"Ed"/The Water Street Butcher
Played by: Ben Messmer
An elusive Serial Killer and the Villain Protagonist of the movie.- Attention Whore: Seeks Fame Through Infamy through his murders, similar to real-life serial killers.
- Ax-Crazy: Though not incapable of a civil façade, he's still violent and dangerous.
- Batman Gambit: Assuming the persona of the "Water Street Butcher" after the public starts to realize a pattern to the rash of killings, he starts exclusively (almost) targeting prostitutes, and frames a police officer for the Water Street Butcher murders, ensuring that he will receive the death penalty for the heinous nature of his crimes. He succeeds.
- Big Bad: The Villain Protagonist and the cause of every event in the film.
- Bondage Is Bad: Has a thing for binding, gagging, and hogtying his victims, and keeps Cheryl as his unwilling Sex Slave.
- Break the Cutie: Holds Cheryl captive for a total of 8 years before fleeing his house and leaving her there for the police to find, along with his tapes. During this period of time, he repeatedly sexually assaults her, forces her to commit some of his murders, and brainwashes her into believing he loves her. This all culminates in her being Driven to Suicide after he leaves.
- The Butcher: Often mutilates his victims, and the press calls him the Water Street Butcher once he starts killing prostitutes.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Seems to adore the nickname the press gave him."Ed": I'm a butcher.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The name of the game for him.
- Deadpan Snarker: As demonstrated in his conversation with the English woman.
- Despair Event Horizon: One of the FBI agents interviewed speculates that he underwent one and began his killing spree shortly after.
- Disposable Sex Worker: His victim of choice after he assumes the mantle of the Water Street Butcher.
- The Faceless: His real face is never shown.
- Fame Through Infamy: Part of the reason he records his murders is so his tapes can be spread around the public and cause fear among the masses. Being a Sadist, the Butcher gets off on his horrid reputation.
- Faux Affably Evil: Pretends to be a concerned citizen when he approaches Cheryl's mother shortly after she came home to find Tim dead and her daughter missing. Oh, Crap! Once she realizes who he really is, he takes off running and chuckling.
- For the Evulz: Given the theatrical nature of his tapes and The Unreveal of his identity, as far as the viewer is concerned, this is the sole motive for his crimes.
- Hate Sink: There is absolutely nothing redeeming about the Butcher or his atrocities. He is portrayed as a violent, egotistical psychopath who earns nothing but scorn and disgust from the characters in-universe.
- I Love the Dead: He is stated to have returned to the scenes of his murders for this reason.
- Invincible Villain: Everything goes his way and he suffers no punishment.
- Karma Houdini: Is never caught or punished at all.
- Kick the Dog: He digs up Cheryl's body, presumably for sexual reasons, and to cause her family more grief.
- Lack of Empathy: He doesn't simply lack empathy. He exploits other peoples' empathy for his own pleasure.
- Large Ham: He loves theatricality when committing his murders.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Wears a Venetian bird mask to hide his face. And sometimes a gas mask, as shown in the picture.
- Mind Rape: Does this to Cheryl. It fucks her up to the point where she literally can't live without him.
- Monster Misogyny: Like many Real Life serial killers, most of his victims are women. He only kills men if they get in the way.
- Mood-Swinger: Usually calm and composed, but without warning, he'll start yelling at his victims. And good god, is it unsettling.
- Narcissist: Part of the reason he records his murders and treats them as performances is so he can flaunt his superiority and gain more attention from the public. This exploited by the police as a trap at the end of the film, who predict that the Butcher will repeatedly go to see his movie to satiate his ego.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Shares similarities with several real-life serial killers. Ted Bundy (who makes an appearance), Gary Ridgway, Roy Norris and Lawrence Bittaker
, Jack the Ripper, and Maury Travis, to be specific. - No Social Skills: Most of his attempts at a normal conversation quickly take a really creepy turn.
- Sadist: Loves to hurt other people, either physically or mentally. There has even been some speculation that he's the one making the documentary to revisit his crimes.
- Serial Killer: Well, duh.
- Snuff Film: He videotapes his crimes, with the full intention of allowing the police to find the tapes.
- The Sociopath: Zig-zagged. He exhibits most of the criteria, such as violent behavior, a Lack of Empathy, an inflated ego, and a disregard for laws and social norms. However, the documentarians and psychologists offer several different explanations for his behavior and theorize that he might be capable of remorse. Given his Mysterious Past, however, it's unknown if any of this is true.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Will often switch between this and Suddenly Shouting.
- Torture Cellar: Has a basement where he takes his victims to rape, torture, and eventually murder.
- Villain Protagonist: He's the primary focus of the movie.
- Would Hurt a Child: Oh, yes. His first victim was a little girl, and he would have killed two young Girl Scouts had he not heard Cheryl whimpering.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: "Ed" seems to enjoy giving his victims' families a false sense of hope or closure.
Cheryl Dempsey
You are the master and it pleases me to serve you ...
Played by: Stacy Chbosky
A young woman kept by the Butcher as a Sex Slave for eight years.- Apologetic Attacker: She reluctantly slashes a prostitute's throat when the Butcher orders her to.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil/Brainwashed and Crazy: Nearly a decade of torture, brainwashing, and sexual abuse at the hands of her "master" lead to her believe that he actually loved her.
- Driven to Suicide: Ultimately, her "master" leaving her was too much for her shattered mind, and she killed herself.
- Madness Mantra: Just take me home ... just take me home ... just take me home ...
- Self-Harm: Maybe. It's unclear whether the Butcher cut off her arm, or if she did it herself.
- Sex Slave: Kept as one for eight years.
- Stockholm Syndrome: Becomes attached to the killer after years of abuse, and finds herself unable to live without him.
