39: A Film by Carroll McKane (NR)

synopsis

Carroll McKane is a man obsessed with new media. This obsession began as a way to document another of his obsessions, "changing things". For the past ten years, in front of his DVcams, this serial killer has "changed" 36 human beings into "debris." Carroll has recently reached a new plateau in his life, one that is common to the pathology of most serial murderers, the "monster within" has to become his ultimate victim. But, McKane is much too egocentric to either purposely make mistakes or face the possibility of becoming an unidentified, nameless and faceless footnote in criminal history. By using his self-professed skills as a filmmaker, he is making an autobiographical film to tell the world about his crimes and document his demise. He has converted his horrific killing room and crematorium into a makeshift studio complete with lighting and numerous surveillance cameras. Here he records the murders of two more innocent victims and the torture of a prominent forensic psychiatrist he has kidnapped. Carroll's goal is to make the doctor his biographer as well as force him to be the killer of his final victim: number 39.