Headscratchers / Eyes Wide Shut

• Victor Ziegler gave a reasonable explanation as to how the orgynizers found out that Bill was an intruder; however, it is still unclear how the mysterious woman learnt that, since she could hardly know the details Ziegler cited as evidence. On the contrary, she somehow seemed to just know it at first sight. Same with the novella, where Fridolin draws suspicion by being the only one not taking part in the orgy itself - however, the woman sees through his masquerade much earlier than that.
  • One: she actually knew everybody at the party, so she instantly recognized Bill as an intruder. Or she spotted the taxi and realized that he was, it's just that someone else tipped Ziegler off and she tipped Bill off.
    • This one is possible if all the people used the same costumes (which would make sense, as the people who attend these parties would have as they own their costumes and used them multiple times regularly instead of renting them, like Bill, and his probably stood out to her. And for as to why she didn't assume this was just a new addition to the party, there's probably another small ritual where new people are with another familiar person (or couple) and she didn't recognize his mask and came by himself without someone familiar being near him). Also, the fact that Bill was standing by himself probably was one of the more "stand-out" (no pun intended) clues for her (as everyone else appears to be standing in groups or couples (with the exception of the hired help, who are by themselves but are dressed in simple suits and not the typical orgyist outfit).
    • Another possibility that isn't considered is the fact that after Bill came in, he wasn't standing with everyone else. It seems that all the orgyists all stand together during the "ritual", even if there may have been those who were individuals, there wasn't many standing by themselves or drastically separate from everyone else. Bill, however, was still standing by himself after he came in and farther from everyone else. Also, there is the fact that he came later than everyone else there. The fact he was literally "standing out" from others there and coming in later than everyone else might have also been a bit of a clue to her that he wasn't one of them.
  • Second possibility: it's Mandy or Domino. Both have seen Bill earlier in the night, Mandy with Ziegler (which might point to it being her). Both know that Bill is not involved because of his kind treatment of them and/or, in Mandy's case, because of what Ziegler told Bill about the circumstances of her overdose.
    • According to Ziegler, the woman from the costume party was the same woman from Ziegler's Christmas party. Which makes her death less of a coincidence than the logical and sad conclusion of someone who abused drugs and didn't get help.
  Victor Ziegler: Come on! It was always going to be just a matter of time with her. Remember? You told her so yourself. You remember? The woman with the great tits who OD'd in my bathroom.
  • Thirdly (which might overlap with the above): Paranoia Fuel. Bill gave himself away another way which she saw, she just doesn't get a chance to tell him it was.
  • Or they told her. Her warning was just a way to get him to leave. Then when he didn't, as part of their plan to scare the crap out of him so that he'd keep his mouth shut. If you pause the video where we see the article about her death, it mentions that she was aspiring to be an actress.
• Just how did the mask end up on Bill's bed?
  • Somebody broke in while Alice slept and put it there.
  • The mask fell out of the bag the costume was in after Bill got home, and he didn't realize it. Later that day, Alice found the mask. She put it on the pillow beside her, figuring that was all she needed to do to ask Bill what was going on.
  • Alice was at the orgy and is part of the secret group and put it there herself.
• Did the owner of the mansion foresee that Bill would turn up at the gate the next day? There really wasn't time to type the note between the time he gets to the gate and when the car appears up the drive, so realistically they would have to have it at the ready in case he showed up.
  • Only the envelope specifies his name. The note itself could've been written for everyone who arrives there with relevant enquiries at a much earlier date, and they simply typed the envelope with Bill's name.
• Another one for Victor Ziegler and the orgyists: there are a small number of people who take Bill's interpretations of events as truth that the orgyists were going to hurt or possibly kill Bill to keep their orgy a secret and that they did kill the woman in the mask and Nightingale may have possibly been killed too. Victor states the orgyists planned on just scaring him to keep him silent about what he saw and we see that before Bill finds out about Amanda Curran's death in the newspaper, it's clear their plan to keep silent due to being scared worked. Victor telling Bill what actually was going on does the opposite of what the group wanted and pretty much allowed Bill to talk to his wife about what happened (IIRC, didn't they tell him not to tell her anything as well?). Now, if Bill's interpretation of events were in fact the truth, why the hell did Victor call him to his place, spin a lie about nothing happening to the masked woman except her being screwed silly like before, that Nick was alive and sent back home to his wife and family, and that the woman died of an OD in her own apartment? Doing that would just give Bill no reason to keep quiet anymore, and Bill had no idea Victor was there until he told him. So, for those who believe that Bill's interpretation of events as true, can you explain what gives away that Victor lying about what happened (any particular details that jump out that confirms Bill's interpretation as truth and Victor's explaination as lie), when the action of him calling Bill to his house and telling him the truth gave Bill free rein to tell anyone he wanted about the orgy seems legitimately true? And if Victor is lying, why would he bother to call Bill with this lie about nothing happening to the masked woman that hadn't happened before, lying about Nick being alive but beaten up and that the woman OD in her own apartment, when the group had successfully frightened Bill to stay quiet if they legitimately have the power and money to make people disappear? Even better, if they were as powerful as some have suggested, why let Bill leave the mansion at all if the orgyists were as dangerous as Bill believed before Victor told him the truth? Every time this troper has asked this question, the Tinfoil Hat conspiracy theorists would be in droves answering as if the conspiracy was the only and correct answer.
  • This troper has always interpreted the film as being about the conspiracy mindset. So it's simultaneously valid to say that all these points are true, and yet, the very apparent "openness" of Victor's explanation is itself suspicious, and the viewer retains paranoia (even if just a shred of it) and/or the secret belief that Victor is actually lying the more he seems to tell the truth. It requires the audience to choose between the boring mundanity (Amanda overdosed, Nick got beaten up) or secret sensationalism, neither of which might be true. AFAIK, nothing directly contradicts Ziegler, but nothing directly supports him either; the desk guy saw Nick being dragged out with a bruised eye, but nobody confirms he got to Seattle for instance; we know Amanda died, but nobody can confirm than it was definitely Amanda who offered herself. All of that being said...
  • Bill isn't just some nobody. Although he is clearly not high-class enough to fit in with Ziegler's orgy buddies, he's Ziegler's doctor, and Ziegler knows him well enough to call him when Mandy overdoses (the first time). With this in mind, and Bill's apparent concern for Mandy's welfare, Ziegler could've assumed that Bill is discreet enough to be trustworthy if "all" he thinks happened is some creepy ritual. If Bill genuinely feared for Nick's or Mandy's safety, he might be much more inclined to involve the police or others. Also it's a commentary on Bill's character after the night he's had, that Ziegler guesses he'd prefer to accept the rational explanation he's been offered - especially knowing that the person he knows, who met his wife and knows he has a daughter, is part of it.
  • As far as "why not just kill Bill at the orgy?", two possibilities: 1. Bill isn't high risk like Amanda. Even Bill himself tells Amanda that she's going to die if she continues doing what she does, and Domino is a prostitute who is known to be dying (assuming it isn't Amanda who sacrifices herself). The long drive between Seattle and New York gives the men ample ways to dispose of Nick (if they were ever going to). If Bill dies overnight in New York, Alice is probably going to want answers, and it doesn't help that Ziegler has already established a clear link between himself and Bill with the Christmas party. If they're that powerful, though, I think 2 is more likely: 2. it's all about the ritual. This group clearly puts value on ritual, because otherwise why even bother with the house, masks, etc. when Ziegler and Mandy weren't wearing them before to have sex at the party? Bill was going to be the sacrifice, but when Mandy or whoever offered herself up ritualistically in his place, they had no "choice" to let him go by their own standards.
  • Why bother even thinking about killing him at all? There are no names, no faces, no records, no artifacts and no witnesses. Ziegler's explanation, which is simple and straight forward, may actually be true. The group's intentions were to scare him about what he heard and saw so there'd be no further investigation or publicity and to get him out the door and away from that house. The only way the group can screw it up is to kill Bill and threaten/harm his family. Because if they do, his surviving friends and family may ask questions and before you know it there's a pile of bodies that you can't just get rid of. After all, the warnings would've worked even if no one had died. Ziegler probably decided that enough was enough and explained to Bill what was going on to calm him down before things got out of hand; as in thinking his life was in danger, that a woman was murdered because of him and going to the police to report it.
    • It should also be pointed out that Bill trespassed on private property and invaded their privacy. As Ziegler points out, Bill had no business being there in the first place. He rightly pointed out that it was Nick's fault. If Nick was bound by an NDA, he should've kept his mouth shut or at least explained to Bill that he was bound by a confidentiality agreement. As a Doctor, Bill would've understood and backed off. Wearing masks and having orgies aren't illegal. Someone threatened their privacy and they made it very clear to him and Nick that what they did was not appropriate and to get out.
    • On top of which. So what? They had a formal masked costume party that featured an orgy between consenting adults. Even if Bill had decided to go public, he'd have no proof. The group doesn't need to kill him (which would attract unwanted attention). All they have to do is sit back and do nothing.
  • Another thing, if Nick was actually killed, why bother taking him back to his hotel to pack his things and check out in front of an eyewitness (and CCTV)? They could've just gone in the back door and packed up his stuff and quietly pay his bill or just not show up at all.
    • This also brings up another question: If Nick was killed, then why didn't they make it look like an accident that occurred in the hotel room? If they killed Amanda and made it look like an OD (with the news article noting that the doors of her placed were locked from the inside), then making Nick look like he slipped and fell in the shower (for example) wouldn't have been hard for them to do. Not to mention, people falling in showers are a common thing that makes it plausible that no one would suspect foul play (and if the group are as powerful as people claim they are, they have the police in their pocket and were able to successfully make Amanda's death look like an OD, then they would be able to make a "slip in the shower" death story stick without anyone being the wiser).
• If Alice was a participant in the orgy as a few people believe due to her description of the dream she was having when she is awaken by Bill, how would it be possible for her to do so? Even if she had managed to stay awake and sneak off to go that very night, she would have to have someone at the apartment to keep an eye on her kid for her to leave. And even if she was there, she'd have to leave some time before Bill is removed from the premises at the orgy to be able to go back home (which is roughly an hour to get back, going from Nick's information about the party starting at 2am and Bill telling Alice after she woke up that it's "a little past four"), which would leave her with little time to wash up and climb into bed before Bill arrived. And how would she be able to go on any other night, considering that she's married and with a child, meaning that there'd be no free time for her to do so during the night time because of the fact any other time, she'd be in bed with Bill and risking him waking up and finding her missing? And parties like that wouldn't be done during the day (staff included, sex workers excluded), so she wouldn't be able to go to one that way.
  • The simple answer is that she wasn't nor has ever been a participant. One could see the plot of the film as a clear message that life is more mundane (completely, even) than it appears. Few people actually want or need "saving" and are fine to make their own decisions even if self destructive. To be honest I don't understand what movie these conspiracy theorists are watching, the film is largely devoid of sex, violence, politics, etc... and is clearly about the actual plot involving Bills relationship with his wife and the nature of married life