Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)

by JG Hanks
Staff

“So this car is purgatory.” – Rikki Gagne as Junkie

Often times when I watch a film, I find myself looking beyond what is obvious on screen and imagining a hidden meaning that lies within (or beyond) the confines of the performance. At face value, Jen and Sylvia Soska’s Dead Hooker in a Trunk is simply an homage to grindhouse filmmaking and an extension of the types of films they love. Beginning as an underfunded film school project and fueled by their unhappiness with the acting roles they were being offered, the Twisted Twins expanded on their original faux trailer idea and an underground cult film was born.

The film’s synopsis is pretty straight forward:

Set in beautiful Vancouver, four friends set out on an everyday errand and end up in a fight for their lives when they discover the body of a dead hooker left in their trunk. Lead by a sexy, impulsive Badass, her distant Geek twin sister, their bible thumping, Jesus loving Goody Two Shoes friend, and a chaotic, rock star Junkie pal, the group has to put aside their differences to dispose of the body before they’re next.

No real surprises there right? A simple, honest, give-them-what-they-want fun time. Leave it up to me to look past that basic premise and delve deeper into the story and what I think is going on to find a much more layered, hidden meaning. For those who haven’t seen the film, here’s your SPOILER ALERT.

For me, the true meaning of the film starts when Badass (Sylvia Soska) catches her arm on fire at the church while picking up Goody Two Shoes (CJ Wallis) for her sister Geek (Jen Soska). The preacher presiding over the church quickly puts out the fire and everyone in the Badass party (Badass, Geek, Junkie, Goody Two Shoes) leaves after a bit of sexual tension between said preacher and Badass. Now here is where things start getting interesting. Everyone at this point pretty much dislikes each other. Geek and Goody Two Shoes are friends but nothing else; Goody Two Shoes thinks Badass and Junkie (Rikki Gagne) are complete sinners; Geek resents Junkie and Badass for their lifestyles and Junkie and Badass think Goody Two Shoes and Geek are lame. This is a very important dynamic for the meaning I am about to explore.

After leaving the church and the incident with the fire, the dialogue veers towards What If? scenarios and Junkie begins her explanation of what could be. Her theory is that the car they are riding in is purgatory and Goody Two Shoes and Geek haven’t experienced enough in life for the man upstairs to pass judgment on them. Well next thing you know, they find the title character of the film in the trunk and all logic hits the fan.

But the catch is, in my analysis, they are all already in purgatory as Junkie surmised. The rest of the film is their journey towards redemption with the dead hooker as an allegory for life. The bad news is, two of them haven’t experienced quite enough and are just awaiting judgment, and two of them are complete and total sinners.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, purgatory “is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.” The Encyclopedia also says, “Purgatory is a cleansing that involves painful temporal punishment, associated with the idea of fire such as is associated with the idea of the eternal punishment of hell.” So the fire engulfed the church, killing Badass, Geek, Junkie and Goody Two Shoes, trapping them all in purgatory. Sounds a bit farfetched doesn’t it? Read on…

Because of their sins, Badass and Junkie are doomed to purgatory on their way to hell. The good news is, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “1861 – Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God. 1862 – One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent. 1863 – Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.” Now I’m no religious scholar, in fact, I’m not even close, but that sounds to me like repenting is the only answer for Junkie and Badass. For the sake of argument, let’s move on.

Despite the severity of the situation, the group decides to hole up in a motel and sort through what to do next. “Next”, in no particular order, includes letting the motel owner sleep with the dead hooker for the remainder of the room charges, Badass seducing two of the dumbest cops known to man to escape, going to Junkie’s score spot to pick up her “stuff” (and have her partially lose an arm in the process by way of chainsaw), Badass fighting off a gang of Asian thugs and bloody herself up in the process while saving Junkie, Geek getting her right eye knocked completely out while ratting out her sister to the cops, Goody Two Shoes losing all decorum and puking numerous times but still remaining the most sane of the bunch and Junkie getting hit by a semi and having her arm completely ripped off; all while they figure out who killed the hooker and try to remain alive.

Because purgatory is somewhat of a dream state, we can resort to dream analysis for answers. According to said analysis, “To dream that you have one eye indicates your refusal to accept another viewpoint. It suggests that you are one-sided in your ways of thinking.” If you want to go back to religious reference, Matthew 5:29 of the New International Version of the Bible says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Geek has lost her right eye because she can only see her sister and Junkie in one light. This one-sided way of thinking is preventing her from having a solid relationship with Badass, as well as Junkie, thus preventing her ascent away from the confines of purgatory.

Dream analysis also states, “To dream that your arm has been injured, signifies your inability to care for yourself or your helplessness in reaching out to others. You may have been feeling limited and restricted in terms of your freedom or activities. The right arm signifies your outgoing nature and is associated with masculine energy, while your left arm signifies your supportive or nurturing nature and is associated with feminine qualities. Losing either arm may suggest that you are failing to recognize its respective characteristics.” Matthew 5:30 of the New International Version of the Bible is again suggestive, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” With Junkie losing her right arm, she has lost her ability to take care of herself, but more importantly, shows her ineptitude in reaching out to others. Without being able to show compassion and trying to establish a relationship with the others in her group, Junkie is also doomed. It seems that her drug addiction may, to no one’s surprise, have an underlying cause.

Goody Two Shoes placement in purgatory is much more psychological. At the beginning of the film, he is seen as an unwavering, God fearing Christian. After the events involving the hooker, he becomes much more agitated and acts in a way unbecoming of his faith. In fact, one could argue he actually loses his faith altogether. Through a chance meeting in a taxi (with Carlos Gallardo of El Mariachi fame no less), his faith seems to be restored and his path out of purgatory seems more secure by the end of the film. He also asserts himself in ways he has never done before and lets Geek know his true feelings for her. Throughout the film, he maintains the sanest voice of reason to the others in the group, even winning over Badass with his logic. His journey is less complicated, but no less important, than any of the others in the group.

And finally we have Badass. Plagued by flashbacks of her mother being killed when she was a child, her path to righteousness is the trickiest. Forced to become ruthless and unemotional due to childhood trauma has left her with a warped sense of morality. It seems that if the action is in the best interest of her or the group, but mostly her, she finds no fault in it. Her character is the only one of the group that shows any significant skin and through dream analysis we can find reasoning for these actions, “To see your own stomach in your dream refers to the beginning of new changes in your life. The dream may highlight the difficulties you have accepting these changes. It is also indicative of how you can no longer tolerate or put up with a particular situation, relationship, or person, as in being able to ‘stomach’ something. Alternatively, the stomach is often seen as the center of emotions. Thus the dream may be about how you process or handle your emotions.” Badass has always had to be strong and because of the strain it has put on the relationship with her sister, she may be ready to make a change. She is the catalyst for the entire descent into purgatory and she is also the last face we see on screen. Her journey is paramount for the entire progression of the film. The fractured relationship she has with her sister is forged stronger through the trials they face throughout the film together and even death cannot keep them apart. At the tumultuous climax, when the sisters are reunited, she says to her befuddled and confused sibling, “Like dying could kill me.” Their relationship is restored. After a lifetime of trauma which tore them apart, trauma brings them closer together once again.

As the hooker is finally buried at sea, signifying closure for the group (and maybe hinting that the fire from the beginning of the journey is now put out), we can see a significant change in everyone. They care about each other in a way they never had before. Their individual character flaws and personal discrepancies have all been confronted, if not overcome. The sinners have shown a softer side and the naive, inexperienced twosome have had more than enough excitement for a while. When Badass suggests they take a vacation after their troubling adventure, they all express their final wishes and then Badass knowingly looks at the camera. She has accepted her fate and awaits her judgment. With each person embarking on a journey that has lead them to great highs and lows, a balance has been set in their lives. As the credits roll, a bright, white light hits the screen and our protagonists head to their next destination, wherever that may be.

Not exactly a tale of carefree mayhem if you think of it this way, or is it?

Not Rated, My guess would be Rated R for violence and language at the least.