Pickman's Model story
Art student Will Thurber becomes friends with Richard Pickman, whose horrific works of art depicting demons and gruesome scenes mesmerize him. Years later, Thurber, now a museum curator, remains enthralled but disturbed by Pickman's works, suffering horrific dreams. Pickman, now a successful artist, drops in to visit, interacting with his wife, Rebecca, and young son, James. When James also begins having terrifying dreams after seeing Pickman's work, Thurber confronts Pickman. Pickman begs him to come to his home and see his works, explaining that he only ever wanted for the works to be seen. Thurber lights the works on fire and accidentally shoots Pickman, who reveals that the works were not based on imagination, but real life and scenes of the future. A demon depicted in one of the paintings emerges and drags Pickman's corpse away. The next day, Thurber is horrified to find his museum displaying Pickman's works, completely undamaged, and that James and Rebecca have viewed them. He sends the two home and orders the paintings destroyed. Returning home, he discovers that the paintings have driven Rebecca mad. She has gouged out her eyes and butchered and cooked their son, just as depicted in one of Pickman's paintings. Cast: Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, Oriana Leman Directed by: Keith Thomas. Story by: Lee Patterson, H. P. Lovecraft.
16 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| madness inducing painting | choice | A main novelty of the story is this: people who viewed Richard Pickman's paintings started suffering from disturbing dreams and then, at varying rates of progression, started going insane.. |
| painting | choice | The story concerns two painters, Will and Richard. Richard Pickman had a supernatural ability to imbue his creations with a quality that makes those that perceive them go mad. |
| descent into madness | major | People who viewed Richard Pickman's paintings started suffering from disturbing dreams and then, at varying rates of progression, started going insane. In particular, Rebecca and James' son started suffering from nightmares. One may also question James' own mental state after having viewed so many of Pickman's paintings. |
| falling out of friendship | major | Will and Richard became friends, but then they became not friends because of Richard's gruesome paintings. |
| father and son | major | Will and his young son, James, whom Will was deeply concerned about when the son started having nightmares after viewing one of Pickman's paintings. Will was distressed to find the severed head of his son baking in the oven. |
| husband and wife | major | Will and Rebecca. |
| monster | major | Richard painted monsters. When Richard died, unless we think Will hallucinated, it would seem at least one such monster was indeed real and emerged out of a well to collect Richard's body. |
| the need to prove one's self | major | Richard Pickman had some sort of desperate need to have his art be accepted or recognized by Will. |
| cannibalism | minor | Will stumbled upon Lavinia's feast of human flesh in his nightmare. In the end, a deranged Rebecca butchered and cooked her young son to Will's great horror. |
| coping with the death of a child | minor | Will was distressed to find the severed head of his son baking in the oven. |