Chapter 62: Cutting Out the Source of Evil

Ugh... I've been so busy lately that my head hurts, and I can't even guarantee 5,000 words a day. Work is such a hassle. Some recommendation votes would be comforting.

More albums were found by Hayley in Jeff's bedroom. The girls in the photos were tied up, dazed, or collapsed on the ground. Although they were just photos, it was clear these girls were in no position to resist during the shoots, forced to comply with whatever was done to them.

"Scum!" Daisy muttered under her breath.

Everything pointed to Jeff being not just a pedophile, but a highly dangerous one.

Hayley poured another glass of water and forced it down Jeff's throat. The screen went black again.

When the screen lit up, Jeff was lying on his workbench, his lower body unclothed, with a large bag of ice covering his privates.

The little girl was going to castrate this pedophile!

Daisy felt a sense of justice, while her male companion's eye twitched slightly.

At some point, Tony Guzman had moved two rows forward again, finding the film increasingly intriguing.

Unlike the others, Jones Butler smiled. As a career woman, she had faced some unfair treatment due to her gender. Seeing Hayley's impending castration scene brought an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Beck Larson remained relatively calm due to his background, viewing the scene from a professional perspective.

The director, Murphy Stanton, used an overhead shot here, focusing on Jeff's bound hands, panning down his body to his iced privates, clearly depicting Jeff's state and setting up the castration.

Jeff was lying on a metal table, and the glaring reflections from the table under the lighting, captured by the overhead shot, added a chilling tone, indicating something horrific was about to happen.

Next was the dialogue between Hayley and Jeff, with the camera continuously switching between close-ups of their faces, creating a psychological montage that vividly displayed their inner worlds—Hayley's calmness and Jeff's panic.

The director's 2-3 second shot transitions quickened the film's pace, intensifying the audience's tension.

This part was shot in backlight, with a stark contrast between the bright background and the dark characters, creating a creepy and mysterious atmosphere, making viewers nervously anticipate what was about to happen.

Murphy Stanton's use of photography, editing, and lighting was exceptional, far beyond the random chaos typical of Park City's amateur filmmakers.

At this point, Tony Guzman quickly scanned the few audience members in the theater, looking for the director. This unknown director had a lot of potential. If he could maintain this level, he would definitely not remain obscure.

His mastery of visual language was very sophisticated, not at all like a novice.

When Jeff asked, "What is the ice for?"

The camera immediately cut to Hayley pulling open the curtains, brightening the scene, hinting that the mystery would soon be revealed. Then, the camera focused on Jeff's face from above, capturing his twisted expression of tension and struggle, as he realized something terrible was about to happen. The perspective then switched to Jeff's view, zooming in to show Hayley's smug expression as she brought out a scalpel.

The mystery was now clear, and this synchronization allowed the audience to fully empathize with Jeff's feelings.

When Jeff realized Hayley intended to castrate him, an overhead shot of his terrified face was shown again, contrasting with Hayley sitting across from him, conversing.

The director's techniques were skillful, and what pleased Tony Guzman most was their simplicity. Simple techniques were crucial, as obscure shots often drive audiences away.

This scene used only three types of shots: close-ups of Hayley's face, wide shots of Hayley, and medium shots of Jeff.

The information conveyed through these shots made it easy to understand that Hayley was completely in control, calm and confident, while Jeff was the powerless victim. Interestingly, the background when Hayley was on screen was a blue wall, matching her surgical outfit, while Jeff's background was a red wall, with the blue highlighting Hayley's composure and the red highlighting Jeff's fear.

These concepts sound simple but require considerable skill to execute effectively.

Murphy Stanton's abilities as a new director far exceeded expectations.

The frequent short shots demonstrated the director's skill in pacing, while the subsequent long shots showed his storytelling ability with longer takes.

When Hayley briefly left, the scene returned to Jeff with a long shot, the camera moving between Jeff's frantic struggles and the phone on the coffee table, expressing Jeff's desperate desire to escape.

When Hayley returned, Jeff recounted a memory. This scene used another long shot, with the director employing panning and tracking, and using close-ups to highlight Jeff's sincerity and pity, attempting to use genuine emotions to move Hayley to let him go.

However, the camera then shifted to nearby photo frames, showing the faces of different girls, subtly reinforcing Jeff's deceitful nature and the futility of his words.

At the same time, eerie background music played as Hayley walked up to Jeff. Jeff stopped shouting, his eyes filled with despair, signaling the imminent castration.

The sounds in the theater became chilling: Jeff's rapid breathing, Hayley's soft exhalations, the distinct tear of skin, and something suddenly breaking...

Although there were no explicit visuals of the castration, the sounds made it vividly clear to everyone in the theater that Jeff's source of evil was being cut out.

The prior buildup meant that even without seeing the visuals, just hearing these sounds could make viewers feel immense pain and cruelty.

Of course, it was mainly the men who thought this way.

Female viewers like Daisy felt only a sense of satisfaction.

Hayley's punishment of Jeff was immensely gratifying and cool! All scumbag men should receive such punishment!

A spurt of blood splashed onto Hayley's surgical gown. The little girl showed an unsettling calm beyond her age, simply putting away the scalpel and saying, "Okay!"

The music immediately switched to peaceful piano tunes, giving the audience a sense of relief, as if the castration was finally over.