Still Life - Who's the Killer? - SPOILERS

Ok, guys!

Need your opinions:

Who do think is the Killer?

They left it open (must have a sequel in the works).
I think it might be Todd.

My money is on Richard. His resemblance to Mark Ackerman was uncanny (could Richard possibly be a descendent of Mark's?) and he was obsessed with Mark's painting. Also, he wasn't around at the end when Victoria returned to the Art Gallery, and the killer had a chance to murder Victoria on a couple of occasions, but didn't.

Susan

My money is on Richard also!

I wrote a huge dissertation on this just now and hit the wrong button and the whole thing disappeared. I'm too depressed to re=create it. Maybe later. But I will say, Maybe Richard, maybe not.

WW

Ive done that before it is very frustrating!

Another theory could be that its Pat. Maybe he uncovered Gus' notes and, being secretly deranged (I know, I'm reaching here), he set out to recreate the murders.

And also, as far as I recall, he wasn't around when Victoria goes back to the house before heading to the gallery at the end.

However, the main flaw with this theory is that surely Victoria would notice her father wasn't around when she returns home for a soak and a vodka.

Okay, I'll try again. I have NO IDEA what I did last time...

Why I think it's Richard:

1) He's (almost) the only one not accounted for during the times the killer was active.

2) I don't like him. He's a jerk and he patronises Victoria.

3) He obviously idolises Ackerman and sees him as a heroic victim, which is not uncommon to people who copy criminals.

4) He was supposed to be watching Mia. How'd she get away from him? And where was he when Vic went back to the gallery?

5) He does, in fact, bear a surpising resemblance to Ackerman. In fact, when I first saw Ackerman, I thought, "He looks just like the guy Vic was in the gallery with in the beginning."

Why I think it's not Richard:

1) How'd he get access to the morgue? For that matter, how did the killer get access to the morgue?

2) His rapturous soliliquy about the paintings could just be wrong-headed Academic BS (a not uncommon phenomenon among art critics).

3) In the ending movie, Mia's face was not covered. Vic theorizes that several of the victims had their faces covered because the killer knew them and wanted to depersonalise them. Richard obviously knew Mia; therefore, either Richard was not the killer or Vic's theory about this was incorrect.

4) I'd think if Richard suddenly disappeared after all these events, Vic would notice.

5) if he WAS the killer and, say, escorted Mia back to her apartment, when did he change into the mask and cloak? I can't really imagine Mia swallowing some line like, "here, let me put on this kinky costume which I just happen to have along with me."

According to the game developer/writer, a close examination of the painting "The Student" will reveal more clues. I just looked at it and saw nothing except that the student wore glasses and had a mustache. The only person with glasses that I remember is Claire, who was in the morgue when Vic went off chasing the killer (and who for obvious reasons would not have a mustache). PAt might have worn glasses--I don't remember. But I really balk at the idea that he was the killer.

The Red Lantern is obviously some kind of shrine to Ackerman: his paintings, though unsigned, are everywhere. The mask and a replica of the murder weapon are on the walls. I'm remembering the occult book that Gus found in the prague studio and the events it described bear a striking resemblance to stuff Mia said about what went on in the secret chamber (people in masks and robes, etc.) I wondered if there was not ONE killer, but a society that used the murders as a kind of initiation. However, (1) it seems unlikely that a large number of people would be undergoing initiation of that sort all within weeks of one another and (2) if it was an initiation, it would be fairly codified and the MO wouldn't change as this killer's did. Still, I wonder if there was some weird S/M role playing going on and one of the people involved just went over the top: started identifying with Ackerman and acting out the fantasy in real life. I think we don't know enough about that club or the Queen of Secrets.

At this point, I'm not sure I can go with the idea that the killer is someone we've met. If ANY of those people had vanished, Vic would notice. The alternative is that the killer fished himself out of the river and went on with his normal life (without the killing part). Now, from a dramatic standpoint I don't think the killer is actually dead. But unless he was wearing a wetsuit under the rest of his garb, he'd probably be suffering from immersion in a icy river for a while, not to mention a gunshot wound. I think both of these would be hard to hide.

Long and short: I still think Richard is the likeliest of the people in the game. But it could be someone else entirely. Richard is too young to be the perp in the LA murders in any case. This points to an ongoing legacy or someone much older.

That's all I have to say for now.

WW

Bravo, WW!

Your analysis is well thought out and explained. Richard is the "obvious" choice of characters we've met...which is precisely why I don't think it's him. (Your point about Vic noting his absence is well taken.)

But could Richard be an accomplice of the killer? That could explain Mia falling into the hands of the killer. Hmmmm... Or Richard knowing the killer...another artist perhaps whom we've yet to meet.

Lots of questions remain...which could be the fault of either swiss cheese plot development...or a very clever twist.

I'm waxing inane here. Just wanted to let you know your treatise has received very serious consideration!

Well done!

JK

Hey, thanks!

I think twists and things yet to be revealed in LA and the planned-yet-shelved-due-to-legal-issues sequel are more likely the issue than bad plot development. The game held together plot-wise if you take those things into account.

Though many think it unlikely, I'm rooting for the issues to get resolved and the sequel to happen. According to Frank Nicodem from U-Hints, this isn't outside the realm of possibility.

WW

Yourwelcome W Squared!

I agree that the plot held together very well, which lends the explanation more toward an interesting twist versus a rushed ending.

All I can say is that there had better be the sequel. It would be ashame not to finish this series.

For now I'll remain optimistic.

JK

Well said wysewomon! I find these comments interesting. I'm not nearly that cerebral. I'm always the first to consult the WT.

I will say this. I did not care for or trust Richard much from the time I met him. He may or may not be the killer but he's either deranged or delusional or both. You could certainly tell from (his dissertation) on (poor) Mark's paintings.

Like everyone else I don't believe we've seen the last of the killer. Like Jason and Freddie, he or she will probably be back.

fwiw. My 2cents.

Since I asked the question; here's my thoughts on it:

1) Richard is the most likely of suspects because he knows the most about Victoria and her family history, but..........He's too obvious.

2) Todd is also likely because of his professional relationship with Victoria and easy access to everything McPherson (Gus, Victoria, & Pat). His job also gives him all kinds of avenues for gathering of information and with his membership to the Red Lantern's Secret Rooms makes him even more a suspect. He's also able to travel (Chicago and/or L.A.)

3) Maybe a conspiracy between Richard and Todd.


They have to make a sequel; nothing else will do.

Todd? Really? I thought he couldn't get into the Red Lantern or am I thinking of the wrong person?

Hi, gymcandy1!

Todd is Victoria's boss.

Susan

Todd? mmmm, did not even think of him, just figured he was a Royal Pain In The Rear! just because he could be, him being the boss and all.....interesting theories you all have, makes me think and think The ending, if a sequel was planned but is shelved maybe forever, reminds me of the ending of Jack The Ripper both its unsolved ending in the original story and in the PC game too. It may never get solved. Sorry to see this series end, hope it "comes back to life".
Love, Betty Lou

Oh he was home? Ah well, there goes that theory!

I don't think I was paying that much attention to the end scene, I was just annoyed at yet another game without a proper ending.

Thank you, WW, for a very cogent analysis. I wish I could put my thoughts together as well.

Well... on the other hand, with the line of work Mia was/is (? I don't think it was clear whether she survived or not, tho' I hope she did) in, I suppose Richard could have got her with the "let's indulge in fetishist nooky while my girlfriend cracks this case" line. And since Mia worked at the Red Lantern it's likely she has seen that costume in just that kind of circumstance before.

Ah, the joys of a liberal arts education: it allows you to argue both sides of any proposition with equal zest!

BTW, you never did SEE Pat after a certain point. Snores can be taped. Not that I think he did it, but hearing snoring isn't a great alibi.

WW

TY Susie! I loaned that game to someone and couldn't check it out. I thought Todd was Victoria's partner. I thought Todd was too antagonistic for no reason. Too stereotipical. What an arsss!

I have the worst memory for names.

Hi, gymcandy1!

You're welcome! Miller (the one who kept throwing up) was Victoria's partner.

Susan

Unless you mean "partner" in the significant other sense. That was Richard. Todd was the boss in the bad suit.

WW

"The boss in the bad suit" I love that!

No I was talking about Miller. The work partner.
I knew he couldn't get into the Red Lantern. I believe Todd is too obvious though to be the bad guy. He's just a dork. The one you love to hate.

I just read a forum on the microids site that talked about the possible killer, and this person had a really good point: if Victoria's father or her boyfriend had been shot or went missing, she'd have known it. So it looks to me like the boyfriend's off the hook. I never suspected her father.

What about David Miller? The StillLife website lists his profile as:

Generally, don't serial killers feel they are smarter than the law and often times play games with them? I got suspicious of him at the start of the game when he got sick at the first crime scene. It seemed like overkill to me - like he was trying to make himself seem unable to even look at such things.

He's also the only person encountered in the game who looked thin enough to fit in that suit...

Maybe I'm way off. I deleted the game from my hard drive (Playing Midnight Nowhere now), so I wasn't able to go back and play from the begining to see if it truly could have been him.

EDIT - ...AND when you click on the characters link on the StillLife site, only Victoria, Gustavus, and David are listed...he must have some importance...

I like your thinking Ivinia. It's something to think about.

Question: Was he or was he not upstairs on the phone when she chased the killer out of the lab?

I cant remember now. I thought he was though.

_________________________________________________

No I don't believe he was come to think of it.
Hmmmm.

It also kind of covers the fact that the killer had access to the morgue.

Hmmm, interesting theory, Ivinia! I never thought of Miller!

Melanie

Wouldn't she know if Miller had been shot or dissapeared too?
Did the game go that far?

Yup, Gymcandy, she would, which would mean that there isn't anyone that we can name that's guilty. Victoria would know if anyone had been shot or was missing. Looks like we'll have to wait for the sequel. There's an unknown entity out there.

The killer was shot. Was there blood? I don't remember if I saw any blood spatter. If not, they could have worn a bullet-proof vest...something a police officer would have easy access to. The impact would have knocked them back into the water.

Curses! Why did I uninstall it??? I could reinstall it, but maybe one of you can save me the trouble.

True, but what I mean is that the game ended after the villan fell in the river, soooo.... we dont really know if any of these other characters dissapeared after that point.

Still could be Richard or Miller to my way of thinking.

I suppose, at the end of the day, as long as whoever is revealed as the killer has a plausible motive then I'm not too fussed about who it is. However, it for some reason Miller or even the beat cop - Tate - is the killer simply because you would never have suspecting them, then I would feel cheated.

Refresh my memory please...at one point when Gus was on one side of that 'canal' there was a man in a police uniform on the other side watching him, who was that? Or was he ever identified? And why was he watching Gus, was Gus a suspect at that point?Another question from me = if the killer Victoria is seeking is the same person as the killer Gus was looking for wouldn't he be awfully old and not move around so quickly/easily? The present day killer is tall, slim and moves very swiftly, must be very young (Victoria's age group) and very agile.
Love, Betty Lou

I don't believe he was identified. At another point during Gus' investigation there is a different person on the other side of the canal who seemed to have no significance in the story.

I don't believe that cop in the scenes with Gus had anything to do with the plot but who knows?

I think that the present day killer is a "copy cat" killer. Someone who strongly identifies with Mark, the artist, and runs a gallery himself, is Richard. Could that be the connection? Was Mark the original killer??

Agreeing with gymcandy, I am. The present-day killer is a copycat (a "pupil," either in the literal or figurative sense) of Mark Ackerman. It might be a single person or a group, or several acting in series; these crimes, or this type of crime, has been going on intermittently for 70 or more years now.

From stuff I've read I'm almost convinced the killer is NOT actually someone we've met so far. For one thing, before Microids ran out of money, there was supposed to be a couple whole other sections involving the '56 crimes in LA and Victoria's trip there. So there are whole other plot elements that need to be taken into account before this crime even begins to make sense.

Several other sites propose Miller and support the proposition quite well. But he WAS accounted for when Vic was chasing the killer. I remember thinking, "that guy's still having the same conversation?" And it was directly after that, I believe, that he came up w/Vaclav's name.

WW

I think the cop watching Mark Ackerman's place was there because Ackerman was suspected of (or the police chief knew he was responsible) the murders and they were keeping an eye on him. They probably wanted to see, also, who was going to see him. Maybe that made it easier to use Gus as the fall guy. He was seen going in and out of Ackerman's place.

Hopeing we find out I am.

Frustrating it is not knowing.

I also believe that it was Richard, for all the reasons you 've mentioned.

I have a question though:
At Mia's appartment (after she is kidnapped by the murderer) when the killer fights with Victoria, we can clearly see that she removes his mask, reveals his face (NOT viewable to us) and looks at him with awe - as if she recognizes him...

What do you think??

Some other people have mentioned this possibility and I'm certainly not ruling it out. But I didn't read it that way. For one thing, Victoria was pretty out of it, either from the hypo that got stuck in her as she bent over Mia or from the shock or blood loss or something. So it's not clear to me that she actually was able to discern anything. Also, you'd think if she DID see something, she wouldn't still be puzzling over who the killer was later.

Some people have also suggested that Vaclav recognised the killer when he stumbled into the carnage. I tend to agree with FOV that the look on his face was kind of more a mixture of shock at finding a tall, costumed person confronting him and the realisation that he was about to get his throat cut.

WW

Hi WW

I agree with you on all counts. If Vic had known who the killer was, I don't think she would have been so relaxed and calm in the hot tub.

BTW...Congrats on the wonderful review Lady K gave your book in Mixed Bag!

JK

Awww, shucks....

WW

Book? What book?



I know I shouldn't be reading this, as I haven't played the game, but I'm just curious:

(Out-of-left-field question) Is there any chance Gus is still alive and has turned to the dark side, so-to-speak?

I really, really doubt it! Personally, I think the kind of psychic visions Gus gets would prevent that sort of thing.

WW

Well, personally I think that the killings were not done by one person; even back in the past killings, ackerman may have just done the last one; and there's nothing to say they haven't happened before that either. It may be some sort of ritual for the club (whose origins may be older; i think there was some mention of the similarities of the killings to Jack the Ripper). I hope they make the next/continuation/sequel so we can find out

I think that one is out of left field, Becky.

I also think it's part of a cult that was going on for a long time, Marticus. I posted a long hypothesis on another thread, posing that theory.

I didn't think of the connection to Jack the Ripper since his murders seemed to be solitary, but.....

Melanie

The killer doesn't necessarily know Victoria has any relationship to anyone involved in the Prague killings. He's almost certainly a member of that club and could have had access to both Kolar's thesis and Todd Browning's security stuff when they were visiting the club. That might explain why he changed his MO - maybe he changed it after reading Kolar's thesis. Kolar certainly had no problem giving Victoria a copy of it. He was probably pretty proud of it and enjoyed showing it around. He may have had a copy with him that he took to the club. Even without his permission someone could have looked through his things while he was getting serviced.
Same with Todd. Someone could have looked through his things and found stuff related to security clearances while he was getting the business at the club.

It looks to me that this was only half a game similar to Syberia so we can't conclude yet on who is the killer.

1. Who is lady mystery that Mia never found out?

2. Killer accessed the morgue thanks to Todd's access card which means he knew Todd from Red Lantern.

3. Who founded Red Lantern in the first place and for what reasons? Mia said that they paid a lot of money and that members are rich folks which means that founder must be filthy rich.

4. Who collected all those pictures? Richard mentioned that will take lots of time to trace owners of those pictures.

5. We have no info on LA murders during '50s and that is why Victoria is going to LA.

6. Mark Ackerman was institutionalized but we don't know if he escaped or died.

7. We have no clues on Richard. What if he is related to Ackerman.

8. Todd is not a killer because someone in police station would have noticed his bullet wound and could check his alibi. Where he was at the time Victoria shot the killer?

9. Killer must have a good reason for doing all these killings. Victoria's father is therefore out of the question. It would have been easy for him just to slash Victoria's throat during her sleep.

Hi Pirate Hunter:

Do we KNOW that killer accessed morgue with Todd'security card, or is that a surmise? I don't remember getting that piece of information?

I'm pretty confident that the Ackerman Family is behind the Red Lantern, tho' the evidence is circumstancial.

Killer must have reason that seems good to him. That doesn't necessarily mean one a sane-thinking person would follow. The fact that the Killer didn't kill Victoria in her sleep at home doesn't prove anything. There were other times s/he could have killed Victoria and didn't. Victoria is his/her nemesis, a necessary part of the game. S/he wants to be better than Vic, not kill her.

That's what I think, anyway.

WW

Killer had a costume from Red Lantern and knew exact location of morgue and had changed access code and access card for it. Remember that memo and VODKA pass. Todd is the only one of all suspects that is a member of Red Lantern, has a security pass, knows where morgue is and had changed code.

Committing all those killings for no good reason at all is hard to believe. In my opinion there are no serial killers out there but politicians using sickos to committ all these crimes to let them pass various legislations or simply slander political opponents. Eliot Ness proved that man behind Cleveland serial killings in '30s was a doctor and brother of powerful Democrat politician. Eliot Ness was affiliated with Republicans and his task was to clear Celveland of organized crime that BTW heavily sponsored local Democrats. All those killings were supposed to make Ness and Republicans incompetent and force them out of Cleveland. These murders were covered in the game Black Dahlia but they were given supernatural dimension instead of real life politics. I also believe that real Jack Ripper was some doctor affiliated with political groups that wanted to bring down British royal family and not some sicko doing it for his own pleasure. Jack the Ripper case was present in newspapers widely and used to point out about prostitution that was at its highest peak during Victorian era and lead us to conclude that Victorianism was a hypocrisy and sham. Even if someone committs all those gruesome crimes there is still need for media attention. Without media talking about it we would never know anything about these killings. I can argue similar things for Ted Bundy and the rest of infamous serial killers.

Don't forget that the killer didn't kill victoria when he had the chance while she was hanginng odff the building. TAhat makes me believe that it's Richard.