Movie: Chain Letter
Production Year: 2010
Tubi Provided Summary: A group of high schoolers being hunted for refusing to forward a deadly chain letter must figure out how to solve its riddle before it’s too late.
Film Can Be Accessed At: https://tubitv.com/movies/496029/chain-letter?start=true
Does This Movie Pass The Bechdel Test: No
Character Analysis:
- Jessie: Main character, studious, dresses highly feminine and is sought after sexually by several characters
- Johnny: Athlete, values his strength, self-conscious of his muscle mass, highly masculine
- Rachel: Ditzy girly-girl, highly social and popular, feminine
- Neil: Standard geek, not very popular, goofy, masculine and feminine traits
- Dante: “Woke” hippie character, likes Jessie, intelligent, masculine
- Kevin: Popular guy, jock, very masculine
- Detective Jim Crenshaw: Intelligent, curious, masculine
- Michael: Token non-white character, masculine
- Professor/Chain Man: Antagonist, mysterious, predator to Jessie
Death Analysis
- Johnny: First to die, extended death scene, arms dislocated from their sockets, Achilles tendons severed, and face ripped apart with chains, killed by Professor/Chain Man
- Dante: Second to die, quick death scene, baited and body severed a dropping car engine, killed by Professor/Chain Man
- Rachel: Third to die, extended death scene, whipped with chains, thrown into a mirror, and head sliced open with a toilet lid, killed by Professor/Chain Man
- Neil: Fourth to die, moderate death scene, dragged through the roof with chains and sickles, killed by Professor/Chain Man
- Kevin: Moderate death scene, hung from the ceiling in a large ball of chains and burned alive, killed by Professor/Chain Man
- Jessie: extended death scene (shown on camera twice), head wrapped in duct tape, chained to her parents’ two cars, ripped apart as her father drives away, killed by her parents
Survival Analysis
- Michael: Sees Jessie die and is traumatized but uninjured
- Professor/Chain Man: Survives to continue his death game
Ambiguous Endings
- Detective Jim Crenshaw: Shown strapped to a table with chains as the film cuts
Final Statistics:
Character Sex Ratio: 2 Females: 7 Males
Character Survivor Ratio: 0 Females: 2 Males (not including ambiguous characters)
Character Death Ratio: 100% of Females to 57.14% of Males (not including ambiguous characters)
Final Takeaways:
Chain Letter follows the formula of a gore-centric horror film. No attention is paid to developing character personalities, making them relatable or likable in any way, or making their deaths mean anything. An attempt was made to warn of the dangers of technology but falls flat as it is rarely developed in an effective way outside of on-screen blood.
This film did, however, deliver when it came to violence. All deaths are horrendous, overly gory, and offer little to the imagination. Despite this variety, there is little in the variety of cast and characters with almost all kills being white males and the occasional defenseless and nearly naked white female.
Characters were typically masculine and those that showed any femininity in their character were effectively killed off during the film. This plus a lack of characters with feminine qualities led to an alarmingly masculine makeup. Because of its lack of diversity, failing the Bechdel Test, and erasure of femininity in the film as seen by the Sex Role perspective, Chain Letter makes for a letdown in the horror genre.
Shared by: Ariana Nichols
Image Credit: IMDb