''Three'' (sometimes stylized ''Thr3e'') is a 2007
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
horror thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
adaptation of the
novel of the same name by
Ted Dekker
Ted Dekker (born October 24, 1962) is an American author of Christian fiction, Christian Mystery fiction, mystery, Thriller (genre), thriller, and fantasy novels including ''Thr3e'', ''Obsessed (novel), Obsessed'', and the ''Circle Series''.
B ...
. Directed by
Robby Henson
Robby Henson is an American director and screenwriter.
Biography
Robby Henson began his directing career at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Henson is now a skilled film and documentary maker. He writes and directs all his films, ...
and written by
Alan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy is an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film, television, comic books, and video games. He is best known for his collaborations with Todd McFarlane on the ''Spawn'' franchise, and for penning horror films such as ...
, it stars
Marc Blucas
Marcus Paul Blucas (born January 11, 1972) is an American actor. Prior to his acting career, he played college basketball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He had his first starring role as soldier and love interest Riley Finn on the WB super ...
,
Justine Waddell
Justine Waddell (born 4 November 1975) is a South African-British former actress. She played roles in the 2006 film '' The Fall'' and 2005 film ''Chaos'' as well as Tess in the 1998 LWT adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and Estella ...
,
Max Ryan
Max Ryan (born 2 January 1967 in the North of England) is a British actor and former motocross racer. After a near-death experience in motocross he eventually turned to acting. After some lesser supporting roles in famous British soap operas and a ...
, and
Bill Moseley
William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...
. It was shot on location in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
and
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...
. The film grossed $1.4 million and has a 5% approval rating at
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, which called it a "thrill-free thriller" in its critical consensus.
Plot
Jennifer Peters (
Justine Waddell
Justine Waddell (born 4 November 1975) is a South African-British former actress. She played roles in the 2006 film '' The Fall'' and 2005 film ''Chaos'' as well as Tess in the 1998 LWT adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and Estella ...
) attempts to save her brother Roy, who has been abducted by a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
known as the Riddle Killer – or R.K. – due to his use of riddles in the murders he commits. Jennifer has recently written a book about the nature of serial killers, to which R.K. has taken offense. 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
Marcus Paul Blucas (born January 11, 1972) is an American actor. Prior to his acting career, he played college basketball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He had his first starring role as soldier and love interest Riley Finn on the WB super ...
) is a seminary
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
student who 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. (
Bill Moseley
William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...
), ordering him to confess some unspecified sin or his car will explode. He also asks Kevin a riddle: "What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?" Puzzled about the sin and the riddle, Kevin quickly escapes from the car before it explodes. He informs the police, among them Jennifer, but leaves out the part about the sin, believing it's something he did some time ago.
He receives a threat against his childhood dog and goes to the house of his Aunt Balinda (
Priscilla Barnes
Priscilla Anne Barnes (born December 7, 1952) is an American actress.["Priscilla Barnes"](_blank)
AllMovie.com; retr ...
), but fails to save his dog from a bomb. Back home again, he meets his friend since childhood, Samantha Sheer (
Laura Jordan) and they decide to try to figure out the mystery of the Riddle Killer who continues to target him and seems to be able to monitor Kevin in his own home. Sam solves the first riddle; the answer is night and day. She is working as an insurance detective and takes to her laboratory the book in which the killer had hidden a mobile phone.
Another threat comes from the Riddle Killer: A bomb is attached to Kevin's fellow student Henry and a message on Henry's forehead points to , a Bible text about death as the wages of sin. The police manage to get the bomb off Henry's body. Kevin now remembers a boy who had always watched him and Sam during their childhood. In self-defense, Kevin had locked him in a warehouse and left him to die. He thinks that the boy escaped, and is now R.K.
Later, Kevin finds the papers of his thesis scattered around his room. He finds a TV in his refrigerator which shows R.K. with another riddle: what takes you away but doesn't go anywhere? Kevin confesses leaving the boy in the warehouse and apologizes, hoping to satisfy him so he'll leave him alone. But R.K. does not relent. Kevin and Sam, whose father was a police officer, find out that a bus on 3rd Avenue is in danger and manage to get all the passengers off safely before a bomb explodes.
Jennifer 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 the same to Kevin. She also finds a bloody jacket in the warehouse. Meanwhile, Sam talks with Kevin in a hotel. R.K. sends a recorded message to the hotel room which points to an empty building and the number 33369—the warehouse. Before Jennifer gets to the hotel, Kevin and Sam are at the warehouse, where Sam sees a wall full of enigmatic words and is trapped by the killer. When Kevin enters the building, he finds a bomb. He is unable to stop it but can escape with Sam. 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 or he'd kill 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 about a house on fire at midnight and realizes that Aunt Balinda is in danger. As he rushes to try to save her, he remembers that she abused him when he was a child. Sam finds a note from R.K. and is startled to realize that he has the same handwriting as Kevin. She calls Jennifer, who tells her that there was only one pair of footprints in the warehouse. Sam is now sure that she never actually saw R.K. The women also realize that all the riddles were about opposites, like nightfall and daybreak, and conclude that R.K. might actually be Kevin's "
evil half."
Kevin finds Balinda tied up, and the Riddle Killer introduces himself as Slater (
Bill Moseley
William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...
). 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. It turns out that both Slater and Sam are figments of Kevin's imagination; traumatized by Aunt Balinda's abuse, Kevin 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
''Copycats'' is a children's game show which aired on CBBC and was presented by double act Sam & Mark (Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes). It involved two teams of friends and family, each of six contestants, battling against each other in a series of ...
and had meant to kill Kevin for copying him.
Kevin is sent to an institution and Jennifer visits him there.
Cast
Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, a
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that 5% of 37 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 3.3/10. The sites' consensus reads: "''Thr3e'' is a shoddily made, thrill-free thriller that isn't half as good as the several movies it borrows from (''
Adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
'', ''
Saw
A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...
'', ''
Se7en'')." The film also has a noticeable resemblance to the plot of a film script created by the character Donald Kaufman in the film ''
Adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
''.
Worst January Film Releases of Recent Memory"'' By Jason Bailey, ''The Atlantic'', Jan 4, 2012.
/ref>
Rotten Tomatoes ranked ''Thr3e'' #84 on its "The 100 Worst Reviewed Films of All Time: 2000–2009" list.
Box office
''Three'' opened in just over 450 theaters and drew in US$700,000 its first weekend. The film had officially left the box office 17 days after it opened and grossed just over a million dollars.[Thr3e (2007)]
at boxofficemojo.com
References
External links
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{{Robby Henson
2006 films
2006 horror films
2006 crime thriller films
2000s mystery films
2006 psychological thriller films
American horror thriller films
Films based on American novels
Films about evangelicalism
American serial killer films
Films shot in Poland
Films directed by Robby Henson
Films produced by Ralph Winter
2000s English-language films
2000s American films