John Doe: Vigilante (also known as John Doe) is a 2014 Australian crime thriller, directed by Kelly Dolen. The story is written by Kelly Dolen and Stephen M.Coates. The screenplay was written by Stephen M.Coates. The film stars Daniel Lissing, Jamie Bamber, Lachy Hulme and Ditch Davey.
Some call him a hero. Some call him a villain. He's "John Doe: Vigilante" - an ordinary man who decides to take the law into his own hands. Frustrated with a failing legal system that continues to allow violent criminals to go free, John Doe begins exacting justice the only way he knows how - by killing one criminal at a time. Soon he becomes a media sensation and inspires a group of copycat vigilantes, but who is the real John Doe - a pillar of justice or a cold-blooded murderer? You decide.
Tropes:
- Anti-Hero: John Doe is a vicious, brutal Serial Killer. . . of a cornucopia of Asshole Victims, mostly child molesters/abusers, rapists, and abusive husbands/boyfriends. Coupled with the fact that his own wife and daughter were murdered by such a person—the very thing that spurred his killing spree, and its hard to hate the guy, or at least not see his point of view.
- Batter Up!: When John Doe inspires copycat vigilantes, three teenage boys decide to kill the other bouncer but, instead, the bouncer kills all three with a baseball bat. This causes the movement to organise more, and the next scene shows a larger group of people wearing masks and attacking the bouncer with baseball bats.
- Breaking Out the Boss: The film ends with the S4D vigilantes breaking John Doe out of the courtroom. Technically he is not their boss, he was their inspiration, but given their devotion to him, it seems inevitable that he will end up leading them (if he chooses to).
- Costume Copycat: An imposter dresses in John Doe's mask and hoodie and attempts to extort $10 million from the government.
- Creepy Souvenir: Adam McCleish has a collection of ponytails he cut off the young girls he murdered.
- Cyanide Pill: John Doe takes one while awaiting the verdict in his trial, knowing that he's either going to prison for the rest of his life or that he has no life to go back to even if he is acquitted—-his daughter was murdered, while his wife later killer herself over it, which spurred his killing spree. It turns out to be fake and a ploy for him to kill one last bad guy though.
- Domestic Abuse: One of John Doe's targets is a husband who is bashing his wife. John beats him to death in the laneway behind his house.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Pedophile Priest who John Doe murders is shown playing the piano with his granddaughter when John attacks him.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: John Doe cuts the throat of one of his victims with a broken bottle.
- Handy Cuffs: During his final interview with Ken Rutherford, John Doe has his hands cuffed in front of him at the table. After faking a suicide attempt, he wraps the chain between the cuffs around Ken's neck and kills him.
- Hollywood Law: The judge in John Doe's trial is wearing a black robe and no wig, and the barristers are wearing business suits. At a trial in an Australian Supreme Court, the judge should be wearing a red robe and full wig, and the barristers black robes and horsehair wigs.
- Immoral Journalist: John Doe films the process of his killings and sends it to the media. However, the mainstream media edits the films, showing only the execution, not the reason. John Doe then gives the films to a smaller outfit, which publishes them uncut on the internet. Their head journalist, Sam Foley, rides the wave of popularity surrounding John Doe to his own advantage, parlaying it into fame and success. It is strongly implied that John Doe is providing Sam with advance warning of his killings, and that Sam is withholding this information from the authorities.
- In the Hood: John Doe's 'costume' consists of an expressionless flesh coloured mask and a black hoodie. Because the mask matches his skin, with the hood up, it is not obvious to casual observers that he is wearing a mask.
- Malevolent Masked Men: John Doe wears an expressionless flesh coloured mask as part of his disguise. His followers, the S4D movement, wear similar masks, but theirs are white.
- murder.com: John Doe's last victim is Adam McCleish: the man who murdered his daughter and drove his wife to suicide. John has rigged the garage where he kills him with cameras and Immoral Journalist Sam Foley arranges for the murder to be streamed live on the internet.
- Neck Snap: Used by John doe to murder his last victim after faking a suicide attempt in order to draw the victim in close enough to grab him.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: One of the detectives being interviewed by the investigative reporter cites this as the "official" reason for why the task force to take down John Doe wasn't organized sooner.
- Off on a Technicality: John Doe's targets are criminals who have escaped justice or been let off on a technicality.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The title character is always referred to by his alias of 'John Doe', even after his arrest. His actual surname is Jones (revealed when a police officer does a licence check on him), but his first name is never revealed.
- Pedophile Priest: John Doe's first victim is a pedophile priest.
- Pistol-Whipping: John Doe hits one of his victims over the head with the butt of his gun before killing him with a Double Tap.
- Putting on the Reich: John Doe's followers, the S4D movement, wear black clothes, white masks and red armbands making them look like a cut-rate S.S.
- Role Called: John Doe: Vigilante
- Room Full of Crazy: The Pedophile Priest who is John Doe's first target has a wall covered in pictures of his past victims: each of which has a smiley face sticker stuck over their head.
- Serial Killer: John Doe confesses to a total of 33 murders. Thirty-four, after he kills Ken the night before his verdict is handed down.
- Serial-Killer Killer: John Doe, who spends his nights killing child molesters/abusers, rapists, and abusive husbands/boyfriends, culminating in the man who killed his wife and daughter (the very thing that spurred his killing spree).
- This Is Gonna Suck: John Doe when he realizes he left his mask in view of a cop who pulled him over
- Tomato Surprise: At the end of the film, the eponymous Villain Protagonist abruptly concludes his How We Got Here-style interrogation by killing the Hero Antagonist investigative reporter who's been interviewing him through the whole film. It then turns out that said reporter was actually the one for a Chekhov's Gun crime shown in one of the flashbacks — a surefire way to wind up on Doe's Dexter-esque hit list.
- Tongue Trauma: Members of the S4D movement start attacking the lawyers who had defended John Doe's targets. In at least one case, they cut out the lawyer's tongue.
- The Un-Reveal: The audience never does get to hear the verdict in John Doe's trial. The Minister is about to announce it when he is interrupted by an explosion in the crowd that marks the start of S4D breaking John Doe out.
- Vigilante Man: John Doe is an ordinary man who decides to take the law into his own hands after the unsolved murder of his nine-year-old daughter, which drives his wife suicide. John Doe then exacts justice by killing other criminals, one at a time.
- Vigilante Militia: John Doe's activities inspire other citizens to form a loose alliance called 'S4D' ('Speaker for the Dead'). S4D emulates John Doe and starts extracting vigilante justice in his name. However, S4D tends to be less directed than John Doe himself, and some of their victims are not criminals, such as the lawyers who defended some of John Doe's victims: an act that John Doe expresses regret for in his final interview.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: When one of the S4D members is shown other members cutting out a lawyer's tongue, he doubles over with his head dropping out of frame, followed by the sound of him retching. His guide concludes he is too weak to join their number.
- White Mask of Doom: John Doe's followers, the S4D movement, wear white expressionless masks, that frequently end up spattered with blood during their vigilante activities.
- Wife-Basher Basher: Men who inflict Domestic Abuse on their partners and children are a favoured target of John Doe. The beatings he inflicts are inevitably fatal.
