Starfish

The movie, which is dedicated to A.T. White's deceased friend and which begins with a "based on a true story" title card, is an allegory for grief. The monsters unleashed in town mirror the loss in Aubrey's life. Her reaction to them follows the 5 stages of grief. First, she ignores everything and goes through denial ("I wonder if the world still exists if I choose to ignore it"). This abruptly switches to anger (punching the wall until her hand is bloody), then bargaining ("okay Grace, you get one chance...we'll try it your way"), followed by depression (the despondent conversation in the library where she says she's incapable of happiness), and culminating in acceptance (finally seeing Edward's face in her visions; symbolically drowning the man she cheated with; writing out the "Forgive + Forget" message; letting go and floating upwards).

The two way radio never needs recharging and also does not require pressing a push to talk button to talk back.

One of the rare films besides Se7en and Kiss Me Deadly where the end credits roll from top to bottom rather than the traditional bottom to top.

References Laranja Mecânica (1971)