Blake Lewis is an intelligent but reserved accountant who has a passion for blood. Lewis plays out his role as a CEO for a multi-national company during the day, but when the sun is down, the violence within him heats up. But, unlike most psychopaths, Lewis knows that his urges are wrong and why they’re wrong, so he directs the urges to a greater cause, and deals out justice by killing the guilty.
Lewis has known, ever since he was a kid, that he was different from everyone else. He showed signs, namely the disturbing and deeply graphic depictions of murder and torture in his scrapbook, and as his family and school teachers started to worry for him, Lewis’ awareness of the monster within him was the beginning of his desire for self control. It took years of self exploration and effort, but over the years, he got better at controlling his passion for blood. One day, on the way home from university, Lewis glimpsed a man raping a teenage girl outside the bus window, and rushed off while it was moving; Lewis felt the need to help, went over and put an end to the situation before telling the girl to head home. But, after she left, Lewis couldn’t keep it back any longer; it wasn’t even about justice anymore. He just couldn’t let the monster walk free to hurt another innocent.
Next morning, police discovered the rapist with several stab wounds to his head. The killing wasn’t seen as one of justice, and went down as an unsolved murder.
The film continues five years later, in Lewis’ basement. His walls are completely full of newspaper clippings, showing his obsession with criminals and his desire for justice. Lewis is shown organizing a large number of knives and weapons.
Lewis picks up a blood stained knife, and an extreme close up of the knife is shown, with his blurred face visible in the background because of the focus. As the focus shifts onto Blake, a smirk is shown visible on his face, and then a dialogue begins: “(laugh) well I learned how to adapt”.
Lewis is shown making his way to work and his stream of consciousness is played as a non-digetic sound in the background, mixed in with many close-ups of his face as Lewis’ thoughts flitter constantly between his inner demon, and his day-time persona, which is the side of him which keeps his demon alive and concealed.
Lewis is unable to find any meaning in life, any satisfaction, or any sense of being, during the day. He knows that it’s because of the demon, because he only ever feels truly alive at night, which he subconsciously links back to his first murder. He has trouble identifying night time with anything else, and it’s the only time he can really feel like he matters to the world. He knows that leading a dual identity is tearing him apart, though. He just can’t go on living the way he does.
After work one day, a co-worker, Ken, invites Lewis over to his house for dinner which Lewis reluctantly agrees to go to. It’s at dinner that Michael introduces him to his sister. Lewis is just mesmerized by her beauty, and it’s at this point he realizes that there could be more in store for him than he’s living right now. He’s content just knowing that she may be the one, the one who will divert his passion away from blood lust and into something greater.
As Lewis’ love for Angela develops, he notices how she doesn’t show much interest in return, and he’s gutted that the love between them isn’t mutual, as she insists they’ll remain friends. This bothers Lewis a lot but he remains confident that she is the one for him. It’s this anger which will fuel the murders of this story, as his frustration is unleashed and his murders grow increasingly violent, and the locals, who have always suspected the existence of a ruthless vigilante, start fearing for their lives, as they learn that the “justice” that has been handed out in the city over the last few years might not be so righteous after all.
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