The Devil's Cinema (20 page)
Read The Devil's Cinema Online
Authors: Steve Lillebuen
T
HE NEXT EVENING
, T
WITCHELL
was cruising toward the freeway, slowing down on a yellow light, as he pondered the three-day film shoot. He had just left an east end steak house, where some of the crew had joined him for a
House of Cards
wrap party to celebrate the end of shooting. Over dinner, conversations had drifted into talk of follow-up projects, giving Twitchell
a handful of ideas on where his little film project could be taken next. Of course, he had also pitched Chris on investing in
Day Players
. And while a $35,000 investment would be nearly all of his money, Chris was giving the proposal some serious thought. Twitchell just had to give him some time.
Twitchell stopped for the red light and considered how much more he was capable of doing. While
House of Cards
was an accomplishment, he knew something was missing. He thought back to the film set, his ideas, his script, his character pulling a narrative forward. He tapped the steering wheel, deep in thought.
Above the glowing streetlights a thin blue line of stars appeared through a rift in the clouds as an evening chill plunged the city close to the freezing point. He flicked on the car heater and waited as it coughed out a warm dusting at his feet. The light flashed to green. By the time he parked and reached his front door, he was on to a new plan.
That evening, the third season of
Dexter
premiered on television. The episode depicted the first time Dexter slays an innocent man in an act of self-defence. He covers it up, but the incident had him pondering his long-held code to only kill bad people. From now on, Dexter wondered if the code had been too rigid, and whether his targets for murder could be broadened to include more categories.
Nearing midnight, Twitchell sat at his computer in his basement office, unable to sleep. His mind was a mess of jumbled thoughts. Jess and Chloe had gone to bed long ago. Twitchell logged on to his Dexter Morgan account on Facebook and discovered he had a new message from one of his followers. A woman named Renee Waring had “kidnapped” him. It was some silly game people could play on the site, forcing a response out of a targeted profile. He checked her account. She was a total stranger and lived in Ohio. She had long dark hair and sparkling green eyes. Twitchell was intrigued and sent her a Facebook message while still pretending to be Dexter. “I had to ignore your request,” he wrote, “because my only options were escape and ignore and if I were actually kidnapped by you, there's no way I would want to escape.”
He logged out after his subtle online flirt but found he still couldn't sleep. His mind was lurching forward, and then an idea struck him with such a powerful force that he was staggered by the very thought of it.
It had happened a few times before, but nothing like this. His Internal Creative Genius was rising within, giving him the confidence he needed to think through his plans. Twitchell viewed it as a “savant power,” a subconscious and random boost that helped drive his actions. “It's not something that I can manually control or manipulate,” he explained later. “It's like if you had a faucet and the dials didn't work. And it just ran water when it felt like it, but you gotta get in there with a pitcher whenever it runs water to get a hold of it.”
If there was a faucet, the water was now flowing uncontrollably. His mind could barely keep up. His heart was racing. He had an epiphany. At last, he was given the insight he had been seeking for so long.
This night would change everything.
Thinking about the film shoot, the conversation over dinner, everything he had been working toward over the past year, Twitchell had finally achieved some clarity of mind. He had a purpose, a new destiny. His next steps would impact the lives of countless others. But he wasn't thinking of them. Perhaps he never would.
Twitchell stared at the ceiling, realizing his maudlin suburban life was about to be blown apart. What he now saw in front of him was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It would be full of risk, but it would set him apart from everyone else, forever.
It would be his legacy. His claim to fame.
GOING PUBLIC:
Det. Mark Anstey announced the arrest of Mark Twitchell outside Edmonton's downtown police headquarters (above). Holding a photograph of the suspect's hockey mask, Anstey hoped the surviving victim would see it on the news and finally come forward. Detectives had already found plenty of evidence, like this Post-It note (right).
WEAPON:
Twitchell's “kill knife” was found in his car, with bloodstains on the handle and blade. It was purchased at a military surplus store.
THE FILM STUDIO:
As seen from the back door, Twitchell's rented garage appeared to be clean before police had a chance to examine it closely.
PROPS:
Items found in the garage had links to both Twitchell's
House of Cards
movie production and the attack on Gilles Tetreault, including a BB gun (left), handcuffs (below left), and a retractable stun gun baton (below).
THE KILL ROOM:
Twitchell bought an oil drum as a set piece, while his friends made this metal chair and six-legged table, not realizing their real purpose, to be revealed later.
TOOLS:
A hunter's game processing kit was found on a back shelf of the property. Bloodstains were found on every knife inside.
BEHIND THE LENS:
Twitchell took this self-portrait with camera gear at his former college during preparations for his
Star Wars
fan film. The photograph was published widely in the media and drew comparisons to a publicity shot for
Dexter
, with his strange expression, cold stare, and similar pose, though any similarity is coincidental as it was taken years before the first episode aired.
GEEK TO DREAMER:
Twitchell's appearance changed noticeably during his high-school years, from Grade 10 (left) to Grade 12 (far right). Teased for his looks, he had surgery to pin his ears back and started wearing contacts by graduation.
REALITY:
Mark Twitchell and his ex-wife, Jess, on their wedding day, January 13, 2007. His sister served as his best man at a small ceremony in the Hotel Macdonald. Mark and Jess's daughter, Chloe, was born just over a year later.
FANTASY:
Twitchell loved wearing self-made, screen-accurate reproductions of movie costumes. In 2005 (above), he attended a
Star Wars
premiere as Jedi knight Kit Fisto. In 2007, he won Edmonton's Halloween Howler costume competition as Bumblebee from
Transformers
(right).
CAREER CASE:
Det. Bill Clark answered questions from the media outside Edmonton's courthouse following the verdict in Twitchell's first-degree murder trial. Det. Dale Johnson (left) and Det. Brad Mandrusiak (right) had watched the court proceedings closely as their case made the international news.
