MovieChat Forums > Magic (1978) Discussion > Do YOU think Fats is alive?

Do YOU think Fats is alive?

posted 13 years ago by surfercharlie25
15 replies | jump to latest

I love movies that make you wonder at the end; movies that don't necessarily leave everything wrapped up in a pretty little package at the end but leave some things for you to wonder about. MAGIC is easily one of those.

Do YOU think Fats is alive? Obviously, Corky does a lot of things in the movie on his own, but there is that moment when Fats seems to blink, without any assistance from anybody...

"We will prevail... through the purity and essence of our natural fluids."

[–] IceboxMovies 13 years ago

It's amusing to think so, but -- within the movie's universe -- not likely. When Corky has Fats tell him, "It was you all along," it's his way of admitting to himself that he's had these schizophrenia problems long before Fats was even built. Fats was just a mouthpiece for his inner demons.

"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."

[–] rwsmith29456 13 years ago

If something is real in your mind, it might as well be real, period. I've been through some bad episodes of not knowing what was real and they got the point across in this movie very well. So Fats is alive, through Corky.

[–] loveagoodstory 12 years ago

I think the blink and head movement is just stuck in to make you wonder a bit.

But it's a split personality film, not a dummy-coming-to-life film.

---------------------------------------------------------
Free your mind and the rest will follow

[–] hexedd 12 years ago

Whether or not Fats is alive is a moot point. What is definitely true IMO is that Fats is one of the best non-living entity villains of any movie. He's right up there with Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even though you know he's not real (they make it clear each time that Anthony Hopkins does all of the actual killing) he still seems like such a great villain. It's odd when you think about it, because he's not even technically a character at all since he's part of Anthony Hopkins' psyche, but he's still the villain of the film. So essentially you have the hero and anti-hero played by the same actor. Crazy!

[–] lathe-of-heaven 11 years ago

YES, you are quite right! Excellent character; and the interaction between the two is amazing, especially at the moment when Fats is in the case and he says in his EVIL child-like voice, 'I'll Teeeellllll...' The interaction from that point is an amazing performance by Hopkins.

But as you say, I agree that especially with the strength of some of the lines that he used, Fats is right up there as one of the best movie villains of all time!

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[–] cormac_zoso 10 years ago

i'll come down on the side of 'alive' since, as mentioned, if it's real in your head, it's pretty much real, to you at least most certainly ...

i think that after fats sat around in the property room of the local police station (or the state police, whoever wound up with jurisdiction) for some years until a young (probably rookie) cop saw Fats and thought that using ventriliquism would be a great way for him to communicate with the elementary school kids who he goes to talk to about no using drugs, etc ... and then the murders start up again but this time Fats is on the 'inside' so can cover his tracks much better :) how's that for a very short treatment for a sequel ;) lol ... there is talk that William Goldman did write a sequel but apparently never did anything with it ...

and yes i also agree with he is one of the great villians of all time ... certainly non-human villians no doubt ... and you really find out how creepy the movie is going to be and all that when after the visit to the dressing room with Gangreen and the guy from MASH and Fats does the "I think we're gonna be a staaaa-aaar" ... just sends the hairs on the back of your neck right up ... and then, as Lathe points out, the 'I'll Tellll' ...

take care,
cormac

"One star in the sky
so I named it Otis Redding"
-- John Hiatt

[–] lathe-of-heaven 10 years ago

Hey, not bad at all my friend... I actually quite like your idea

Not bad at all...

(of course I am a TOTAL sucker for killer doll movies!)

Cheers!

BTW, I'm ASSUMING that the 'Zoso' is for what I think it is... Good going!
Have you seen their (fairly) recent Blu-ray of the 2007 concert...? WOW!!!

I have over 5000 films, many of them very rare and OOP. I LOVE to trade. PLEASE ASK!

[–] clockworkorange13 10 years ago

i thought they made it clear that fats is completely not alive and anthony hopkins character was completely insane

[–] moosefeathers 10 years ago

yep. Pre Chuckie people get it. Corky was schizophrenic.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

[–] sillyspaghetti 9 years ago

Only in Corky's mind and not in everyone else's reality. Creepy film.

[–] sage2112 9 years ago

Nope not even blinking when Corky wasn't right there. He was just completely bonkers. There's not meant to be any ambiguity.

[–] Druffmaul 8 years ago

I didn't see anything in the movie to indicate he was anything but an ordinary ventriloquist dummy that happened to be owned by a very insane ventriloquist.

Anyway Fats is essentially Corky's alternate persona, so therefore in the end he's dead. =P

[–] MrFilmJunkie (906) a year ago

so an ordinary dummy can talk from the opposite of the room, far a way from the ventriloquist's position?

[–] MrFilmJunkie (906) a year ago

at their first show, fats was talking from the opposite of the room. a ventriloquist can't fake the direction of where the voice is coming from. well, maybe he could fake it by playing a tape with the voice. but that wasn't hinted in the movie. so either it's a plot hole or fats is actually alive.