MovieChat Forums > Very Bad Things (1998) Discussion > Logistics of the Cleanup

Logistics of the Cleanup

posted 15 years ago by heckles
14 replies | jump to latest

After watching this last night, I have to say that the logistics of the cleanup night were daunting, to say the least.

Let's say the boys offed the stripper, offed the security guard, pulled themselves together to Boyd's evil rationalization -- and it was still only 9 PM. They have to get themselves to the mini-van, I'm sure a lot of people here have been to Vegas, so you know that to get your car and out to the retail area takes a half hour at least, as your car has to be plucked from huge garage areas. Then they have to drive over (find?) a Wal-Mart, hopefully not getting lost by passing it by and having to back up. Then they would have to get all the items necessary first time around. Get back to the hotel, then it had to be about 11 PM at the earliest. Understand one must then retreive and load up the mini-van (a half hour) drive out to Red Rocks (45 minutes) and then dig graves to the correct size (another 45 minutes); and you will see one would have to leave the hotel by 2:30 AM at the latest. I'm only giving twenty minutes to properly reconfigure the bodies after Adam objected. Job finised at 4:50 AM, just as the sun is coming up, I'm guessing.

That gives one only three hours to cut up two bodies, wrap the remains in plastic, clean up to 12 quarts of blood spilled, pick up the table debris. Don't forget the Drain-O. I may be leaving something out here, like replace the robe holder the stripper got impaled on?

My guess is: with five guys in good coordination it could be done, but barely, and assuming nothing goes wrong in a stituation there are a plethora of things that could possibly go wrong. It would require an awful lot of steel nerves. Even if the stripper went out without any contact - she'd have to be incredibly dumb to do so - I can't believe that in a large Las Vegas hotel there would be only -one- security guard, and that he would not be missed for hours on end.

[–] Palpatine77 15 years ago

I'm sure there's multiple security guards in the hotel. While watching the film, I did wonder why security didn't later check on the room to find out what happened to the security guard that was sent up there. The rationalization I figured is that when the security guard got the call about all the noise coming from the hotel room, since this is a situation that I'm sure arises all the time in a Vegas hotel it wasn't a big deal and he didn't tell anybody where he was going, it's just another routine group of rowdy people partying too much that he has to tell to quiet down, so when he went missing the other security detail had no idea where to start searching. That's all lucky on Boyd's part, that the security guard didn't write down or tell anybody where he's going.

[–] heckles 15 years ago

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but the luggage they bought at the Wal-Mart(?) had no wheels! Stripper - 105 lbs. Security Guard - 180 lbs, at least. Five guys have to lug out more than 50 lbs apiece of human meat with one arm; unless they bought additional suitcases and made two trips.

[–] gregforttmags 15 years ago

Ok, the cutting up the two bodies into sixteen pieces in the bathtub must've been time consuming, dangerous, and above all noisy. The noise of a powersaw slicing through all that flesh, muscle, and bone made a racket, why didn't that attract more attention like the loud music? The prostitute was a small and trim woman, she could be taken apart more easily, but the security guard was broad, tall, and slightly fat, cutting through him would more likely overheat the sawblade.

He was also fully clothed when Boyd started on him, adding another difficult layer to slice through (you could even see Boyd struggling with his powertool), while the prositute was butt naked, and bodies are usually naked when dismembered by criminals. Would blood be a problem? Blood congeals shortly after death, so no more spillage, however how could Boyd and the others calculate the right amount of industrial plastic wrapping to safely carry the severed body pieces? A decapitated head and severed thigh is more easier to package in plastic, but a full torso (especially the security guard's torso, the biggest body part) is a bigger lump of meat to properly package and secure.

[–] heckles 15 years ago

Good response, Greg. I have to agree, having the security guard dead too gave them three times the job as previous. You mentioned the power tool Boyd was using; the tool he had is called a tiger saw, and the blades need to be changed frequently. I wonder if he thought of getting spares while they were at the Wal-Mart.

It would have greatly helped them if one of the five was a professional butcher/ meat processor, but the likehood of one of five yuppies in that trade would be very small.

[–] gregforttmags 15 years ago

Boyd was hacksawing the bodies, while Michael was packaging the body parts with industrial wrapping, ducktape, and string. The others were cleaning up after themselves. The prostitute's dismembered torso could be picked up and carried around by an reasonably able bodied adult man, no real problem to hauling it around in a suitcase.

They could've not gotten their clean up equipment by car - the big store they went to could've been reached from the hotel by foot, although how they got it through the hotel without arousing suspicion is more problamatic.

It took a relatively long time for the hotel staff to respond to the accidental death, murder, and illegal body disposal, but they did report their security guard as missing to the authorities (it was on the news the next day). Boyd called on the prostitute without consulting her agency, but I doubt she would not be missed, due to her being high-class. The prostitute likely had a busy social life and a boyfriend (or girlfriend) that would've known she was gone.

[–] heckles 15 years ago

<< the big store they went to could've been reached from the hotel by foot, although how they got it through the hotel without arousing suspicion is more problamatic. >>

Having been to Vegas, absolutely not. They were downtown rather than the Strip (from being under the animated canopy) but there is no big box store within practical walking distance. As it is, finding a Wal-Mart on the map and getting into the parting lot at night would be a challenge; someone unfamilar with the area would tend to overshoot it. Yes, they'd have to bring the stuff in one of the guest doors, and have a good cover story.

<<The prostitute likely had a busy social life and a boyfriend (or girlfriend) that would've known she was gone.>>

As I've said, it would be a pretty dumb call girl who would not have a contact and an expected time of return. Boyd and the boys would have had to have nerves of steel, all around.

[–] knoxious_oxide 15 years ago

wise up.

[–] gregforttmags 15 years ago

They had nerves of steel for the night of the cover up and body disposal, but the lads (with the exception of Boyd) were relatively normal people and mentally collapsed within the week. Boyd was a criminal sociopath who revelled in murder and shreding bodies apart, he inevitably went completely out of control by the time of the wedding day.

[–] gregforttmags 15 years ago

It seems like it has happened for real, damn:

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/national/090822_jasmine_fiore_photo_bo dy_suitcase

[–] RoadSideAssistance 15 years ago

Um, 300 pounds, divided by 5, divided by 2 (two arms) = 30 pounds... Are you telling me you can't carry half a bag of concrete on one arm? If so, LOL!? I can easily lift a 25 lb weight with one arm and curl it well over 30 times. And trust me, I'm no workout warrior. Haven't been to a gym/weight room since high school. Maybe you need to eat some more spinach yah?

[–] heckles 14 years ago

Replay the film in your head. They had one suitcase apiece, carrying it by a suitcase -handle-, apiece. 48 pounds minimum, that would be a challenge for even a strong man.

Now perhaps they took two trips. The security guard's torso...they could disguise it as something.

[–] gregforttmags 14 years ago

What about the potentially bad coppery smell? I think they had one trip out through the casino and they looked like they were going to flip then.

They showed Michale or Boyd placing down the guard's packaged torso in a large suitcase and at the burial site (where they had a body part jigsaw) they could lift it up. It was more hassel than the prostitute's narrow torso, but they could lift it up.

[–] [email protected] 9 years ago

I have four words for you guys:

'Willing Suspension of Disbelief"

[–] 9 years ago

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