The park murder in Zodiac is the most uncomfortable I've been during a film

I've watched Zodiac three times in my life and this scene is pure David Fincher; omniscient, out-of-bounds viewing that shows the moment without cutting or dodging. It is also one of the few scenes in film that I dread watching.

Slight Spoilers for Zodiac

This occurs during the first third of Zodiac, where the killer comes across a couple in a park, having a picnic. He ties them both up, lays them on their stomachs, but it seems that everything will be okay...until Zodiac goes on top of the man and repeatedly stabs him multiple times.

His girlfriend is screaming, and continues to do so while Zodiac moves on to her, stabbing her multiple times in the back before rolling her on her side and stabbing, again, multiple times in the stomach. She dies, her boyfriend lives.

Three things make the scene so uncomfortable:

1. Silence
2. Sound effects
3. The acting

Fincher chooses not to add any music or excessive sound to this scene at all. He leaves background noise completely silent, leaving room for two things: the stabbing sounds and the screams.

The effects of the knife are creepily masterful. The squelching and slicing of the weapon make my skin crawl, but what pushes this scene over the edge is the acting of the actress. I'm not sure what her name is, but she produces some of the most realistic screams I've ever heard in a film. She sounds genuinely terrified, like the actor is actually getting stabbed on set. It's brilliant and horrifying at the same time, and she deserves some sort of award for that scene alone, in my opinion.

Fincher is obviously a master at his craft and this scene alone proves it. I still can't watch this scene without my palms getting sweaty, and my stomach feeling ill.

Submitted November 22, 2017 at 12:01AM by OCD_Orca http://ift.tt/2jNFExL