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| “ | You're young, stupid, so you don't know these things, okay? When another man f-cks your wife...There's gotta be some payback. You have to punish him... I had to punish my Rosemary too, and that broke my heart. But she asked for forgiveness and I have a soft spot for those I love, so I told her that she could stay home with me. | „ |
| ~ Vaughn's motive rant. |
Vaughn Ely is a psychopathic killer and the main antagonist of the horror-thriller film, Beneath the Darkness.
He was portrayed by Dennis Quaid, who also portrayed Charlie Peck in The Intruder, Harvey in The Substance, and Corporal Gallo in Pandorum.
Biography[]
Vaughn Ely was a mortician living in Smithville, Texas; he had a wife whom he loved very much, but she was cheating on him with Silvia Moore's husband, Jack. Upon finding out, Vaughn killed Rosemary in an unspecified way and passed it off as an accident. At the funeral, he saw Jack sitting there, unaware that Vaughn knew. After the funeral, one night he kidnaps Jack and forces him at gunpoint to dig up Rosemary's grave. Upon reaching the coffin, Vaughn ordered Jack to open it. He did, and Rosemary's corpse was not there, because Vaughn had taken it and stored it in his house. Vaughn then bludgeoned Jack with the shovel, trapped him in the coffin, and buried him alive.
Two years later, a group of teenagers think they see a ghost in Vaughn's window (it was actually him dancing with Rosemary's body), they sneak into the house and find Rosemary's body in the bed. However, Vaughn catches them and while seeming to let them go by, he grabs Danny and chokes him. Abby and Brian run from the house, while Travis goes in and pleads for Vaughn to let Danny go. Vaughn asks Danny if he's scared and then throws him down the stairs. He taunts Travis, saying that accidents happen and stomps on Danny's head, crushing his skull.
The teenagers run away while Vaughn phones police and claims that Danny had fallen down the stairs. Because, they had broken into his house and Vaughn being a well-respected member of the community, the teenagers are not believed. So, the next night, Abby and Travis return to the house to try and look for Rosemary's corpse. However, Vaughn anticipates this and knocks out Abby on the porch. He confronts Travis on the stairs with his revolver and when he tries to choke Travis, he gets kneed in the groin. Travis runs off, but Vaughn manages to wound him after shooting four times.
After calling the police, Vaughn covers up the coffin he put Abby in, with a tarp, and comes up with a lie that he's growing tomatoes under it. The cops buy the lie and leave. Travis wakes up in a hospital, knowing that Abby is still in the house, he escapes from the hospital with the help of his friend Brian and returns to the house again, this time alone. However, Vaughn holds him at gunpoint, tying him up and putting him in the van with a restrained Abby and Rosemary's corpse. Vaughn then drives to the cemetery where he buried Jack and forces Travis to dig up Rosemary's grave. While this is happening, Abby escapes her binds and dons Rosemary's dress.
Vaughn forces Travis to open the coffin and goes on a motive rant, explaining that he killed Jack for sleeping with his wife. But, he forgave Rosemary and let her stay in the house. He then forces Travis to remove the body, but Travis distracts him by saying that Rosemary hates him for killing her. Vaughn claims this isn't true, but Travis tells him to ask her himself, to which Vaughn turns around and sees Abby in Rosemary's dress. However, to him, she appears as Rosemary and explains that she does hate him. He tells her not to be hateful, and while he's distracted, Travis hits him in the leg with the shovel, and he falls into the coffin. Travis tries to close the coffin, but Vaughn fights with him, until Abby hits him in the face with the shovel. The two teens then bury Vaughn and call for police. The police arrest Vaughn and he is committed to a mental hospital. At the end of the film, Vaughn is shown in his cell screaming for someone to let him out, before turning towards the screen and telling the audience that "love sucks."
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
| “ | Oh, we had a funeral. I put a casket in the ground, but she wasn't in it. Jack there, Jack was at the funeral. He just sat there the whole time looking at me...like I had no idea he was screwing my wife. Joke's on you. Ha-ha. | „ |
| ~ Vaughn Ely |
| “ | I'm love sick is what I am. Because of you, I have to put Rose into the ground...until the shitstorm that YOU CAUSED BLOWS OVER! | „ |
| ~ Vaughn Ely |
Trivia[]
- It is hinted that Vaughn might be a necrophile.
- Vaughn has some kind of mental illness, since he dances every night with Rosemary's body and believes that Abby is Rosemary.