Dead Wait story
Red Buckley, a thug with naturally red hair, offers to work for Duvall, a plantation owner on a tropical island gripped in civil war. Red teams up with Duvall's mistress, Katherine, in order to steal Duvall's prized possession: a highly valuable black pearl. Red later double-crosses Katherine, only to be double-crossed himself by a mysterious priestess. Directed by: Tobe Hooper. Story by: Gilbert Adler.
14 total · 9 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| betrayal | major | Red double-crossed Katherine, only to be double-crossed himself by the mysterious voodoo priestess. |
| folk belief | major | The mysterious priestess explained that in her culture the color red, such as was manifest in Red's naturally red hair, symbolized life itself. |
| greed for riches | major | Red and Katherine were both lusting for the wealth they would steal. |
| love triangle | major | Red took up with Duvall's mistress, Katherine, not long after Duvall hired Red to work on his plantation. |
| man and mistress | major | The plantation owner Duvall and his black mistress, Katherine. |
| revolution in society | major | The story is set on a tropical island nation in the backdrop of a revolutionary war. Duvall and others had to urgently leave the plantation because the revolutionaries were rapidly advancing. |
| romantic infidelity | major | Katherine carried on with Red under the nose of her lover, Duvall. |
| theft | major | Red was, in fact, out to steal a precious black pearl and perhaps some other valuables. |
| voodoo magic | major | The mysterious priestess was a voodoo practitioner, it was made clear. |
| foreign point of view | minor | The viewer is recurringly shown the stereotyped voodoo culture of a tropical island people through the eyes of the rogue Red Buckley. Most notably, he was bemused by the fact that the color red, such as was manifest in his naturally red hair, was regarded as a symbol of life itself in their culture. |