History NightmareFuel / Whiplash

* Creator/JKSimmons plays an abusive authority figure ''very'' convincingly. He is arguably even more terrifying and imposing than Creator/RLeeErmey in ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', and in fact even belittles a chubby trombone player and gives him a silly name ("[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Elmer Fudd]]") in much the same way the drill sergeant from that movie calls one of his chubbier recruits "[[Series/GomerPyleUSMC Gomer Pyle]]". Anyone that has ever had an abusive teacher or other authority figure will immediately find Fletcher's presence extremely frightening.

Psychological drama ''Whiplash'' may be, but at times it moves pretty close to psychological ''horror'':

* The ending. It starts off triumphant with Andrew getting the jump on Fletcher by starting to play "Caravan", and he looks like he's enjoying himself drumming for the first time in the film. But once he starts improvising, he gets sweatier and bloodier, wearing the pained expression he wore so often whilst drumming at all other times; and then, Fletcher starts conducting him. Rather than playing as he pleases, refusing to let Fletcher have control and completing his revenge, Andrew obeys his instructions. Fletcher has him utterly and totally in his grasp now, and the implications of that are simply terrifying.

* Though there is [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguity as to whether or not]] Fletcher's abuse was what accelerated the deterioration of Sean Casey’s mental state, being a parent, sibling or other loved one having to walk in and find their loved one dead after taking their own life, and gradually coming to realize they were likely driven mad by months, if not a year’s worth of psychological and physical abuse that reduced them to a self-hating shell of a human by a man who did so for something as banal as creative integrity. Fletcher was right to recognize that he had enemies, and he was lucky that Casey’s parent’s just wanted him fired, because [[PapaWolf any]] [[MamaBear parent]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge less hinged would or could]] [[ItsPersonal have retaliated regardless as to whether or not their child died, or what consequences may come.]]

%%!! For the 2003 film:

* Though there is [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguity as to whether or not]] Fletcher's abuse was what accelerated the deterioration of Sean Casey’s Mental State, being a parent, sibling or other loved one having to walk in and find their loved one dead after taking their own life, and gradually coming to realize they were likely driven mad by months, if not a year’s worth of psychological and physical abuse that reduced them to a self-hating shell of a human by a man who did so for something as banal as creative integrity. Fletcher was right to recognize that he had enemies, and he was lucky that Casey’s parent’s just wanted him fired, because [[PapaWolf any]] [[MamaBear parent]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge less hinged would or could]] [[ItsPersonal have retaliated regardless as to whether or not their child died, or what consequences may come.]]
%%* The car crash. Especially how ''[[SurpriseCarCrash sudden]]'' it was.

* Though there is [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguity as to whether or not]] Fletcher's abuse was what accelerated the deterioration of Sean Casey’s Mental State, [[AdultFear being a parent, sibling or other loved one having to walk in and find their loved one dead after taking their own life]], and gradually coming to realize they were likely driven mad by months, if not a year’s worth of psychological and physical abuse that reduced them to a self-hating shell of a human by a man who did so for something as banal as creative integrity. Fletcher was right to recognize that he had enemies, and he was lucky that Casey’s parent’s just wanted him fired, because [[PapaWolf any]] [[MamaBear parent]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge less hinged would or could]] [[ItsPersonal have retaliated regardless as to whether or not their child died, or what consequences may come.]]

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

** [[NightmareRetardant It helps to know]] that the director said that between takes Simmons was perfectly lovely and tried to keep the mood light to avoid the filming becoming a "nightmare".

* The car crash. Especially how ''[[SurpriseCarCrash sudden]]'' it was.

* The ending, combined with TearJerker. Andrew has finally become one of the greats, but at the cost of his own humanity and love for music. The thought of that alone is just ''haunting.''
** Here’s how the script described the final scene:
--->''The band roars into overdrive, the brass blasting away, Andrew giving it everything he’s got. Fletcher steps back. Andrew just keeps looking straight ahead at him. Unafraid now. '''[[EmptyShell A machine]]'''.''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7edec7ca_9f83_4fb4_91d6_d5311d3e916e.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:SAY IT ''LOUDER''!!]]

--->''The band roars into overdrive, the brass blasting away, Andrew giving it everything he’s got. Fletcher steps back. Andrew just keeps looking straight ahead at him. Unafraid now. '''[[EmptyShell A machine]]'''.''

--->''The band roars into overdrive, the brass blasting away, Andrew giving it everything he’s got. Fletcher steps back. Andrew just keeps looking straight ahead at him. Unafraid now. '''A machine'''.''

** [[NightmareRetardant It helps to know]] that the director said that between takes [[MeanCharacterNiceActor Simmons was perfectly lovely]] and tried to keep the mood light to avoid the filming becoming a "nightmare".

[[caption-width-right:350:NOT MY ''FUCKING'' TEMPO!]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Not ''quite'' my tempo.]]

-->''The band roars into overdrive, the brass blasting away, Andrew giving it everything he’s got. Fletcher steps back. Andrew just keeps looking straight ahead at him. Unafraid now. '''A machine'''.''

** Here’s what the script had to say about one point in the final scene:

* The ending, combined with TearJerker. Andrew has finally become one of the greats, but at the cost of his own humanity and love for music. The thought of that alone is just ''haunting.''