How in the hell did “Machine” know Nicolas Cage’s character had broken into his house?
He was in the house at the time, heard Cage moving around, and
quietly snuck out unseen in order to lay ambush.
BTW, 8mm was one supremely suspenseful movie, truly pushing
Cage to the limits of the emotional spectrum.
As I recall (I may be wrong), Cage lifts the needle on Machine’s record player, killing the really loud music.
Isn’t this an incredibly dumb thing to do? Not only does it tip Machine off that there is an intruder, but it tells Machine exactly where the intruder is.
Also, I don’t how bad guys managed to find and kidnap Joaquin Pheonix’s character, Max California. Unless they were keeping Max and Nic Cage under surveillance (unlikely), how would they even know where to start looking? By that point in the movie, Cage had essentially told Max to get lost, so not even he knew Max’s travel itinerary. Even the later knowledge that the lawyer, Longdale, was a double-crosser doesn’t help. It’s not like Cage would have said “I found the film-makers and I’m meeting with them tonight. By the way, I’ve sent my plucky assistant packing. He’ll be taking Delta flight 741 at 4:45 PM.” Is there a scene missing?
I don’t think Max ever “got lost.” He was too into the whole situation and having too much fun to realize the true danger, so he probably just fucked around and got caught. And the collaboration between the lawyer and the “Film Cre” does explain how it could happen if that’s the case. The video people probably had security video (or, knowing the company, hidden video) of the two of them while they went to visit, a simple bit of collaboration and they could determine where Cage’s character was located, scoped him out for a bit, seen the two of them together, and if Max just hung out like I for some reason thought he would, snaged him while he was at work.
At least, that’s the way I viewd it.
That was sarcasm, right?
All I can say is THANK GOD for movies like 8mm. Without them we may begin to think that people who engage in BDSM were acceptable human beings that do more than sit in their basements listening to Danzig while dreaming of killing little girls.
Thank god we have a movie that shows that there’s a fine line between snuff films and bondage, and that no normal human being would ever engage in that sort of activity.
and yes. That IS sarcasm.
j
Always loved that line when the Phoenix character tells Cage’s private eye something about porn videos with content that pushes right to the limits of being legal, without going over.
Wow. That sounds so outlaw, so daring, so dangerous.
Just like I push right to the limits of legality everytime I drive 65mph on the freeway. Just one more mile per house and I’d be breaking the law.
(Yes, that’s sarcasm, too.)
steve biodrowski
www.thescriptanalyst.com