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For characters from The Never Mythos short story click see here.
The Girls
Kate Davies
Kate Davies
Played By: Marley Shelton, Brittany Mayers (young)
Kate is a writer in a newspaper firm, where she met her on/off boyfriend Adam Carr. She is also best friends with Paige, Dorothy, Lily and Shelley since they were young. Back in middle school, she was the simple yet most popular one inside her circle. Jeremy Melton asked her for a dance which she turned down politely.
- Alone with the Psycho: Late in the film, Kate finds herself alone in Dorothy's house, unable to find anyone except Adam, who's drunk and acting very erratic, coaxing her into a slow dance in various tones ranging from calm to mildly threatening where he blubbers that she's the only good thing in his life. She kicks him in the nuts, he chases her down twice, babbling that he's always loved her. Downplayed because it's implied that Adam (or Jeremy) would never have actually hurt her.
- Class Princess: While all the other girls are at least somewhat Alpha Bitch-y, she's actually rather nice despite being pretty and popular, and is still nice as an adult.
- Dumb Blonde: Averted. Kate isn't a med student like Shelley, but she holds a consistent job and does most of the research regarding Jeremy Melton.
- Everyone Has Standards: Kate is dismayed when Dorothy reveals that she lied about Jeremy and effectively ruined his life, as her first response is to ask why Dorothy would do that to someone.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Back in middle school, she was the most popular in her group and everyone loves her, including Jeremy. With her kind personality it isn't hard to see why.
- Expy: Marley Shelton drew inspiration from Mia Farrow's performance as Rosemary Woodhouse to portray Kate.
- Final Girl: The only female lead to survive the film. Not surprising, as she was never a target.
- Good Wears White: Kate is shown wearing a lacy white dress in the prologue and is the kindhearted popular one among her friends.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Kate is the kindest among her blonde friends. She was also up to the rescue when Dorothy shouted her name for help, even though they had a fight moments before the attack happened.
- Living Emotional Crutch: To Jeremy/Adam. Near the end of the film, he says that Kate is the only good thing in his life.
- Nice Girl: Kate was the nicest in her circle of friends. Back in middle school, she was the only one who politely turned down Jeremy and did not accuse him of attacking Dorothy, which is the reason why she survives the film.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni:
- Kate is the blue to Paige's red. She's the cool chick who is more reserved and calm while Paige's the hot chick who is more impulsive and outgoing.
- Kate also has this dynamic with Lily as another Red. The demure and kind-hearted Kate is the blue to occasionally callous Genki Girl Lily's red. This contrast is reflected in how they pursue men: Kate met her boyfriend Adam at her office and has known him for years, she's cautious around him, and yet serves as a steadying influence for him while Lily knew that Max was a "cheap, hypocritical sleazeball" yet dated him anyway.
- Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Kate is very uncomfortable at bumping into Gary outside her apartment wearing only a towel, to say nothing at her general unease around him.
- Supporting Protagonist: The primary viewpoint character but the story is really Jeremy's revenge on her friends for framing him.
- True Blue Femininity: She wears blue at turbo dating, the art exhibition, and Dorothy's party, as well as a jeans jacket; this color associates to her kind and gentle personality.
- Unwitting Pawn: Jeremy uses Kate to keep tabs on her friends and later to top off his scheme by using Dorothy in the Cupid costume to attack Kate.
Paige Prescott
Paige Prescott
Played By: Denise Richards, Chelcie Burgart (young)
Paige is best friends with Kate, Dorothy, Lily and Shelley since they were kids. In middle school, she was the sexy one in their group, she likes boys and boys like her. During their middle school dance, Jeremy Melton asked her for a dance which she rejected harshly.
- Alliterative Name: Paige Prescott.
- All Women Are Lustful: Subverted. Unlike what Dorothy thinks, Paige does choose men she sleeps with. She won't hesitate to reject any man that turns her off.
- Alpha Bitch: She was arrogant and cruel as a teenager, and is even worse as an adult.
- Beauty Is Bad: She's sexy but not totally evil, however what she did to Jeremy was definitely cruel.
- Deadpan Snarker: Almost all her lines are sarcastic.
- Electrified Bathtub: Killed when the killer throws her into a hot tub and tosses a power drill inside, electrocuting her.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Ms. Fanservice Paige has a liking for black leather jackets, as shown in the turbo dating scene (to contrast with the jeans jacket worn by Kate) and the scenes where the ladies speak with Detective Vaughn.
- Ignored Epiphany: After the maggoty chocolate incident, Paige has maybe a moment of regret regarding how mean she acted towards Jeremy Melton, but only for a moment. Publicly she maintains that he isn't a threat.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Paige doesn't like that Dorothy is allowing a man whose last name she doesn't know to live in her house. While Dorothy retorts that Paige has slept with men who she's known for less than an hour, Paige's point still stands since Dorothy's man is a Gold Digger who's only into her for her family's money.
- Kill It with Water: The motifs surrounding her death all involve water. Paige said she'd rather be boiled alive at the middle school dance, she blows off Jeremy's threat by saying he couldn't manage a water fountain without screwing up, and she's electrocuted in a hot tub.
- Lady in Red: She wears red during the middle school dance, turbo dating, and Dorothy's party. It symbolizes her sexy persona.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's definitely the hottest and most sexual among the girls. Her Fanservice scenes prove it. It gets to the point that Lily chides Paige for removing her coat and showing off her cleavage at Shelly's funeral.Lily: Jesus Paige, it's a funeral.
- Proud Beauty: A Ms. Fanservice with a haughty, arrogant personality.
- Red Herring: About halfway through the film, Paige randomly shows up in Kate's apartment, the last place the killer was seen.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Paige is the red to Kate's blue. She's the hot chick who is more impulsive and outgoing while Kate is the cool one who is more reserved and calm.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Twice over regarding her friends' boyfriends.
- For Dorothy: She fingers Campbell as a suspect because they don't know him as well (Dorothy's only known him for a month and doesn't even know his last name). While Campbell may not be a murderer, he is a Gold Digger.
- For Kate: Paige doesn't think Kate should get back with Adam; it was her idea for Kate to do turbo-dating to take her mind off Adam and due to Adam's drinking problem, Kate should dump Adam. While Adam isn't the best boyfriend, the drinking isn't the worst problem.
- Sacrificial Lion: Denise Richards was the biggest name in the film at the time of its release and Paige's death marks the point where the party clears out, leaving only a handful of people to deal with the killer.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Paige shows a lot of annoyance at guys ogling her throughout the film, such as Campbell and Detective Vaughn.
- The Sociopath: Paige is a high-functioning, non-criminal type whose behavior is nonetheless unnerving. Paige has a general glibness with everyone she interacts with, shows no remorse to learning she participated in a Frame-Up job, is mentioned as being rather promiscuous, pretends to offer sex and manipulates the guy she's with into taking off his clothes, then reacts to what she sees by pouring hot wax onto his crotch and leaving him Chained to a Bed, and doesn't acknowledge she's in any danger once she learns how badly she screwed up in regards to the Frame-Up; while Kate is dismayed at what her friends did, Paige attempts to reassure Dorothy (who made the initial accusation) by telling her that Jeremy surely can't be capable of an intricate revenge plot despite him claiming responsibility for the death of one of their friends.
- Too Clever by Half: Paige manages to work out that Jeremy Melton sent the Valentines and killed Shelley, but never once does she think that he'd come to kill her for helping frame him.
- Too Dumb to Live: Disobeying Vaughn's instructions by wandering off on her own makes her an easy target for Jeremy when he comes for her. This can be justified because Paige is just that arrogant and openly states she doesn't take Jeremy seriously.
- Underestimating Badassery: None of the girls take the threats against them seriously and try to go about their lives as normal, but Paige might take the cake as she admits to Detective Vaughn that she thought the valentine and maggot-infested chocolate she and Lily received were jokes and tries to reassure Dorothy that Jeremy wouldn't be capable of concocting a revenge plot."Dorothy, I really wouldn't worry about this. Jeremy Melton couldn't manage a water fountain without screwing up. I don't think he's capable of an intricate revenge plot."
Dorothy Wheeler
Dorothy Wheeler
Played By: Jessica Capshaw, Kate Logie (young)
Dorothy is best friends with Kate, Paige, Lily and Shelley since childhood. Back in middle school, all of her friends were popular and she was too because she is in their circle. She was the called "the fat one" and school bullies even called her "buffalo". Back at their middle school dance, Jeremy Melton was the only one who asked her for a dance which she agreed on. They started to make out and when the school bullies found out, Dorothy told them that Jeremy attacked her which caused him to be sent to reform school.
- Arch-Enemy: To Jeremy Melton. Dorothy framed Jeremy for sexually assaulting her in middle school, and this is the root of his vendetta against Dorothy and her friends (minus Kate). While Jeremy is fully intent on killing them for corroborating Dorothy, he has an even crueler fate for her when he murders her boyfriend just so he could break her and make her easier to frame.
- Asshole Victim: In a film full of jerks being murdered, Dorothy takes the gold star as the person whose False Rape Accusation set everything in motion, culminating in her death.
- Bearer of Bad News: Dorothy has to inform Kate of Shelley's murder.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In the opening scene, Dorothy pretended to be nice to Jeremy by taking up his offer to dance, only to throw him under the bus by falsely accusing him of sexually assaulting her when the bullies found them.
- Blood from the Mouth: Blood is shown trickling from her mouth after getting shot by Adam.
- Character Death: Shot seven times by Adam, marking her as the ninth and final victim.
- Dies Wide Open: Her eyes are open when Adam unmasks her.
- Dirty Coward: Framed Jeremy for raping her just to avoid embarrassment.
- Fat Bitch: She was both fat and a bitch in middle school. Then again, even as a less chubby adult, she's still a bitch.
- Foil: To Kate. During the opening scene, both girls appeared to be nicer to Jeremy than Shelley, Lily, and Paige, but went about it in different ways; Kate rejected him nicely while Dorothy seemingly accepted Jeremy's offer to dance, but then took him under the bleachers and threw him under the bus (so to speak) when it was inconvenient for her. There's also how they act with their significant others: in the present day, Kate is much more cautious around Adam than Dorothy is around Campbell thanks to Adam's drinking habits while Dorothy threw herself into her relationship out of loneliness. Consequently their actions determine their fates: Kate survives because she let Jeremy down nicely, while Dorothy, who pretended to be nice but cast him aside, is murdered and framed for the massacre.
- Granted, a document shown briefly in the film reveals that Paige, Shelly, and Lily all acted as witnesses to Dorothy's false allegations against Jeremy. Kate's name was not listed, meaning she was never a target.
- Formerly Fat: Dorothy was fat during the gals' childhood but has since slimmed down. However, she still carries a lot of insecurities from that time.
- Lack of Empathy: Dorothy has little remorse for framing Jeremy Melton and ruining his life, pathetically citing how fat she was in middle school as justification.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Dorothy started this whole mess by setting up Jeremy as a fall guy when they were seen by the bullies and she lied that he assaulted her to save face. So what does Jeremy/Adam do to her as his last victim? He knocks Dorothy out and puts her in his costume so that she bumps into Kate as she comes to, knocking them both down the stairs. When the disoriented Dorothy sits up, Jeremy/Adam guns her down and "unmasks" her, pinning all his crimes on her.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Despite having popular friends, Dorothy is rich but she is not close with her father who prefers his mistress over his daughter. Also, ever since childhood no boys wanted her until Campbell walked in her doorstep.
- Multiple Gunshot Death: Shot seven times by Adam.
- Never My Fault: Downplayed; while Dorothy admits that it's her fault that Jeremy killed Shelley she doesn't show any remorse for framing him.
- The Resenter: Dorothy has a lot of bones to pick with people. She wasn't as popular as her friends in school, never had any luck with guys until Campbell, and her father clearly favors his new wife over her by taking her side in an argument.
- Straw Loser: She was the least popular among her friends.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Dorothy was the one who claimed that Jeremy attacked her, leading to him being beaten, stripped, and his life practically ruined. She didn't actually think that he'd come back for revenge.
- Villainous Breakdown: The second half of the film is one long one for Dorothy. After Campbell goes missing, Dorothy starts binge-eating. Then she learns that her boyfriend wasn't the guy she thought he was. Finally, Dorothy, still in denial about Campbell, lashes out at Kate, the last of her friends, for being "the popular one". All of this just makes her look suspicious.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Dorothy assumes that being the one who framed Jeremy, she's the one who would be murdered next after Shelley. She doesn't realize that Jeremy intends to kill the whole friend group minus Kate, and give Dorothy a taste of her own medicine.
Lily Voight
Lily Voight
Played By: Jessica Cauffiel, Chelsea Florko (young)
Lily is best friends with Kate, Paige, Dorothy and Shelley ever since they were young. In middle school, she was "the fun one" among them. Back in their middle school dance, she cruelly rejected Jeremy Melton when he asked her for a dance.
- Age-Inappropriate Dress: The outfit she wore to the middle school dance at the beginning of the film shows part of her abdomen, a surprising outfit on a 13-year-old.
- Death by Mocking: After receiving maggoty chocolate from Jeremy Melton, Lily makes impressions of his unattractive appearance and dorky personality. She winds up being the second of the gals to die.
- Dumb Blonde: She's a blonde, airheaded party girl.
- Foil: To Kate. Both are blonde and like to wear jeans jackets but while Kate's hair is long and straight, Lily's hair is blonde Quirky Curls. Kate averts Dumb Blonde, Lily plays it straight. Kate is kind-hearted, had forgotten about the dance, and was concerned about Jeremy when she learns what her friends did, Lily takes a much shorter time to remember Jeremy, makes fun of his appearance and awkwardness, and is unconcerned with what happened to him.
- Genki Girl: Lily is the most cheerful and energetic among the girls, the "fun one".
- Life of the Party: She enjoys gatherings and is usually the one who lightens up the mood in the group.
- No Kill like Overkill: Shot three times with arrows, then falls 10 stories into a dumpster.
- Quirky Curls: She definitely wears it perfectly, as the Genki Girl and Life of the Party with a head of blonde curls.
- Railing Kill: Shot three times with arrows, causing her to fall over a railing and into a dumpster, marking her as the second victim.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Lily is the red to Kate's blue. She's the Genki Girl who is occasionally callous while Kate is demure, reserved and kind-hearted.
- Too Dumb to Live: Most people in their right mind wouldn't pick up an unmarked package just lying at their doorstep. On the other hand this is still in character since Lily's a Dumb Blonde.
Shelley Fisher
Shelley Fisher
Played By: Katherine Heigl, Sarah Mjanes (young)
Shelley is best friends with Kate, Paige, Dorothy and Lily since they were kids. Back in middle school, she was the smartest among the girls. Jeremy Melton asked her for a dance during middle school which she savagely turned down. As an adult Shelley is in medical school, studying to become a doctor.
- Bad Date: Had one at the start of the film with Jason Marquette. By the time the scene begins Shelley is already regretting the date.
- Brainy Brunette: She's the smartest among her friends, has dark hair, and even went to med school to become a doctor.
- Ms. Fanservice: A mild example compared to Paige, but she wears a red leather jacket and spends much of her screen-time in a cold morgue wearing a low-cut tank top where she'd probably be expected to wear a lab coat.
- Sacrificial Lamb: The first character to die in the film whose death scene establishes some of the killer's trademarks (his Fallen Cupid look, penchant for leaving macabre Valentine cards, switching up tactics, and finally the nosebleed he suffers which appears to link the crime to Jeremy Melton. Also counts as Dead Star Walking.
- Slashed Throat: The killer cuts her throat.
Boyfriends of The Girls
Adam Carr
Adam Carr/ Jeremy Melton
Click here to see the killer in costume
Played By: David Boreanaz, Joel Palmer (young)
A writer and Kate's on-off boyfriend who has a drinking problem.
- The Alcoholic: Adam has had a recurring drinking problem, and this has soured his relationship with Kate.
- Consummate Liar: Apparently made up a whole life story to win Kate over.
- Evil All Along: Behind his friendly, unassuming exterior is a cold, vengeful Serial Killer. Of course, depending on how justified the viewer may feel he was, he may actually be a subversion.
- Faux Affably Evil: Toes the line between this trope and Affably Evil. Adam puts up a pleasant front, albeit one marred by his drinking, to deceive his targets into a false sense of security before offing them. The mask begins to slip at Dorothy's party where he acts quite callously towards Dorothy when it looks like her boyfriend stood her up (which he's responsible for). When he's interacting with Kate and other people, he apparently acts a lot friendlier.
- Functional Addict: Having a drinking problem does nothing to keep him from being good at his job. Or from being good at killing.
- Hard Head: Takes a bottle to the head and is still able to fire a pistol with a reasonable sense of accuracy.
- Hidden Villain: His status as the main villain isn't apparent until the final shot of the film.
- Master Actor: At no point does he let slip that he's a highly dangerous person to be around until the ending where there's no way to stop him. This also makes the depths of his alcoholism very difficult to ascertain.
- Mood-Swinger: When Adam drinks, he apparently gets out of control. During the climax when he and Kate are alone in Dorothy's house after he's had a few drinks, he shifts between calm ("Dance with me, Kate") to threatening ("Don't make me beg, Kate") to placating ("You're the only good thing in my life") very quickly. The way Kate responds indicates she's seen it enough to play along until she finds an opening.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Outside of his drinking habit, Adam seems to be an okay guy who will also drop whatever he's doing to help Kate. It turns out that alcoholism is the least of his issues.
- Off the Wagon: Adam has been trying to keep his drinking under control for some time prior to the film's events, but starts drinking again near the end of the film.Adam: [after drinking a glass of champagne] There you are, I've been looking all over for you.Kate: [icily] And I wasn't at the bottom of the bottle?
- Playing Drunk: Pretends to be more drunk than he really is during the climax to make his actions look less suspicious.
- Recovered Addict: Adam's been clean from drinking for a few weeks by the time the film begins. He starts drinking near the end of the film though by its end it's heavily implied that he was never really as addicted as he made it look (in fact being a drunk would be a rather minor issue).
- Relationship Revolving Door: Adam and Kate have an on-off relationship due to his drinking problem, and much of their screentime together is trying to get back together after some time apart.
- Sanity Slippage: Adam goes on a complete bender towards the end of the film thanks to falling Off the Wagon, begging a dance from Kate in two different tones, declaring her the only good thing in his life, and asking her why she wants to hurt him. Subverted since the ending implies he deliberately acted more off-kilter to lull Kate into a false sense of urgency. Or it's the Jeremy part of his personality leaking back in.
- Satellite Love Interest: Primarily appears in scenes where Kate is present. Then it turns out he's been a few other places in the film.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Dorothy says that Adam always looks good.
- Token Good Teammate: Adam appears to be the best of the gals' current boyfriends; despite his alcohol problem he is genuinely making an effort to change his behavior and is supportive of Kate, contrasting the openly sleazy Max and the Gold Digger Campbell. Emphasis on appears.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Zigzagged; while Adam is more suave and less socially awkward than he was as a child, he is much more ruthless, dealing with threats and enemies with murderous intent.
- Unknown Rival: To Gary. Gary appears unaware of the relationship between Kate and Adam when he asks Kate out but the moment Adam hears that Kate is uncomfortable around Gary, he acts accordingly.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about Adam without mentioning his true identity as Jeremy Melton, the Cupid serial killer.
Campbell Morris
Campbell Morris
Played By: Daniel Cosgrove
A tech entrepreneur and Dorothy's boyfriend.
- Asshole Victim: As a Gold Digger who's taking advantage of Dorothy, barely anybody (save for Dorothy herself) mourns his death.
- Character Death: The killer plants an axe in his back, making him the fourth victim of the killer and the last before the party.
- Death by Materialism: In a roundabout way, as dating a girl with a trust fund and a target on her back gets him killed.
- Foil: To Kate. Campbell and Kate are the significant others of Dorothy and Jeremy, the two people whose years-long conflict drives the plot. Both are "taken" from Dorothy in the second half of the film: Campbell by death, Kate by Jeremy making Dorothy lash out at her and make Kate believe she went on a killing spree. Both their significant others (Jeremy for Kate, Dorothy for Campbell) place a lot of their own self-worth on their partner. However while Kate never tried to manipulate Adam aside from wanting him to behave around her friends, Campbell wants Dorothy's money.
- Gold Digger: A male example as a Con Man staying at Dorothy's house to get access to her money.
- In the Back: Gets killed when the killer plants an axe in his back.
- Living Emotional Crutch: To Dorothy, mainly because he was the first guy who Dorothy had any luck with. When Campbell fails to show up at the party (because somebody killed him), Dorothy starts binge-eating.Dorothy: You know [Kate], you go back and forth about Adam..."should I or shouldn't I?" Campbell's all I've got.
- Mr. Fixit: Dorothy counts on him to do some of the maintenance around the house, much to his annoyance. Campbell's relighting the pilot light to the water heater when he gets killed.
- Red Herring: Given that he conveniently showed up when the killing started and the girls don't even know his last name, he quickly becomes a suspect.
- White Shirt of Death: Campbell is wearing a white bathrobe when he is killed.
Max Raimi
Max Raimi
Played By: Johnny Whitworth
Lily's boyfriend, a visual artist.
- Casanova Wannabe: Shows signs of this trope, what with bringing his assistant Amy for a threesome with Lily and making passes at Kate at Dorothy's party which are all rejected.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Downplayed. At Dorothy's party, he informs Kate that Lily has been missing for a week, meaning that Jeremy probably killed her. With that knowledge, Kate realizes that Jeremy might try to strike at the party since all three remaining girls are there.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Very blatantly looks over Kate when they meet at the art gallery and Lily introduces them.
- Girl on Girl Is Hot: Seems to have this mindset. Why else did he bring his assistant for a threesome with Lily?
- I Resemble That Remark!: When Lily is disgusted by him bringing his assistant for a threesome, calling Max a "cheap hypocritical sleazeball", Max replies "Yeah, but you knew that."
- Perma-Stubble: Consistently shown with a day or two of stubble to give him a more rugged look.
- Perpetual Smiler: Always shown with a goofy grin on his face.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He's one of the partygoers who books when the power goes out at Dorothy's house.
Others
The Cupid Killer (UNMARKED SPOILERS)
Jeremy Melton/Adam Carr
Played By: David Boreanaz, Joel Palmer (young), Marshall Virtue (stuntman wearing Cupid Killer's costume)
A young man who Dorothy framed for sexually assaulting her when they were children.
- Anti-Villain: Decidedly a Jerkass Woobie. If the bullies hadn't shown up, Dorothy hadn't panicked and accused him of Attempted Rape, resulting in him being beaten by the Gang of Bullies and subsequently sent to a mental institution, he wouldn't have become a vengeful Serial Killer.
- Badass Longcoat: Wears a knee-length duster as part of his killer getup.
- The Bad Guy Wins: A rare example that's not a full-blown Downer Ending, if you even consider him a villain at all. By the end, he's killed all the girls who bullied him and had a hand in his Frame-Up, and he even got the girl.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Kate is the only girl who Jeremy does not kill, because she was absolutely polite to him even when she rejected him.
- Berserk Button:
- Downplayed. Jeremy doesn't openly get angry, but the main targets in his plot receive a lot more physical violence, like trying to choke Shelley to death, stabbing Paige with a drill before electrocuting her, and utterly thrashing Dorothy before putting her in his costume, with her room littered with the signs of their struggle.
- Messing with Kate is a quick way to get on his bad side as the only time he breaks from his plan is to kill Gary for stalking/stealing from Kate, and what he does is brutal.
- Best Served Cold: He's waited 13 years to take revenge on the girls who framed him and kept him from a normal life.
- Big Bad: The central antagonist of the film, as the killer hunting the central group of gals.
- Bully Hunter: According to the director, Jeremy killed the bullies who beat him first before targeting everyone who had a hand in the False Rape Accusation.
- Byronic Hero: Adam (really Jeremy) is a Tall, Dark, and Handsome, charming, and skilled man, but broods over the injustice he received as a boy and is obsessed with murdering those who framed him by any means necessary. He still carries a soft spot for his girlfriend Kate because she rejected him nicely when they were children and did not participate in the Frame-Up as her friends did; unfortunately his idea of looking out for her is to murder a man who stalks her.
- The Chessmaster: A rare example for a slasher villain. Jeremy spent years accumulating resources, changing his appearance and mannerisms, cultivating a relationship with Kate, observing her friends' habits and movements, and hiding his true intentions with doses of booze until it was time to strike.
- Combat Pragmatist: Of a couple shades:
- Very rarely attacks his victims head-on, instead using their surroundings to mask his appearance (concealing himself in a curtain that Shelley bumps into), striking from behind blind corners in a disorienting environment (Lily), catching them while in a compromising position (Gary), straight-up attacking from behind (Campbell), using objects to distract them (Paige), and averts Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? (Lily (again) and Dorothy). Every blow is aimed to hurt or kill.
- Of the Improvised Weapon type. Aside from standard slasher weapons like knives and axes, he'll use anything and everything at his disposal from running irons to glass shards to power drills. And unlike most Slasher Movie killers he's not adverse to just shooting his quarry (contrast with Michael Myers using a shotgun to pin a victim to a door). Anything goes as long as his target is dead when he's through.
- Cop Killer: Detective Vaughn is his second-to-last victim.
- Crazy-Prepared: Jeremy always makes sure he cleans up after his kills, particularly due to his nosebleed habit.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Jeremy was a loner as a child. Then he was framed for sexual assault and locked up in a mental institution.
- Determinator: Nothing will stop him from taking his revenge.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Slap him with a False Rape Accusation? He'll murder you, murder your friends for corroborating you, and make it look like you killed your friends after you apparently snapped due to a lifetime of loneliness.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Kate seems to be the only person he cares about because she was the only person who was nice to him at any point. Of course, depending on how justified the viewer may feel he was, calling him "evil" may be a stretch.
- Evil Counterpart:
- To Dorothy. Both have self-esteem issues stemming from being marginalized while growing up and took steps to make themselves more attractive (Dorothy exercised a lot, Jeremy had plastic surgery and also exercised), place a lot of their own self-worth on their significant others, and are really good deceivers when the chips are down. Unlike Dorothy (and sadly for most everyone she knows), Jeremy is prepared to murder people just so he can resolve his psychological issues.
- To Campbell. While both men are manipulating Dorothy, Campbell just wants her money; Jeremy wants her dead and her life ruined. Both are also viewed with mistrust by Kate's friends; Jeremy for his drinking, Campbell because Dorothy barely knows him.
- Evil Gloating: Sends an unsympathetic remembrance card to Shelley's parents and even signs his name.
- Evil Plan: Kill the girls who framed him for sexual assault, then frame whoever was responsible for the initial accusation.
- Eviler than Thou: Compared to the various jerks, sleazeballs, gold diggers, and stalkers, Jeremy/Adam is much more dangerous as none of them are murderers (presumably).
- Freudian Excuse: It's pretty clear that while Jeremy already had some obsessive tendencies from his yearbook, being framed for rape made him much worse.
- Geek Physiques: Paige remembers him as being quite skinny and the prologue corroborates this.
- Genius Bruiser: Jeremy isn't just a killing machine, he's put together a revenge scheme ranging over a decade, coupled with a contingency plan doubling as a pièce de résistance.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Manages to empty a pistol into Dorothy and not hit Kate despite suffering from a couple head injuries.
- Karma Houdini: Depending on the viewer's point-of-view on how sympathetic Jeremy/Adam is, this trope applies either way as he murders multiple people and gets away clean by framing Dorothy for his crimes. He even manages to patch things up with his girlfriend.
- Leitmotif: A high-pitched piano line, starting out innocent but with darker tones that creep in. It crops up whenever Jeremy sends Valentines and finally the ending.
- Made of Iron: Downplayed compared to other slasher villains but Jeremy takes a decent amount of damage with barely a moment or two spent recovering from wounds he suffers throughout the film that would otherwise incapacitate him. First he got beaten to a pulp as a child and suffered no lasting physical damage. In the opening scene he gets stabbed in the leg and walks it off. In the climax he gets a pool cue smashed into his head, kneed in the crotch, and a bottle smashed against his head and appears none the worse for wear by the end; he can even aim and shoot quite well.
- Manipulative Bastard:
- Jeremy works his way back into Kate's life as Adam through her job and then uses the opportunity to observe how her friends act for years before deciding to strike. To cap things off he tricks Kate (and probably the cops he called) into thinking that Dorothy snapped and went on a killing spree.
- The entire second half of the film is Jeremy playing a mind game on Dorothy; he kills her boyfriend just to make her suffer a breakdown and make her turn on Kate so that she, Dorothy, will look even more guilty.
- Mighty Glacier: Never moves faster than a Menacing Stroll, but he will get to his target and once he does he ends fights quickly and painfully. This might be due to the coat constricting his movements as he has no problem chasing Kate down stairs while not wearing his coat.
- Mysterious Past: Everything after winding up in the mental hospital and the film's main events is up in the air. The audience knows that Jeremy met up with Kate at some point while they were working at the same newspaper, he made up a story about his family being from Seattle, and that he's met Dorothy and Paige, but other than that it's left blank.
- Not Good with Rejection: Downplayed. Jeremy is probably angry with Paige, Lily, and Shelley for rejecting him, but the story emphasizes their role in helping Dorothy frame him for putting them in his crosshairs.
- Playing Drunk: Jeremy's likely been spending much of his interactions around his targets (most notably Paige) for the past several years pretending to be be a drunkard. Or being around his targets makes him drink more.
- Poetic Serial Killer: Matches up his targets' deaths with how each insulted him. For Dorothy, he frames her for his crimes like she framed him for assaulting her.
- Red Right Hand: His nose bleeds every time he experiences a strong emotion, such as anger (every time he kills) or happiness (the film's ending).
- Revenge is Sweet: The expression he makes at the very end suggests that he's just going to live out his life as Adam with Kate at his side, free from the pain Dorothy caused him.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His objective is to kill the women who framed him all those years ago.
- Serial Killer: According to the director, Jeremy also killed the bullies who beat him, meaning that his murders are more spread out than depicted in the film.
- Single-Target Sexuality: After the age of 12, Jeremy/Adam seems to have had eyes for no girl but Kate, the only person who showed him any sort of kindness.
- Start of Darkness: Dorothy and her friends framing him for assaulting her, getting beaten by the bullies, and being locked up in a mental institution had a horrible effect on him.
- Took a Level in Badass: Went from a dorky loser to a cold, calculating Serial Killer. Also counts as From Nobody to Nightmare.
- Tranquil Fury: Jeremy spends much of the film (and probably the last 13 years) in a state of controlled rage until he has the opportunity to strike, with little to show at how angry he is. His unmasked one scene with one of his targets (Dorothy) has him using an almost casual tone of voice which clashes horribly with the Death Glare he affixes her.
- Two Aliases, One Character: Adam Carr is the cover identity of Jeremy Melton, who moonlights as a Serial Killer wearing a Fallen Cupid mask.
- Unperson: Jeremy has essentially erased his identity by the time of the film's main events; nobody has heard from him since his stint in the mental hospital and the only people who would have known him, his parents, died in a fire a few years back.
- Villain Protagonist: While the film takes place from Kate's point of view, Jeremy's quest for revenge is given the most narrative weight. He is the main character of the opening scene, his murders drive the plot, and the fact that the film ends with him achieving his main goals: revenge on Dorothy and finding that Kate loves him.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Jeremy plays a mean game of this in the finale. When Ruthie finds him in the middle of Disposing of a Body, he plugs up the leak by killing her. At some point he finds Detective Vaughn after the latter learns of Lily's death and deals with him before targeting Paige. When Kate sees him starting to hit the drinks, he creates a way to get back into her good graces by framing Dorothy for his murders right after the latter pours out all her issues to Kate, making it look like Dorothy snapped after all the years of being lonely and took it out on everyone she resented, only being stopped because Adam killed her.
Detective Vaughn
Detective Vaughn
Played By: Fulvio Cecere
A detective tasked with investigating Shelly's death.- Dies Wide Open: His eyes are wide open on his decapitated head.
- Failed a Spot Check: He apparently had Jeremy/Adam right under his nose for questioning and didn't realize it. Unless Adam was lying about that, which is certainly possible.
- Ignored Expert: Deconstructed. His advice to the gals to stay put and in groups might have made Jeremy's plan a lot harder to implement since Paige wanders to the hot tub alone and Dorothy gets ambushed later after everyone leaves, but his behavior towards Paige made it unlikely they would listen.
- Jerkass: He sexually harasses Paige at the police station.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Averted, as he has no problem going back and forth between Los Angeles and San Francisco to investigate a case (Shelley was killed in Los Angeles, most of the rest of the cast lives in the Bay area).
- Killed Offscreen: Killed at some point after arriving at Dorothy's house, with only his head being found (his corpse in deleted scenes).
- Off with His Head!: The killer decapitates him offscreen and deposits his head in a pond at Dorothy's house.
- Oh, Crap!: He had an epic one since his decapitated head is screaming.
- Police Are Useless: Zig-zagged. While he's not bad with his research and following up on leads (he makes sure to check in on as many people as he can on who the girls have been in contact with), he gets taken out without much of a fight by the killer.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Chastises the ladies (particularly Paige) for not telling him about the cards signed J.M., meaning he essentially went on a wild goose after Jason Marquette.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Vaughn is seen rolling his eyes when Paige and Dorothy start bickering about Campbell.
Ruthie Walker
Ruthie Walker
Played By: Hedy Burress
A woman with a grudge against Campbell and accuses him of scamming her.- Hair-Trigger Temper: Tetchy and sounds like she's about to fly off the handle whenever she speaks.
- He Knows Too Much: Winds up in the same room as the killer as he tries to dispose of Millie's body, and that marks her for death.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The killer throws her through a shower door, then shoves her head/possibly her neck onto a shard of glass.
- Improvised Weapon: Uses a pool cue to knock the killer down.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Turns out everything she said about Campbell was right all along as he turns out to be a Gold Digger.
- Red Herring: Appears to be one for Campbell's murder, with the audience meant to believe she targeted him out of revenge for scamming her.
Gary Taylor
Gary Taylor
Played By: Claude Duhamel
Kate's neighbor who has a crush on her.- Asshole Victim: A Stalker with a Crush who gets beaten to death and nobody is concerned with what happened to him.
- Bludgeoned to Death: The killer beats his face in with an iron.
- Character Death: Burned with an iron and beaten to death, marking him as the third victim.
- Facial Horror: The killer burns half his face with an iron.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Ends up on the wrong end of one when the killer finds him trying on Kate's pantyhose. Despite Gary's attempts to beg for his life, the killer strikes him in the face with an iron, burns his face with the iron, then beats him to death using the iron as an impromptu flail. The script called for him to be hit 11 times, while unedited footage shows him being struck at least four more times before the scene cuts away.
- No Social Skills: Considering that Kate looks visibly uncomfortable around him and this completely flies over his head.
- Panty Thief: The killer goes to Kate's apartment to find Gary trying on Kate's underwear. Despite Gary's claim that it's Not What It Looks Like and that he's mentally ill (the term he uses is "not well"), what it doesn't look like is left to the imagination as the killer beats him to death with an iron. One of the deleted scenes takes this further by Kate going back to her apartment after Gary asks her out in rhyme (and she's partway through a shower after her water ran out) and finding some of her outfits missing.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Makes three or four rhymes in an attempt to ask Kate out. "You look great, Kate. How about a date, Kate? You could be my mate, Kate... This could be our fate, Kate." Adam mentions a couple others he's made in the past: "Don't be late, Kate. You're first-rate, Kate." However, Gary appears to do this just to impress Kate, as he speaks in a more normal pattern when the killer confronts him.
- Stalker with a Crush: He's very interested in Kate, to the point of sneaking into her apartment and trying on her underwear. Kate admits to Adam that she is very uncomfortable around Gary.
- White Shirt of Death: Wears a white undershirt throughout his screen time, and gets killed in it.
Jason Marquette
Jason Marquette
Played By: Adam J Harrington
A man who goes on a date with Shelley at the beginning of the film.- The Alibi: Has an unknown one that clears him of Shelley's murder.
- Casanova Wannabe: After his failed date with Shelley, Jason turns back to the bar and starts mooching up to another woman at the bar by complimenting her dress.
- Jerkass: Marquette is shown to be egotistical and inconsiderate (didn't bring enough money to pay for dinner).
- Red Herring: The most obvious of the bunch, as he shares similar initials with the figure sending threatening Valentines to the gals and creepily leers at Kate and Paige at Max's art exhibit, where the killer strikes for a second time.
- Third-Person Person: Jason speaks of himself in the third person, which speaks to how arrogant he is.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Completely disappears after the art exhibit scenes, though Vaughn mentions he picked him up for questioning since Shelley had dinner with him and was forced to let him go after his alibi cleared him.
Brian
Brian
Played By: Woody Jeffrys
A guy at the turbo dating session who later hooks up with Paige.- Chained to a Bed: Paige ties him down to a bed before pouring wax on his crotch.
- Chekhov's Gunman: First appears during the turbo dating scene introducing Kate and Paige before being invited as the latter's date to Dorothy's party.
- Groin Attack: Paige pours hot wax on his crotch after proving not to her liking.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He's last seen tied down to a bed in Dorothy's house and promptly forgotten about.
The Bullies
The Bullies
Played By: Sterling McCray (Joe Tulga), Noel Fisher, Cody Serpa, Mark Mullan
A Gang of Bullies who found Jeremy and Dorothy kissing in the prologue.- Frame-Up: Joe corroborated Dorothy, Paige, Lily, and Shelley's testimonies in framing Jeremy for assaulting Dorothy.
- Kids Are Cruel: Teased Jeremy and Dorothy which caused her to lie that Jeremy assaulted her, then poured punch on him, ripped off his clothes, and beat him to a pulp.
- No Name Given: Three of the bullies minus their leader Joe are not given names.
- Offscreen Karma: Blanks mentioned in an interview in 2021 that all four of them are dead by the film's main events; Jeremy murdered them first before targeting everyone else.
- Small Role, Big Impact: The gang only appears in the prologue, but their teasing of Jeremy and Dorothy and the latter's subsequent lie to save herself kicks off the plot.
