Office Killer

May 10, 2006

My office needs one of these.

All kidding aside, every office has at least one. One person that is undeniably, certifiably insane. Batshit, Nutso, Loco, the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor. We’ve got a guy who hears voices, one of which is Jesus. We even have a guy who refers to himself in third person and that we think may show up with a gun and mow everyone down one day…but we don’t have anyone like Dorine Douglas.

Dorine Douglas seemed like a mousy little nobody…until the day she accidentally electrocutes a sleazy writer at her magazine. As lonely as she is, she decides to take the writer home with her so that she’ll have have someone to watch TV with. The next day, she’s still lonely, so manages to off her boss by exchanging her asthma inhaler with a butane cartridge. “The more, the merrier” in Dorine’s basement, as the bodies pile up and her cats get new toys to play with.

I’ve always liked Carol Kane…probably ever since the original version of When a Stranger Calls. She’s such a fucking nut – she’s made for indie films, especially horror. Carol Kane was born to play Dorine, with her high, tremulous voice and fuzzy, frumpy features. And what the fuck was up with her eyebrows? I swear, they were drawn on differently in every single scene. I’m going to have to assume that it was a stylistic choice to show how unhinged Dorine is? (I do NOT have an eyebrow obsession.)

I’m not sure how I feel about Jeanne Tripplehorn. She always picks these Blandy McBlanderson type roles. Plus, her hair really bugged me. That floppy Prince Valiant cut was not flattering at all. I didn’t buy her and Michael Imperioli as a couple either. They had no chemistry at all – but maybe that was intentional? Office romances aren’t know for their fire – they’re often relationships of convenience.

Molly Ringwald was excellent as the office bitch. She’s like an extension of Claire from The Breakfast Club, only a decade later. She’s the only one who’s on to crazy Dorine, yet no one believes her because she is such a fucking bitch. She’s lucky to get fired before Dorine can finish her off.

According to imdb, Ben Affleck had some deleted scenes. I wonder if he got killed too? One can only hope…and pray that these scenes some day get added to a special edition DVD.

The director, Cindy Sherman, is a famed photographic artist and it shows. Each scene is as meticulously composed as a single frame. Dramatic lighting adds to the tension. I’m wondering if the office scenes were lit by fluorescent lights, as the sickly yellow glow was reminiscent of all offices everywhere.

As I was watching the scene in the basement unfold, the movie May came to mind. Dorine was creating the work life she desired, whereas May was creating the lover she desired. Office Killer also reminded me a little bit of Killer Nerd. The biggest difference is that Killer Nerd was all about revenge – Dorine is not so much into revenge on an individual level. Although she definitely does kill those who have wronged her, she also kills girls scouts. GIRL SCOUTS! Their cookies are delicious – but are they worth killing for?