Killing Words 2003

Ramón Diaz, a respected philosophy professor, abducts Laura, a psychiatrist, and claims to be a serial killer. As they talk in his basement, he records the conversation and traps Laura with a series of word games while he tries to psychoanalyze her in exchange for her freedom. This tense confrontation is shown in parallel with police interrogations about Laura’s disappearance, creating a chilling mirror between the two sides of the story.

As the conversations unfold, it becomes clear that Laura is Ramón’s ex-wife, who had accused him of spousal abuse during their divorce hearings. Ramón toys with Laura, sometimes altering his stories to appear harmless, only to circle back to his murderous intents. He contends at times that his murders are lies designed to manipulate her, while he also reveals a troubling romantic interest in her. Laura, desperate for leverage, offers to have sex for her freedom, but Ramón cannot bring himself to perform.

Laura ultimately admits that she lied during the divorce hearings, but she does so to shield him from the humiliation of the truth: that she discovered his affairs with male students. Throughout the interview, Ramón maintains a flinty pressure, claiming that he kidnapped Laura to force a confession, even as his narrative keeps drifting from the actual events. He speaks of a cat-and-mouse dynamic with his wife, insisting that she has won that game, even as the tension in the room escalates.

Hidden truths begin to unravel when police secretly search his home and find a doctored telephone message crafted from the basement recordings. The message makes it seem as if Laura faked her own death to frame Ramón, and the authorities believe the lie, temporarily clearing him of suspicion. When Ramón returns home, he views a video of the final chapter of his conversation with Laura. In this recording, he admits to affairs with male students and fatally stabs Laura, then fondles her body and begins to undress her before turning off the camera.