Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Savageland

 Savageland
type
TVTItem
 Savageland
label
Savageland
 Savageland
page
Savageland
 Savageland
comment
Savageland is a 2015 mockumentary horror movie about a small town of 57 in Arizona who all end up being murdered in a single night with only one survivor who ends up being the prime suspect in the murder case. The film is framed as a documentary dedicated to discussing the tragedy and the media circus that followed.
 Savageland
fetched
2023-12-03T10:00:30Z
 Savageland
parsed
2023-12-03T10:00:30Z
 Savageland
processingComment
Dropped link to Mockumentary: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Savageland
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Savageland / int_1045c71a
type
Dying Town
 Savageland / int_1045c71a
comment
Dying Town: Even before its destruction, Sanger de Cristo was a very small, very poor community with little to no economic prospects. People who wanted more out of life simply moved away.
 Savageland / int_1045c71a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_1045c71a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_1045c71a
 Savageland / int_10cb9a31
type
Axes at School
 Savageland / int_10cb9a31
comment
Axes at School: The last victims are at the town's preschool, where a teacher and nine students were killed.
 Savageland / int_10cb9a31
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_10cb9a31
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_10cb9a31
 Savageland / int_115d318
type
And Then John Was a Zombie
 Savageland / int_115d318
comment
And Then John Was a Zombie: Debated, but in the film's end, it's implied that Salazar became a zombie who attacks some campers.
 Savageland / int_115d318
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_115d318
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_115d318
 Savageland / int_120d0e3f
type
Adam Westing
 Savageland / int_120d0e3f
comment
Adam Westing: Author Lawrence Ross plays a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing version of himself.
 Savageland / int_120d0e3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_120d0e3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_120d0e3f
 Savageland / int_1282bf4f
type
No Celebrities Were Harmed
 Savageland / int_1282bf4f
comment
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Gus Greer is an obvious representation of inflammatory right-wing radio personalities like Alex Jones.
 Savageland / int_1282bf4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_1282bf4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_1282bf4f
 Savageland / int_1da5941e
type
The Quiet One
 Savageland / int_1da5941e
comment
The Quiet One: Salazar says very little throughout the movie, too shell shocked to put his experiences into words.
 Savageland / int_1da5941e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_1da5941e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_1da5941e
 Savageland / int_22071825
type
I'm a Humanitarian
 Savageland / int_22071825
comment
I'm a Humanitarian: The monsters bite and eat parts of their victims, which Salazar's accusers try to spin into him being a cannibal.
 Savageland / int_22071825
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_22071825
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_22071825
 Savageland / int_23f80ecd
type
Devoured by the Horde
 Savageland / int_23f80ecd
comment
Devoured by the Horde: The fate of anyone unlucky enough to be caught by the monsters.
 Savageland / int_23f80ecd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_23f80ecd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_23f80ecd
 Savageland / int_24321e44
type
Only Sane Man
 Savageland / int_24321e44
comment
Only Sane Man: Carlos Olivares, the second generation patrol officer. While he appears disconcertingly ambivalent towards the events he's seen as a border patrol man, even he knows that what everyone said about the massacre made no sense whatsoever and figures out his own conclusion based on the evidence. He even calls out Ross for his essentially using the tragedy as an excuse to soapbox his "race motivation" theory.
 Savageland / int_24321e44
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_24321e44
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_24321e44
 Savageland / int_269e82c1
type
Death of a Child
 Savageland / int_269e82c1
comment
Death of a Child: It’s explicitly stated that Sangre De Cristo’s children were amongst the many victims. Grace, despite being the main person Salazar was attempting to save, is sadly killed by the monsters attacking the town.
 Savageland / int_269e82c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_269e82c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_269e82c1
 Savageland / int_26fa627a
type
Elephant in the Living Room
 Savageland / int_26fa627a
comment
Elephant in the Living Room: It's suggested the monsters may have existed for a very long time prior to this and that the attack on Sangre De Cristo was just the first time they got bold enough to target a population center, as Carlos Olivares notes that the area has a long history of the border patrol periodically finding corpses that are partially eaten in ways that don't match typical predator patterns, around which the officers have built of culture of simply not talking about for some reason. On a bigger scale, discussion of the massacre is hampered by the reluctance of pretty much everyone to acknowledge that it looks a lot like a zombie movie.
 Savageland / int_26fa627a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_26fa627a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_26fa627a
 Savageland / int_2764d432
type
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 Savageland / int_2764d432
comment
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The sheriff comes off like a nice guy, but it’s implied he knows more about what’s happening than he lets on and knowingly let Salazar take the fall. Lawrence Ross becomes this as well: While he presents the argument that Salazar had no way of actually committing the massacre of Sangre de Cristo by himself, he uses the massacre as a soapbox to present his own argument that it was a racially motivated massacre somehow involving the state of Arizona (either perpetuating it or covering it up).
 Savageland / int_2764d432
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_2764d432
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_2764d432
 Savageland / int_2c7f645b
type
Gas Leak Cover-Up
 Savageland / int_2c7f645b
comment
Gas Leak Cover Up: The cover-up of what happened in Sangre De Cristo is an especially bad one of these, pinning the deaths of fifty seven people — the entire population of a small town — on a single man using mundane weaponry, despite massive and abundant evidence to the contrary. Predictably, very few people believe it and the fact that Salazar is convicted and executed despite the prosecution's borderline nonexistent case raises even further suspicion.
 Savageland / int_2c7f645b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_2c7f645b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_2c7f645b
 Savageland / int_3295cb16
type
Offscreen Moment of Awesome
 Savageland / int_3295cb16
comment
Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Due to the nature of the film, all of Salazar’s badassery in escaping the mass murder is only talked about, not actually seen.
 Savageland / int_3295cb16
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_3295cb16
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_3295cb16
 Savageland / int_39684516
type
Kill the Ones You Love
 Savageland / int_39684516
comment
Kill the Ones You Love: Duane Putnam murders his own family to prevent them from being killed by the monsters.
 Savageland / int_39684516
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_39684516
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_39684516
 Savageland / int_3d699462
type
Curb-Stomp Battle
 Savageland / int_3d699462
comment
Curb-Stomp Battle: Part of the reason people point out it's impossible for Salazar to have committed the massacre. It was a complete slaughter in which the townsfolk were totally outmatched, when it logically should've been the other way around given the townspeople outnumbered Salazar by several orders of magnitude and, even more pivotally, had guns while Salazar was armed with nothing but a machete and pickaxe.
 Savageland / int_3d699462
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_3d699462
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_3d699462
 Savageland / int_3ed23024
type
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome
 Savageland / int_3ed23024
comment
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The Kangaroo Court Salazar is put through and larger Government Conspiracy to use him as a scapegoat all does a really bad job at covering things up or making any sort of coherent argument as to how Salazar could have even done what they say he did that doesn't rely on Insane Troll Logic and blatant stereotyping. Unsurprisingly, it's clear by the end that the vast majority of people realize the truth about what happened, even they don't know the "why" of it.
 Savageland / int_3ed23024
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_3ed23024
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_3ed23024
 Savageland / int_3ef2e095
type
Beware the Living
 Savageland / int_3ef2e095
comment
Beware the Living: Salazar survives the massacre in one piece, though he's understandably traumatized by it. It's the living who claim his life by using him as a scapegoat and sentencing him to death. On the whole, the film makes clear the people trying to cover up or spin the destruction of Sangre De Cristo for their own ends are just as much endangering the public as the monsters themselves.
 Savageland / int_3ef2e095
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_3ef2e095
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_3ef2e095
 Savageland / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 Savageland / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: On the other hand, the film's ending credits (and the dialogue presented early on) make it clear that the more savvy people know the truth (or at best can agree that Salazar had no way of actually killing everyone in Sangre de Cristo) and Salazar becomes a martyr within the Mexican community, who arguably will use his experience as a way to prepare for whatever attacked the town and fight back.
 Savageland / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_40cc0c7e
 Savageland / int_415b3315
type
Stylistic Suck
 Savageland / int_415b3315
comment
Stylistic Suck: The movie is framed as a rather poor documentary that blatantly tries to equate an unrelated tragedy to the American immigration debate to push the creator’s political view. We also see several in-universe ads and PSA’s, all of which do this in their own way.
 Savageland / int_415b3315
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_415b3315
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_415b3315
 Savageland / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Savageland / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Salazar is convicted and executed for the tragedy, and the photos that could’ve saved him only come out afterwards. And it’s implied a second massacre is about to begin... Bittersweet Ending: On the other hand, the film's ending credits (and the dialogue presented early on) make it clear that the more savvy people know the truth (or at best can agree that Salazar had no way of actually killing everyone in Sangre de Cristo) and Salazar becomes a martyr within the Mexican community, who arguably will use his experience as a way to prepare for whatever attacked the town and fight back.
 Savageland / int_4e3d253b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_4e3d253b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_4e3d253b
 Savageland / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 Savageland / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: "Teeth marks". The point where it becomes abundantly clear that the events in Sangre De Cristo were NOT natural.
 Savageland / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_4e7c4536
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_4e7c4536
 Savageland / int_4ebd9efb
type
Spree Killer
 Savageland / int_4ebd9efb
comment
Spree Killer: Salazar is accused of being one, with the prosecution absurdly arguing that he personally murdered most of the 57 victims with a machete and a pickax.
 Savageland / int_4ebd9efb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_4ebd9efb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_4ebd9efb
 Savageland / int_525df529
type
Not Using the "Z" Word
 Savageland / int_525df529
comment
Not Using the "Z" Word: The monsters are probably zombies, but nobody ever dares use the word, even those who acknowledge that something unnatural happened. Deconstructed, as this just means everyone is too scared of sounding silly to directly discuss the very real danger.
 Savageland / int_525df529
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_525df529
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_525df529
 Savageland / int_52831ea
type
Shock Jock
 Savageland / int_52831ea
comment
Shock Jock: One of the interviewees is a talk radio host who, when he isn't outright insulting immigrants, tries to portray the incident as the work of some nebulous Mexican gang.
 Savageland / int_52831ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_52831ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_52831ea
 Savageland / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 Savageland / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: Deconstructed; the cops probably could've done something, but it's speculated that the residents of Sangre De Cristo were scared to call them, since many of them were illegal immigrants. Worse, the town was poor and many residents didn’t own proper phones, meaning they couldn’t call if they wanted to. The only person who does manage to call anybody outside the town is Duane Putnam, and he's so traumatized that he's almost incoherent. The call was not sent to the police, contains no useful information, and is essentially a rambling suicide note justifying the Mercy Kill of his family.
 Savageland / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_59907e4f
 Savageland / int_5a3b8032
type
The Un-Reveal
 Savageland / int_5a3b8032
comment
The Unreveal: While the nature of the massacre is strongly indicated (a zombie outbreak), the source of it is never revealed, nor is the reason for the coverup with Salazar.
 Savageland / int_5a3b8032
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_5a3b8032
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_5a3b8032
 Savageland / int_5a4aa505
type
Government Conspiracy
 Savageland / int_5a4aa505
comment
Government Conspiracy: It’s speculated by in-universe conspiracy theorists that the massacre in Sangre De Cristo was a racist attack of some sort that the government covered up for whatever reason. What they’re actually covering up is the Zombie Apocalypse that destroyed the town, though their motives for doing so go unrevealed.
 Savageland / int_5a4aa505
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_5a4aa505
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_5a4aa505
 Savageland / int_5af55436
type
Forced to Watch
 Savageland / int_5af55436
comment
Forced to Watch: Salazar is unable to save Grace and can only hold her hand as she is torn apart by the zombies in front of him.
 Savageland / int_5af55436
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_5af55436
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_5af55436
 Savageland / int_5d3e7c6
type
Kangaroo Court
 Savageland / int_5d3e7c6
comment
Kangaroo Court: It's abundantly clear that the "trial" Salazar was put through was bought and paid entirely by the people covering up the truth of the massacre to ensure he was found guilty, largely because the prosecution's case is embarrassingly weak and yet the judge sides with them on everything.
 Savageland / int_5d3e7c6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_5d3e7c6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_5d3e7c6
 Savageland / int_60414102
type
Zombie Apocalypse
 Savageland / int_60414102
comment
Zombie Apocalypse: It’s all but explicitly stated that this is what actually happened in Sangre de Cristo. The origins of the zombies go unrevealed, but they are implied to have originated in Mexico.
 Savageland / int_60414102
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_60414102
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_60414102
 Savageland / int_65acf9db
type
He Knows Too Much
 Savageland / int_65acf9db
comment
He Knows Too Much: Implied to be part of why Salazar is scapegoated for the massacre. Also, the trucker who picked up Salazar after the disaster and had his camera dies under mysterious circumstances soon after delivering the photos to Ross…
 Savageland / int_65acf9db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_65acf9db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_65acf9db
 Savageland / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 Savageland / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Several people climb the water tower in the town to escape the threat, and jump to their deaths rather than face it. Which only makes the idea of Salazar as a One-Man Army even more ridiculous.
 Savageland / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_6d332aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_6d332aea
 Savageland / int_6edc54d5
type
Here We Go Again!
 Savageland / int_6edc54d5
comment
Here We Go Again!: The ending heavily implies that a second massacre is about to start, with a group of unlucky campers coming under attack by the monsters.
 Savageland / int_6edc54d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_6edc54d5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_6edc54d5
 Savageland / int_7a143509
type
Shell-Shocked Veteran
 Savageland / int_7a143509
comment
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Salazar in all the footage from after the attack, with good reason.
 Savageland / int_7a143509
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_7a143509
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_7a143509
 Savageland / int_7a1856ba
type
I Reject Your Reality
 Savageland / int_7a1856ba
comment
The Sheriff insists that Salazar massacred the town in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Especially egregious is when he declares Salazar's pictures to be photoshopped, when professional photographers have found them to be authentic.
 Savageland / int_7a1856ba
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_7a1856ba
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_7a1856ba
 Savageland / int_80a7d3e2
type
Convicted by Public Opinion
 Savageland / int_80a7d3e2
comment
Convicted by Public Opinion: What the government of Arizona and prosecution tries to invoke with Salazar, making up for the total lack of any case against him by spinning his strange behavior and stereotyping as signs of him being unhinged. The successfulness of this is dubious at best, but he does get convicted, if only because the whole trial is blatantly rigged.
 Savageland / int_80a7d3e2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_80a7d3e2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_80a7d3e2
 Savageland / int_851dda8f
type
Humanoid Abomination
 Savageland / int_851dda8f
comment
Humanoid Abomination: The monsters come off more like this than traditional zombies.
 Savageland / int_851dda8f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_851dda8f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_851dda8f
 Savageland / int_85557b38
type
Reality Is Unrealistic
 Savageland / int_85557b38
comment
Reality Is Unrealistic: In-universe. Most of the characters refuse to believe that the town was attacked by zombies, despite the mountain of evidence. Racist hate groups have been known to target white people campaigning to advance civil rights, most famously Viola Liuzzo in 1965. This knowledge makes Ross's staunch insistence that the townspeople, including the white folks, were victims of a hate crime at least slightly less ridiculous.
 Savageland / int_85557b38
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_85557b38
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_85557b38
 Savageland / int_8ae880f7
type
Deconstruction
 Savageland / int_8ae880f7
comment
Deconstruction: Of the horror genre in general, exploring the aftermath of a typical gore-fest zombie movie; confusion and debate over what happened, an innocent man getting convicted for the crime because nobody believes that monsters did it, people hijacking the incident for their political views, and massive controversy ensuing when evidence of unnatural events become public. The film also drops the conventional found footage style for a documentary-like perspective. While this within itself isn't anything new in the genre, what does make it work is the usage of photographs to fill in the "found footage" aspect.
 Savageland / int_8ae880f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_8ae880f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_8ae880f7
 Savageland / int_8ba9512b
type
Our Zombies Are Different
 Savageland / int_8ba9512b
comment
Our Zombies Are Different: The monsters that killed the town are much faster and more brutal than Zombies are usually depicted, and implied to be the result of a Hate Plague. They also look downright demonic at times, though this may simply be due to the poor quality of Salazar’s pictures of them. They tend to appear warped or distorted even in images where other figures are clear, and some ambiguously look as though they might have inhuman anatomy. They also manage to disappear entirely after the massacre without a trace.
 Savageland / int_8ba9512b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_8ba9512b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_8ba9512b
 Savageland / int_91672d3e
type
Children Are Innocent
 Savageland / int_91672d3e
comment
Children Are Innocent: Grace, the little girl Salazar befriended and tried to save. He failed.
 Savageland / int_91672d3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_91672d3e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_91672d3e
 Savageland / int_9335ac5d
type
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold
 Savageland / int_9335ac5d
comment
Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Francisco Salazar is a strange man who lives by himself at the edge of town and has an almost compulsive habit of photographing everything from people he knows to random dead animals, but he's nothing but friendly and helpful to his neighbors. Unfortunately, his odd behavior is used against him after he becomes the Sole Survivor of the town's mass murder.
 Savageland / int_9335ac5d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_9335ac5d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_9335ac5d
 Savageland / int_96a33f11
type
Riddle for the Ages
 Savageland / int_96a33f11
comment
Riddle for the Ages: Due the nature of the film, a lot of questions are purposefully left unanswered at the end for the audience to chew on. What were the monsters that attacked the town? Where did they come from and why did they attack? What precisely happened during the massacre? What happened to the bodies that got dragged off to the desert? Why is the Government Conspiracy trying to cover it all up?
 Savageland / int_96a33f11
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_96a33f11
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_96a33f11
 Savageland / int_99298c71
type
Better to Die than Be Killed
 Savageland / int_99298c71
comment
Better to Die than Be Killed: Apparently what happened at the water tower, where eight people climbed up and then jumped off. It's heavily implied that the zombies had started to follow them up, and they chose to die rather than face the inhuman horror pursuing them. The more skeptical families of victims question how a single human Spree Killer could frighten a whole group of people that badly.
 Savageland / int_99298c71
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_99298c71
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_99298c71
 Savageland / int_99db72ee
type
Immune to Bullets
 Savageland / int_99db72ee
comment
Immune to Bullets: Ron Templeton's efforts to shoot the monsters don't do anything to stop them. They're not invincible, though, since Salazar managed to hack one apart with a pickax. This is pretty standard fare for zombies.
 Savageland / int_99db72ee
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_99db72ee
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_99db72ee
 Savageland / int_9e4ed124
type
Mundanger
 Savageland / int_9e4ed124
comment
Mundanger: Salazar survives against the monsters that attack his town. It's the living and their desire to deny what's really happening that claim his life. At one point, Carlos Olivares talks about many of the spooky things he's seen over the years as a border patrolman. Some of them are eerie and unexplainable, but others are perfectly mundane, if tragic, like illegal immigrants dying of dehydration extremely close to hidden caches of water.
 Savageland / int_9e4ed124
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_9e4ed124
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_9e4ed124
 Savageland / int_9e9203e1
type
Dramatically Missing the Point
 Savageland / int_9e9203e1
comment
Dramatically Missing the Point: Several interviewees keep trying to make the massacre a political issue and end up completely missing the obvious implications of what happened; most notably, a journalist keeps insisting it was a racist hate crime, while a Howard Stern-style shockjock tries to frame it as an attack by illegal immigrants. They’re both laughably wrong.
 Savageland / int_9e9203e1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_9e9203e1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_9e9203e1
 Savageland / int_aa30e350
type
Sole Survivor
 Savageland / int_aa30e350
comment
Sole Survivor: Salazar is the only survivor of the Sangre De Cristo mass murder, which of course makes him the prime suspect, however little sense it makes on further investigation.
 Savageland / int_aa30e350
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_aa30e350
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_aa30e350
 Savageland / int_ad22fa80
type
Apocalyptic Log
 Savageland / int_ad22fa80
comment
Apocalyptic Log: Salazar's photos, which paint a picture of him surviving the night of pure chaos and death that embroiled Sangre De Cristo. Duane Putnam's phone call during the massacre just before he commits suicide, the only call to come out of Sangre De Cristo that night. It's a broken, nigh incoherent rant in which he justifies mercy killing his family
 Savageland / int_ad22fa80
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_ad22fa80
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_ad22fa80
 Savageland / int_b2af79fb
type
Leave the Camera Running
 Savageland / int_b2af79fb
comment
Leave the Camera Running: Not in the documentary itself, but Salazar kept taking pictures (the closest thing he had to film) throughout the whole night. When asked about it, even he doesn’t seem certain why he did so.
 Savageland / int_b2af79fb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_b2af79fb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_b2af79fb
 Savageland / int_b499dd39
type
All Issues Are Political Issues
 Savageland / int_b499dd39
comment
All Issues Are Political Issues: A major theme of the film is apolitical violence and tragedy being hijacked for the sake of pushing a political agenda. In this case, a small-scale Zombie Apocalypse is twisted into a debate about border control policies, and the real problem is ignored at best, or actively covered up at worst.
 Savageland / int_b499dd39
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_b499dd39
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_b499dd39
 Savageland / int_b4fb00f6
type
Mistaken for Pedophile
 Savageland / int_b4fb00f6
comment
Mistaken for Pedophile: The sheriff uses Salazar’s entirely innocent pictures of Grace Putnam, next to his photography of dead animals, as “proof” that Salazar is a pervert. This is the only alleged motive the prosecution has, showing just how weak the case is.
 Savageland / int_b4fb00f6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_b4fb00f6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_b4fb00f6
 Savageland / int_bd8b2b0b
type
To Serve Man
 Savageland / int_bd8b2b0b
comment
To Serve Man: Implied. Most of the victims were bitten to death, and many of the bodies are either missing parts or completely gone.
 Savageland / int_bd8b2b0b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_bd8b2b0b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_bd8b2b0b
 Savageland / int_c25f7913
type
By the Lights of Their Eyes
 Savageland / int_c25f7913
comment
By the Lights of Their Eyes: The beings in Salazar’s photos have eyes that apparently reflect light like an animal’s, making clear they aren’t entirely human.
 Savageland / int_c25f7913
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_c25f7913
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_c25f7913
 Savageland / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 Savageland / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: Salazar is convicted of the massacre in his first trial, by just as his automatic appeal process starts, the photos he took that night are released to the public. These images show monsters attacking the town and appear to exonerate Salazar. Unfortunately, the judge rules the images inadmissible as evidence in the second trial, so Salazar’s conviction and death sentence are upheld, and he is ultimately executed.
 Savageland / int_c3c18143
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_c3c18143
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_c3c18143
 Savageland / int_c5f0119c
type
Insane Troll Logic
 Savageland / int_c5f0119c
comment
Insane Troll Logic: Gus Greer and the Sheriff constantly try to enforce the idea that Salazar somehow is the one who murdered all fifty-seven residents of Sangre de Cristo, despite multiple instances that it'd be impossible to do so. In fact: The Sheriff insists that Salazar massacred the town in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Especially egregious is when he declares Salazar's pictures to be photoshopped, when professional photographers have found them to be authentic. Gus Greer runs on this repeatedly throughout the documentary, from arguing that Mexicans and Immigrants are "obsessed" with death and ignoring all the obvious signs that Salazar had no way of committing the murders on his own (such as ignoring the fact that Salazar had bite marks himself from the victims that he "cannibalized").
 Savageland / int_c5f0119c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_c5f0119c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_c5f0119c
 Savageland / int_c95d04f2
type
It Can Think
 Savageland / int_c95d04f2
comment
It Can Think: Maybe. One of Salazar's photos shows monsters not doing anything, just lurking around the one landline in the town as if guarding it in case anybody tries to call for help, which would suggest they are much more than mere mindless beasts. But if that's really what they're doing is impossible to determine from the available evidence.
 Savageland / int_c95d04f2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_c95d04f2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_c95d04f2
 Savageland / int_caa28b82
type
Cloudcuckoolander
 Savageland / int_caa28b82
comment
Cloudcuckoolander: Even before the massacre, Salazar is noted to have been a very strange guy prone to doing weird things like constantly taking photos of everyone and everything — including random dead animals — and to have been a loner prone to lurking on the outskirts of the town instead of interacting with his neighbors even though they all liked him. Unfortunately, the media spins his odd behavior to make him look creepy and guilty.
 Savageland / int_caa28b82
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_caa28b82
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_caa28b82
 Savageland / int_cdfe12c3
type
Nothing Is Scarier
 Savageland / int_cdfe12c3
comment
Nothing Is Scarier: There is little to no explicit gore or violence and little to no explanations. Just photos of what happened and even then they don't cover any actual deaths. Pretty much all of the horror is left up to your imagination... It’s mentioned that a few of the bodies weren’t even found, with evidence that the attackers dragged them off into the desert afterwards. We never find out why. Some of Salazar's photos show the monsters not really doing anything, just standing around, with one in particular showing them huddled around the only landline in town. Why they do this is as unexplained as anything else.
 Savageland / int_cdfe12c3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_cdfe12c3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_cdfe12c3
 Savageland / int_cf48c17
type
Nightmare Face
 Savageland / int_cf48c17
comment
Nightmare Face: In Salazar’s photos, the creatures attacking the town have monstrous and distorted features. To some extent this might be because of the poor photo quality or the monsters’ movement, but the actual people in the pictures don’t look nearly as unsettling.
 Savageland / int_cf48c17
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_cf48c17
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_cf48c17
 Savageland / int_d52d28b6
type
Hypocrite
 Savageland / int_d52d28b6
comment
Hypocrite: Ross, the journalist, has his moral high ground rather badly undermined when it’s revealed that he had gotten a hold of Salazar’s photos, which could’ve exonerated him, but didn’t make them public until after the appeal.
 Savageland / int_d52d28b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_d52d28b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_d52d28b6
 Savageland / int_dc8ba6d5
type
The Scapegoat
 Savageland / int_dc8ba6d5
comment
The Scapegoat: The government of Arizona is accused of using Salazar as one to cover up what really happened.
 Savageland / int_dc8ba6d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_dc8ba6d5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_dc8ba6d5
 Savageland / int_e409de66
type
Manipulative Editing
 Savageland / int_e409de66
comment
Manipulative Editing: The in-universe documentary is blatantly editing things in such a way as to support Ross’s "it was a hate crime" theory and portray those who disagree in an awful light.
 Savageland / int_e409de66
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_e409de66
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_e409de66
 Savageland / int_e5fd8bc2
type
Hate Sink
 Savageland / int_e5fd8bc2
comment
Hate Sink: Gus Greer, the sheriff, and later on Ross are basically this, spending 99% of the time focusing less on the tragedy of Sangre de Christo and more of turning the massacre into a political tirade about race (or in Greer's case, endlessly attacking immigrants and Mexicans). The townspeople outside Sangre de Christo as well considering they happily mock Salazar for being odd and jump into stereotyping immigrants and the like.
 Savageland / int_e5fd8bc2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_e5fd8bc2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_e5fd8bc2
 Savageland / int_e62dfb96
type
No Endor Holocaust
 Savageland / int_e62dfb96
comment
No Endor Holocaust: Averted hard. One section of the film is dedicated to exploring the collateral damage of the massacre, like the effects it had on the families and friends of the victims.
 Savageland / int_e62dfb96
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Savageland / int_e62dfb96
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_e62dfb96
 Savageland / int_f3626b09
type
Mercy Kill
 Savageland / int_f3626b09
comment
Mercy Kill: Duane Putnam kills his wife and son to spare them from the monsters.
 Savageland / int_f3626b09
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_f3626b09
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_f3626b09
 Savageland / int_fab3b838
type
Everything Is Racist
 Savageland / int_fab3b838
comment
Everything Is Racist: One of the main interviewees is a journalist who keeps insinuating that the whole thing was a racial hate crime based on flimsy evidence. Becomes especially bad when it’s revealed he was the one to get Salazar's roll of film and develop the photos, so if anyone should have been able to figure out the truth, it was him.
 Savageland / int_fab3b838
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_fab3b838
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_fab3b838
 Savageland / int_fcf26d33
type
Spring-Loaded Corpse
 Savageland / int_fcf26d33
comment
Spring-Loaded Corpse: Danny Montes, a local teen, shows up at Salazar's house bleeding heavily. Salazar tries to help the boy only for him to die on Salazar's couch… and then come back to life and lunge at Salazar.
 Savageland / int_fcf26d33
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_fcf26d33
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_fcf26d33
 Savageland / int_name
type
ItemName
 Savageland / int_name
comment
 Savageland / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Savageland / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Savageland
hasFeature
Savageland / int_name
 Savageland / int_name
itemName
Savageland

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Savageland
hasFeature
All Issues Are Political Issues / int_57c84d7c
 Savageland
hasFeature
Films of 2015–2019 / int_57c84d7c
 Savageland
hasFeature
Inspirational Martyr / int_57c84d7c
 Savageland
hasFeature
Monster Media / int_57c84d7c
 Savageland
hasFeature
Spree Killer / int_57c84d7c
 Savageland
hasFeature
Tragic Monster / int_57c84d7c