things in the book that he could not do on screen. In the book it's a major shock to find out Fats is a dummy-he hides it through half the novel. According to Goldman it was his homage to PSYCHO-with the deserted motel and the nervous edgy Corky being a very Norman Bates like character. I always felt that was what the film was missing - a major shock revelation scene. We're all waiting for something like that and it never comes.

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