Kind of like when he lifts the dog. Which could explain why there are no fingerprints in the van. Thank you for your insight Chris! Additionally, this would explain the necklace. It made me wonder if he also was carrying around some past trauma. How do you know the Birchs house is Alexs old house? I think thats where I would start if I was going to write about the specific meaning of the snakes. Joy and Anna see the RV while on a walk with their siblings, Ralph and Eliza. So the star on Det. These are all clues Loki missed or were not brought up to him. Holly Jones Community Partnership & Outreach Coordinator at North Carolina Department of Justice Asheville, North Carolina, United States 3K followers 500+ connections Join to connect North. I didnt find any particularly bad the way you did. Thank you my good people and a wonderful site for films discussion. Psychological imprisonment: Alex and Bob Taylor both suffer from the trauma of their kidnapping. Yeah, it seems thats the case. Hi Lory! Holly preceded to do crazy Holly things. Good people do bad things, bad people do good thingsThe wicked knowingly and methodically try to spread their wickedness to as many as they can. Chris, you have written a very good essay, and most of your explanations are sound and thoughtful. The way they said it, sounded like a death notification to me. So when TD robbed the place, he didnt shoot Kendricks dad. But not in terms of likeNorse vs Christianity. While Lokis faith in following signs guides him right to the imprisoned Keller. So he moves the fridge and finds the body. Hey Craig! Other people feel nervous in the silence and start saying stuff just to fill it. In Christianity, water is a major theme, playing a vital role in baptism and the idea of purity. and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. Let an old woman finish injection: He walked into the room after she had started the injection. Kidnapping Serial Killer. I believe they say that Alex often drove the van and looked at his old house? Also, I wanted to add that it is mentioned that Alex had an accident with the snakes. This explanation also doesnt hold together. For example, he doesnt say a word when introduced to Joys mother and she hands him photographs of her daughter. And Id imagine Holly would have said something about Bob, just to telegraph it to the viewer, if this was actually what happened. So does. And maybe a tad under utilized. I never caught what was said in the newspaper. Except, Keller uses wood and his carpentry skills to imprison and torture Alex. The abusers can only shake their fist at God so long as they assume that all the parents they abduct the children from will have the same re-action to their loss as they did. What didnt make sense to me was that the parents didnt seem to remember what the girls were wearing at the time of the abduction. And this guy being a carpenter, someone who turns living trees into objects. Jones One of these underground people tells a shocked family, Were Americans. After that information, the title, Us, can be read as US, or U.S., or United States. Please also note the professors I have been working with at the end of this video. Sigyn, his spouse, sat with him holding a basin beneath the dripping venom, yet when the basin became full, she carried the poison away; and during this time the poison dripped on to Loki, causing him to writhe with such violence that all of the earth shook from the force, resulting in what are now known as earthquakes. (Wikipedia). But its done in this subtly disorienting way to make you have a sense of, Waitwho was that guy and then hopefully figure it out and have an ah-ha! I still enjoyed the movie and your article, though ? She was portrayed by Melissa Leo, who also played Sally in Oblivion . Crimes My guess is he's been blowing the whistle for days without anybody being able to hear him during the excavation. But how in the world would a jury ever find this guy guilty of anything when he saves two kids, finds/stops the biggest kidnapping ring in the country, after the police basically screwed up bad. My biggest take was that the ending sentiment wasnt believable. Im only 13 minutes in right now, but it is interesting! I also have a question. But before we see him decide to investigate or leavethe movie ends. Thats Bob Taylor, one of the many children Holly and her husband had abducted. Yeah, I think I need to amend it a bit to add the consideration that part of Alex enjoys hurting Keller. Its no longer Alex being the byproduct of Holly and her husband, or being cruel just to be cruel. Someone who seems like the kidnapper but isnt the killer broke into both our homes and took our kids clothes. Especially after Loki pretty much blew off Graces report about someone coming into their house. Awesome article Chris and I love that youre still replying to people after all this time! His aunt also says that he just wanted to play and thats why he took the girls. All he would have been able to see is Holly crouching over the girl. Obsessively drawing mazes on the walls because he cant stop reading an FBI agents book about the mysterious child abductor, known as the Invisible Man, who was never caught (and who was actually Holly and her husband). 2.) By visiting his former home, he must remember a time before he was entrapped! They see hes down there. Alex is perfectly able to taunt with a cryptic, They didnt start crying till I left. He can drive, he can play with the girls, learn and sing their song, has the wherewithal to take them back to be tortured and killed, but is too traumatized by his past to say anything else? Kidnapping thrillers often lull us into a sense of safety in the opening sequences, showing the normal rhythms of life that will soon be shattered. I guess it was made to distract/confuse the viewers. The first kid they ever took was Alex in 1987, who was actually Barry Milland. She had been jailed for trying to post 10.4g of heroin back to Australia in 2000 and pleaded guilty and sentenced to 31 years in jail in 2003. I wish they delved more into that aspect of him, but also thought that the brief mention left viewers trying to figure out its meaning. And completely forgot about the David first name. I noticed this strange bit of dialogue from Loki: You know IF YOU KNOW something If he was, then he wouldnt have continuously lied to the police and Keller. I get thinking Alex not talking is weird/problematic. Mark just pointed that out in another comment! These repeating elements, and a few others, add up. Theres the world within a book shes reading that was written by her ex (Jake Gyllenhaal, funny enough). Check out the rest of our movie guide for Prisoners. It is frustrating that we dont get some more closure though. POOPER: Holly Jones (Melissa Leo) kidnapped the two little girls. Itsweird. Remember, he was over at the house one time and talks with Holly. Hes essentially frozen by cognitive dissonance. And the hidden basement with the hole in the ground. Prisoners is even more interesting after your explanation. I searched for more movies with the actor Jack G after watching Nortunal Animals. The van is clean, but the forensic guy does say that if there was a struggle they would have found some fibers. Even though Taylor lives somewhere else, it seems all he thinks about is Holly and her husband. A 1987 newspaper article about Barry mentions there might be a serial child abductor and the FBI are involved in the case. Thanks. Wouldnt keller have been caught red-handed? Thats what Joys remembering. What follows are the vital details of Prisonersstudied, analyzed, deconstructed, dissected, unraveled, and presented for your review. What is the connection between the snakes and girls clothes as well as the gaze in the boxes of the home of Taylor. Skai fastened a venomous snake over Lokis face, and from it poison dripped. Look Up An Inmate Jones County NC Jail. Compare this to other crime thrillers like Silence of the Lambs or Seven or Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And I read some of it after watching the film a little. And what do you know, at the end of the movie, Kellers imprisoned by Holly Jones, Alexs aunt. Just some observations. We know Bob Taylor was abducted by Holly Jones and her husband. Loved your summary and analysis! I think the layman tends to miss out on the motifs but grasps the plot. I believe that Loki will save Keller. And how do we make sense of the miracles in our lives? With all the opportunity to gush to the police about what happenedhe stays silent. To the point where it becomes undeniable that one theme of Us is the cultural state of America. Really happy to hear that! Hed have explained what happened. Hey! Ephemeral, spiritual things that operate on a metaphysical level. Mini Major Victory At Olympia '08 For Ellen Whitaker & Holly Jones. Excellent analysis! Alex might have just been referring to Hollys husband who did go missing and who Holly and Alex were both wondering if hed ever come back. The answer to this question isnt actually explained, but it is shown. In the largest mass commutation in US history, at least . Taylor remembered the snakes, and it was Hollys husband who had the obsession, so it makes sense that we dont see them again in the film at Hollys house. Norse mythologys climax is Ragnarok, where gods fight giants and everyone dies. How do you create a plot with supposed depth and cleverness and use so many ridiculous elements? Holly reveals that after their son died of cancer, she and her husband began making children disappear to wage a war with God. Political party: Democrat. But then midway through the movie, Keller Dover kidnaps Alex Jones and keeps Alex prisoner. While both of them wanted their revenge on god, Holly appeared to be a remorseless but practical vamp. She was murdered by Michael Briere who plead guilty to first degree murder and got life in prison with no parole for 25years. Holly Maria Jones (September 14, 1992 - May 12, 2003) [1] was a 10-year-old child abduction and murder victim from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. And they may not have had anything to go on. Alex suffered so hes kind of relishing in causing someone else to hurt. Alex is in a similar situation. Holly likely assumed that Joy had been able to provide enough information to reveal her location. I dont think I said that the Birchs house is Alexs old house. It could also explain that Alex could not respond until days into his captivity, finally giving him a break in this regular prescription as he regained a scrap of his ability to think. Also, I thought Holly was injecting Anna with venom and that Loki was rushing the girl to hospital to get her the anti-venom in time. Powers / Skills Has astrological symbols tattooed on his hands. He always closes a case and he said he would find Keller, 2. Thanks. A maze without an exit. Again, I appreciate your review. She has documented her whole story in a book named "Holly's Hell - My Long Journey Home" with the hopes of one day sharing it with others. When we were shooting, we did shoot a version where it goes a little beyond where the fade out is. Is it the content of the game? I guess its a glass of water situation. Does Loki discover Keller in the hole or not? There are two more layers that make Prisoners an even deeper kind of cinematic dive.