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| Courtesy of Netflix |
Sometime in 2013, however, the celebrity making of a
criminal based purely on a clickbait hungry news reporter became undeniably
real in the American cultural consciousness with the arrival of Caleb Lawrence
McGillvary or Kai, otherwise known as The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker chronicled
in the new Netflix documentary of the same name. A chilling snapshot of distinctly American
craving of viral sensation without background checking first, the film is sort
of like Dog Day Afternoon or Natural Born Killers come to life
with an obvious criminal hobnobbing with respected celebrity figures.
After Kai, a homeless man hitchhiked with Jett Simmons McBride,
a 300-pound man claiming to be Jesus Christ, McBride crashed into a pedestrian
with his vehicle. Kai jumps out of the
car to try and “help” when McBride proceeds to attack a bystander trying to also
help, prompting Kai to draw a hatchet from his back pack and strikes him in the
back of the head. After being
interrogated and released by police, he stumbles upon a news reporter filming
the story and recounts his version of the story describing the hatchet blows to
the man with “smash, smash, smash”. Not
knowing what they captured, the reporters proceeded to upload the interview
online where it catches viral fire immediately.
An overnight media sensation garnering some 8 million views
after being uploaded, Kai The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker became a cult
hero who generated an autotuned meme song by The Gregory Brothers, an interview
on Inside Edition and further still appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! A fast talking “likable” personality who also
had a keen handle on the acoustic guitar, Kai even got a special show on
television where he watched and reviewed movies. A couple months later, everything changed
when he was arrested on murder charges for the death of New Jersey attorney
Joseph Galfy and was soon after convicted of first-degree murder.
How did he hide in plain sight his criminality? What is it about human nature that wants to
warm up to dangerous individuals if not romanticize them outright? Is the media so bloodthirsty they’re willing
to ignore red flags and warning signs just for a few more minutes of juicy fame? These are all questions that invariably arise
over the course of the documentary which is interspersed with archival and
newly conducted interviews of the reporters, the detectives who tracked Kai
down and the perpetrator’s mother who seems to abdicate all responsibility for
her child’s upbringing.
Framed in 2.35:1
panoramic widescreen by cinematographer Patrick Smith and subtly scored by The
Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance composer Samuel Smith, the digitally
photographed documentary is appropriately chilling tonally and makes good use
of editing as well as working in never-before-seen outtakes illustrating the
obvious recklessness of Kai.
Directed by regular television series filmworker Colette
Camden, the recently dropped Netflix documentary The Hatchet Wielding
Hitchhiker will, yes, tell you everything that’s already there to be found
online. But what it zeroes in on and
makes it special is how it captures the guilt and remorse on the reporters and figures
of power who came into Kai’s life and gave him the spotlight. What were they thinking? How did they unknowingly heroize a murderer? How come nobody watching bothered to do some
checking for any criminal records prior to buying and selling t-shirts of
him?
Partially a documentary film,
partially a sad sigh about America’s social bloodlust for the next viral craze
in general, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is heavy, disturbing fare that will make
you think twice about the next cool video meme garnering clicks and hits at the
expense of a human life.
--Andrew Kotwicki
