Anamorph is a 2007 independent psychological thriller film directed by Henry S. Miller and starring Willem Dafoe. Dafoe plays a seasoned detective named Stan Aubray, who notices that a case he has been assigned to bears a striking similarity to a previous case of his. The film is based on the concept of anamorphosis, a painting technique that manipulates the laws of perspective to create two competing images on a single canvas.

Dafoe turned down the role initially but reconsidered after a chance meeting with producer Marissa McMahon on a flight from Los Angeles. The film also has cameo appearances by Mick Foley and Debbie Harry.

The film had its world premiere at the 2007 Milwaukee International Film Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where star Willem Dafoe started out in theater. It was also shown at the Williamstown Film Festival in November the same year. The film opened in New York City on April 18, 2008 and in Los Angeles on May 2, 2008.

Plot

Stan Aubray (Willem Dafoe), is a seasoned, semi-retired detective with significant obsessive-compulsive disorder and struggling with alcoholism. Resigned to a teaching position for forensic psychology, he is called back to active duty following the elaborately staged murder of a man in a high-rise apartment building. The victim is suspended and surrounded by photography lights, the room sealed off except for a pinhole, creating a projected camera obscura effect on the apartment wall. This crime scene bears many similarities to the Uncle Eddie murders, a series of similarly artistic killings, for which Stan was promoted following the prime suspect s death in an attempted arrest. Stan relates some of his difficulties to Sandy, a recovering alcoholic and former prostitute who is a friend of Stan and Crystal, the final victim of Uncle Eddie, and Stan s apparent former lover. Sandy invites Stan on a hiking trip with a group of friends, which Stan declines.

A second killing quickly follows the first, in which the butchered corpse s limbs are hung independently from wires, creating the image of a raven when viewed from the proper angle. Stan begins drinking heavily, even filling his coffee cup with vodka in the middle of work. He also begins to have friction with Detective Carl (Scott Speedman), a recently promoted detective who is resentful of Stan s aloof attitude. Following this, Stan returns home to find his apartment has been broken into, the thief stealing an antique Victorian chair and replacing it with a taping of his inquiry following Crystal and Uncle Eddie s deaths. Stan also notices a painting identical to the camera obscura projection in an antiques store, also painted with identical pigments to the Uncle Eddie killings.

Stan visits Detective Jorge George Ruiz, his former partner until the Uncle Eddie murders. After reminiscing briefly, Stan doesn t inform Ruiz of the copycat killings, and departs. Partway home he realizes he is being followed, and chases his stalker, who escapes. The following morning, Stan is informed Ruiz has been found murdered, his abdomen opened and his innards removed, forming an inkwell of blood. The scene includes a pantograph machine and a half-finished canvas. Using his former partner s blood, Stan paints the other half of the painting, forming the image of a screaming face. The other officers begin to suspect Stan. Attempting to replace his chair, Stan consults with Blair Collet, an antiques dealer who finds antique chairs for Stan, and likens Stan to the killer s patron, as he bought the painting from the antiques store, or his obsession, similar to Francis Bacon s obsession with Pope Innocent. Blair then takes Stan to an art gallery which is filled with model depictions of the recent murders, including Stan s stolen chair. The curator informs them that the artist is Gerri Harden. Searching the art pieces, Stan finds a clay model of the raven, with hundreds of fingerprints still present on the clay. This leads them to a warehouse with a dummy model wearing a Gerri Harden name badge, and several paintings, when Stan realizes the name is an anagram from a red herring . During this time, he receives a photograph of Sandy and her friends from the hiking trip.

The next day, Stan receives a call from the killer, who repeatedly tells him a poison harms (An anagram for anamorphosis, the artistic technique he is using), and tells Stan to come see his next show, which is another empty warehouse containing diagrams of the final Uncle Eddie murders, including Crystal s, which, when viewed from high above, had the appearance of a body on a rock by a beach shore. Stan, at home, receives a call from Sandy with another invitation, when he realizes that the man who had been stalking him is in the picture. He fails to reach Sandy, and tries her AA group, when he learns her sponsor, the man in the picture, drove her away. Sandy is receiving a tattoo of angel s wings, provided by the killer. She blithely remarks that he might be too high to finish, and comments that she s never seen him high, and he responds that he d never put that poison in his veins. Sandy begins to struggle, first for a chance to look at the tattoo, and then for a break, and the killer slits her throat. Stan appears at the studio, without having called in for backup. He sees Sandy slumped over as the killer walks past her. Stan follows the killer, wounding him in the shoulder before being stabbed. The killer drags him to the podium and the chair that they d found the dummy in and props Stan in place. Stan, noticing the tattoo with an eye stenciled beneath it, places his head on Sandy s back, revealing that, when viewed in conjunction with the warehouse floor, spells out the word DEAD , a hallmark of the Uncle Eddie murders.

During this, Detective Carl, at his desk, notices a reflection in the first murder photo off his coffee cup, of the raven in the second murder. Searching the raven, he finds the face from the third killing, and in the third killing painting, finds an image of the studio they d searched. The killer shoots Stan, just before Carl appears and guns down the killer. Stan, struggling for breath, leans back, and dies.

Cast

• Willem Dafoe as Stan
• Scott Speedman as Carl
• Yul Vazquez as Jorge George Ruiz
• Clea DuVall as Sandy
• James Rebhorn as Brainard
• Amy Carlson as Alexandra Fredericks
• Peter Stormare as Blair Collet
• Don Harvey as Killer
• Paul Lazar as Medical Examiner
• Edward Hibbert as Gallery Owner
• Mick Foley as Antique Store Owner
• Debbie Harry as Neighbor
• Amir Arison as Profiler

Critical reception

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2018)

The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 27% approval rating based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 4.60/10. The site s critics consensus reads: Thin on plot but heavy on academic references, Anamorph proves more derivative than terrifying. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 43 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews .

Year	2007
ReleaseDate	2008-08-05
RuntimeMins	107
RuntimeStr	1h 47min
Plot	A psychological thriller based on the concept of anamorphosis, a painting technique that manipulates the laws of perspective to create two competing images on a single canvas.
Awards	Awards, 1 win
Directors	Henry Miller
Writers	Henry Miller, Tom Phelan
Stars	Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Don Harvey
Produced by	Michael G. Gunther,Marissa McMahon,Campbell Miller
Music by	Reinhold Heil,Johnny Klimek
Cinematography by	Fred Murphy
Film Editing by	Geraud Brisson
Casting By	Kerry Barden,Suzanne Crowley,Billy Hopkins,Paul Schnee
Production Design by	Jackson De Govia
Art Direction by	Doug Huszti,Woods Mackintosh
Set Decoration by	Carrie Stewart
Costume Design by	Eric Daman
Makeup Department	Brian Abbott,Mike Antolino,Tony Antolino,Andrea Bergstol,Milton Buras,Lynn Campbell,Diana Choi,Jerry Constantine,David Fidel,Linda Grimes,John James,Tim Jarvis,Chris Kelly,John Maisano,James Marino Sr.,Catherine Marino,Michael Marino,Mike Mulligan,Sylvia Nava,Michael Ostaszew,Jimmy Ramone Marino,Noriko Sato,Paul Sutt,Scott Wallace,Craig Lyman,Jovan Vitagliano
Production Management	Sirad Balducci,Paul A. Levin
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	David Blazina,Kara Doherty,Jason Fesel,Carrie Fix,Lauren Guilmartin,Michael G. Gunther,Josh Newport
Art Department	Nora Ashkar,Meredith Barchat,Martin Bernstein,Lois H. Ciganek Bernini,Cory Copeland,Christopher Doogan,Angela Dufresne,James Geyer,Jeffrey L. Glave,Lou Gluck,W. Steven Graham,Kalina Ivanov,James Kent,Suzanne Kent,Sydney Leier,Brianne Maciejowski,Dan Mahon,Kevin Mahon,Timothy Main,Erin Martinez,Talia Mendillo,Kay Michaels,Arne Olsen Jr.,Arne Olsen,Neil Prince,Dave Reardon,Malcolm Reid,Danny Ritches,Erwin F. Sholes,Leo Shvedsky,Cheryl Stewart,Tavia Trepte,Richard Vicencio,Sabrina Wright-Gilliar,Denis Zack,Ian Zdatny,Danielle Webb,Heather Wellik,Joan Winters
Sound Department	Brian Bowles,Robert Fernandez,Robert Fernandez,Anguibe Guindo,Matthew Haasch,Robert Hein,Michelle Mader,Glenfield Payne,Noah Timan,Peter Waggoner,Ryan Collison,Jay Peck
Special Effects by	Conrad V. Brink Jr.,Richard Edlund,Neil Ruddy
Visual Effects by	Eric Bruno,David Brzozowski,John H. Burnson,Marla Carter Barrett,Richard Edlund,Jessica Elvin,Janice Lee,Harry Paakkonen,Helena Packer,Sarah Paul,Mark Ritcheson,Robert Skotak,Kenneth Bailey,Joe Morrison
Stunts	Bill Anagnos,Gene Harrison,Manny Siverio,Erik Solky
Camera and Electrical Department	Grady Bayersdorfer,Jim Bokor,Ryan Callahan,Andrew Casey,Steve Comesky,Howard J. Cournoyer,Doug Dalisera,Kenneth Dodd,Christopher Donohue,Damien F. Donohue,Joseph Donohue,Pyare Fortunato,Damian Gonzales,Tim Guinness,Anil Gupta,Larry Huston,Lukasz Jogalla,Meg Kettell,Dmitry Kibrik,Kathleen King,John Leigh,Bruce MacCallum,James Mah,Lance Mayer,Tim McAuliffe,Jeff Muhlstock,James Harold Pollard,Michael Price,Andrew Priestley,Sabatino Rea,Kyle Rudolph,Richard Rutkowski,Lee Shevett,James Sylvia,Lacey Terrell,Danny Woods,J. Dan Wright,Steven Zuch,Paul Franck,Eric Leigh,Michael Oliva,Patrick Quinn,Michael Rudolph
Animation Department	Michael Saz
Casting Department	Sondra James,Laura Verbeke,Meredith Jacobson Marciano,Marny Smith
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Jeffrey Abell,Kristin Farley,Marta Font,Tonya Huskey,Jessica T. Sinoway,Rebecca Edmonston
Editorial Department	Ann Gray,Jesse Morrow,Mary Grace Nicolas,Jake Robinson,Joseph Ryals,Michael Smollin,Tim Stipan,Ana Veselic,Joe Violante,Christian Zak,Michael P. Whipple
Location Management	Steve Faughnan,Timothy Goldberg,Jennifer Hoopes,Lissy Morcheles,Collin Smith,Rachel Timpanelli,Nils Widboom
Music Department	Abe Bradshaw,Bronwen Jones,Todd Kasow,Adam Klemens,Vitek Kral,Gabriel Isaac Mounsey,Gene Pritsker,Jonathan Levi Shanes,Bruce Winter,Gabriel Isaac Mounsey
Script and Continuity Department	Anthony Pettine,Jodi Domanic
Transportation Department	Andre Banks,David Boyde,Theodore Brown Jr.,Richard R. Busardo,George Campbell,Mike Easter,Kenny Gaskins,Bib Johnson,Rafael Matos,Larry ‘Reg Dunlop’ McGee,Mike Papini,Barry Sweeney,Donnie Thompson,George Washington,John ‘Detroit’ White,Jerry Wiener
Additional Crew	James Ahern,Shira Auerhahn,Fredrica Bailey,Keith Bavolar,Robert Beaumont,Debra Blake,Anthony Blanco,Steve Boyle,Andrew Cesana,Jeff Chena,Betty Chin,Alison Cohen,Maryann C. Contrubis,Stephen De Roux,Kristyn DiPane,David Dreishpoon,Leo Driver,Judy Drutz,Ethan Duffy,Kathy England,Vadim Epstein,Monica Estrada,Kelly Evans,Jason Fesel,Damon Gambuto,Jim Garvey,Andy Gilbert,Jonathan Hayes,Louis Katz,Elliot Kerman,Huma Khan,Dan Kukkonen,Angela C. Lee,Nicole Linares,Steve Loff,Gabriella Ludlow,Peter Marschark,Christopher Menges,Paul NcClure,Jake Quinn,Gary Ray,Michael A. Rizzo,Allison Robin,Jessica Ross,Nina Saxon,Sarah Schilling,Kate Schumaecker,Clarence Sharpe,Howard Shipman,Daniel Silverman,Matthew Sullivan,Jared Traum,Noreen Ward,Jennifer D. Wilkins,Krysten Childs,Christopher Corona,Scott Franklin,Lowell Freedman,Katie Kramer,Dantana Muchnick,Sean Oliver,Alexander Vinnitski
Thanks	Chazz Palminteri
Genres	Crime, Horror, Thriller
Companies	Kamala Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	5.4
ImDbRatingVotes	9413
MetacriticRating	43
Keywords	eyesight,reference to francis bacon,scene of the crime,murder,detective