Thr3e (film)
Encyclopedia
Thr3e is a 2006 film adaptation of the novel of the same name
by Ted Dekker
.
) attempts to save her brother Roy, who has been abducted by a serial killer
. The murderer is known as the Riddle Killer, or R.K., because of how he ties in riddle
s with his murders. Jennifer has recently written a book about the nature of serial killers, to which R.K. has taken offence. Jennifer follows R.K.'s clues and finds Roy, but fails to save him as the car in which he is trapped explodes.
Kevin Parson (Marc Blucas
) is a seminary theology
student. Kevin has recently completed the third draft of his thesis about the nature of good and evil. One day, he receives a phone call from R.K., demanding that he confess some unspecified sin, or his car will explode. He also tells Kevin a riddle: "What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?" (The answer is night and day.) Puzzled at what sin he means and the riddle, Kevin quickly escapes from the car before the explosion. He informs the police, among them Jennifer, but leaves out the part about the sin the killer demanded he confess, believing that the sin is what he did some time ago.
Back at his home, he meets up with his friend since childhood, Samantha Sheer (Laura Jordan
). They decide to try to figure out the mystery of the Riddle Killer, who continues to target him, and who appears to be somehow able to monitor Kevin in his own home. Kevin receives a threat against his childhood dog, and goes to the house of his Aunt Balinda (Priscilla Barnes), who abused him when he was a child. He fails to save his dog from a bomb. Kevin and Sam also find that his home has been broken into, and the papers of his thesis scattered around. They find a clue left by R.K. that a bus would be destroyed, and luckily manage to get everyone off in time.
Sam and Kevin theorize who might have a grudge against him. Kevin remembers a boy from when they were children who tried to kill him. In self-defense, Kevin had locked him in a warehouse and left him to die. They conclude that he escaped, and is now R.K. Kevin confesses leaving him in the warehouse on television and apologizes, hoping to satisfy him and that he would now be left alone. However, R.K. insists that it is not sufficient and does not relent.
Jennifer tries to research who the boy might have been, but she finds nothing. She also visits Kevin's Aunt Balinda, and finds that she has been keeping her husband and son Bobby in the dark about the entire world outside their home, and had done so to Kevin as well. R.K. leaves a bomb in another warehouse and lures Kevin and Sam in to try to stop it. He locks Sam in a room while her back is turned, and Kevin gets her out, but they do not have time to stop the bomb. Jennifer and the police arrive and investigate. Sam leaves, and Kevin insists on not cooperating with Jennifer, as the killer insisted on no police involvement, under threat of killing more people. Jennifer declares her resignation, saying that as she is no longer officially involved, she no longer counts. However, Kevin ignores her.
Kevin finds another threat, this time to his Aunt Balinda. He rushes to try to save her. He finds Balinda tied up, and the Riddle Killer introduces himself as Slater (Bill Moseley
). Sam finds a note by R.K. and is startled to see he has the same handwriting as Kevin. In a phone conversation, Jennifer and Sam talk about it, and how there was only one pair of footprints in the warehouse, and how Sam had never actually seen R.K. They realize that all the riddles were about opposites, like nightfall and daybreak, and R.K. might actually be essentially Kevin's "evil half."
After finding where Kevin went, Sam rushes to Balinda's house, and finds that the Riddle Killer, Slater, is real after all when she looks under the door and sees two pairs of shoes. Slater explains that he will have Kevin kill Balinda, then leave him to take the blame, as everyone will believe Kevin is the Riddle Killer. Jennifer arrives to find Kevin pointing a gun at himself. As it turns out, Slater and Sam are both figments of Kevin's imagination. Kevin had been traumatized by the treatment by Balinda, had imagined his friend Samantha and the boy with whom he had fought, and had subconsciously imitated the real Riddle Killer. Jennifer convinces Kevin of this, and his visions of Slater and Sam vanish.
Kevin had said that the real Riddle Killer was right in front of their eyes, and Jennifer discovers while examining his wall of clippings that the hot dog vendor who had supposedly been given a book by the killer to give to her is at the front of the crowd in a photo, holding a camera. When captured, he confesses that he hates copycats and had meant to kill Kevin for copying him.
Kevin is sent to an institution, and Jennifer visits him there.
gave the film a "rotten" 6% cumulative score. The film also has a noticeable resemblance to the plot of a movie script created by the character Donald Kaufmann in the movie Adaptation.
Thr3e
Thr3e is a 2003 suspense novel written by author Ted Dekker.-Plot:Kevin Parson, a 28 year old seminary student, has his life turned upside-down when a killer named Richard Slater decides to stalk him. If he can "confess his sin", Slater will stop killing...
by Ted Dekker
Ted Dekker
Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling Christian author best known for mystery and thriller novels, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans. Early in his career he wrote a number of books that would best be categorized as Religious thrillers...
.
Synopsis
Jennifer Peters (Justine WaddellJustine Waddell
Justine Waddell is a South African born, British actress. Her roles include playing Estella in the 1999 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and her dual role in 2006 feature film The Fall...
) attempts to save her brother Roy, who has been abducted by a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. The murderer is known as the Riddle Killer, or R.K., because of how he ties in riddle
Riddle
A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and...
s with his murders. Jennifer has recently written a book about the nature of serial killers, to which R.K. has taken offence. Jennifer follows R.K.'s clues and finds Roy, but fails to save him as the car in which he is trapped explodes.
Kevin Parson (Marc Blucas
Marc Blucas
Marcus Paul "Marc" Blucas is an American actor, known for playing Riley Finn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
) is a seminary theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
student. Kevin has recently completed the third draft of his thesis about the nature of good and evil. One day, he receives a phone call from R.K., demanding that he confess some unspecified sin, or his car will explode. He also tells Kevin a riddle: "What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?" (The answer is night and day.) Puzzled at what sin he means and the riddle, Kevin quickly escapes from the car before the explosion. He informs the police, among them Jennifer, but leaves out the part about the sin the killer demanded he confess, believing that the sin is what he did some time ago.
Back at his home, he meets up with his friend since childhood, Samantha Sheer (Laura Jordan
Laura Jordan (actress)
Laura Jordan is an Canadian actress. She played Kayla in Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jordan lived in France for three years where she studied French at the University of Paris...
). They decide to try to figure out the mystery of the Riddle Killer, who continues to target him, and who appears to be somehow able to monitor Kevin in his own home. Kevin receives a threat against his childhood dog, and goes to the house of his Aunt Balinda (Priscilla Barnes), who abused him when he was a child. He fails to save his dog from a bomb. Kevin and Sam also find that his home has been broken into, and the papers of his thesis scattered around. They find a clue left by R.K. that a bus would be destroyed, and luckily manage to get everyone off in time.
Sam and Kevin theorize who might have a grudge against him. Kevin remembers a boy from when they were children who tried to kill him. In self-defense, Kevin had locked him in a warehouse and left him to die. They conclude that he escaped, and is now R.K. Kevin confesses leaving him in the warehouse on television and apologizes, hoping to satisfy him and that he would now be left alone. However, R.K. insists that it is not sufficient and does not relent.
Jennifer tries to research who the boy might have been, but she finds nothing. She also visits Kevin's Aunt Balinda, and finds that she has been keeping her husband and son Bobby in the dark about the entire world outside their home, and had done so to Kevin as well. R.K. leaves a bomb in another warehouse and lures Kevin and Sam in to try to stop it. He locks Sam in a room while her back is turned, and Kevin gets her out, but they do not have time to stop the bomb. Jennifer and the police arrive and investigate. Sam leaves, and Kevin insists on not cooperating with Jennifer, as the killer insisted on no police involvement, under threat of killing more people. Jennifer declares her resignation, saying that as she is no longer officially involved, she no longer counts. However, Kevin ignores her.
Kevin finds another threat, this time to his Aunt Balinda. He rushes to try to save her. He finds Balinda tied up, and the Riddle Killer introduces himself as Slater (Bill Moseley
Bill Moseley
William "Bill" Moseley is an American film actor and musician who has starred in a number of cult classic horror films, including House of 1000 Corpses, Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Rejects. His first big role was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as Chop Top...
). Sam finds a note by R.K. and is startled to see he has the same handwriting as Kevin. In a phone conversation, Jennifer and Sam talk about it, and how there was only one pair of footprints in the warehouse, and how Sam had never actually seen R.K. They realize that all the riddles were about opposites, like nightfall and daybreak, and R.K. might actually be essentially Kevin's "evil half."
After finding where Kevin went, Sam rushes to Balinda's house, and finds that the Riddle Killer, Slater, is real after all when she looks under the door and sees two pairs of shoes. Slater explains that he will have Kevin kill Balinda, then leave him to take the blame, as everyone will believe Kevin is the Riddle Killer. Jennifer arrives to find Kevin pointing a gun at himself. As it turns out, Slater and Sam are both figments of Kevin's imagination. Kevin had been traumatized by the treatment by Balinda, had imagined his friend Samantha and the boy with whom he had fought, and had subconsciously imitated the real Riddle Killer. Jennifer convinces Kevin of this, and his visions of Slater and Sam vanish.
Kevin had said that the real Riddle Killer was right in front of their eyes, and Jennifer discovers while examining his wall of clippings that the hot dog vendor who had supposedly been given a book by the killer to give to her is at the front of the crowd in a photo, holding a camera. When captured, he confesses that he hates copycats and had meant to kill Kevin for copying him.
Kevin is sent to an institution, and Jennifer visits him there.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Marc Blucas Marc Blucas Marcus Paul "Marc" Blucas is an American actor, known for playing Riley Finn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:... |
Kevin Parson |
| Justine Waddell Justine Waddell Justine Waddell is a South African born, British actress. Her roles include playing Estella in the 1999 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and her dual role in 2006 feature film The Fall... |
Jennifer Peters |
| Laura Jordan Laura Jordan (actress) Laura Jordan is an Canadian actress. She played Kayla in Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Jordan lived in France for three years where she studied French at the University of Paris... |
Samantha Sheer |
| Bill Moseley Bill Moseley William "Bill" Moseley is an American film actor and musician who has starred in a number of cult classic horror films, including House of 1000 Corpses, Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Rejects. His first big role was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as Chop Top... |
Richard Slater |
| Priscilla Barnes | Belinda Parson |
| Max Ryan | Paul Milton |
| Tom Bower Tom Bower (actor) Tom Bower is an American actor who has appeared in a wide variety of television and film roles from 1973 to present. He played physician-husband Curt on The Waltons. He has held a number of prominent supporting roles including Dan Miller in the 2000 film Pollock and the gas station attendant in... |
Eugene Parson |
| Jeffrey Lee Hollis | Bob Parson |
| Alanna Bale | young Samantha |
Critical reception
The film received poor reviews from most film critics in the days leading up to and after its January release. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a "rotten" 6% cumulative score. The film also has a noticeable resemblance to the plot of a movie script created by the character Donald Kaufmann in the movie Adaptation.