The Vicious Kind - Plot

Plot

The film opens with Caleb Sinclaire sitting in a diner, forlorn and smoking a cigarette. He begins to cry, but composes himself when his younger brother, Peter approaches the table. Peter is an idealistic college student on Thanksgiving break and Caleb is begrudgingly giving him a ride home. At school, Peter has found a new girlfriend, Emma Gainsborough, and Caleb immediately grills him for details, beginning to show a misogynistic attitude. Emma and Peter met each other while Emma was on campus meeting some fraternity boys; while Peter says she’s a good girl and nothing happened, Caleb immediately perceives her as a whore who was cheating on her boyfriend to be with Peter. On the way to get Emma, Caleb reveals that he hasn't slept in a week.

They arrive at Emma’s house; although she comes off as a sweet girl, Caleb is immediately antagonistic to her. Caleb drops them off at his father, Donald’s house, revealing to Emma that he and Donald do not get along and this will be the last time he will see them this weekend. Donald comes off as a well-meaning, polite, if somewhat flirtatious, father, consistently praising Emma. Caleb meanwhile, has been trying to sleep, but keeps seeing images of his last girlfriend, Hannah, who behaves and looks strikingly similar to Emma. Hannah has continuously called Caleb, which tortures him, and to get her off his back, drops off pictures of himself having sex with a prostitute named Samantha at her doorstep, ringing the bell and fleeing.

Caleb, a construction worker, arrives at work and belittles fellow worker JT, who looks up to him. Later, Emma and Peter go bowling and Caleb, who is there with the other workers, secretly watches them. In the bowling alley lobby, Caleb bumps into Emma. They have an awkward conversation and she asks him for cigarettes, revealing she secretly smokes. Caleb obliges; Emma asking him to promise not to tell Peter, and Caleb asking her not to reveal he was there to Peter or Donald.

Later Caleb is at a grocery store and runs into Emma. He ends up viciously physically and verbally attacking her, calling her a whore, believing she’s slept with the frat boys at school, and threatens her not to hurt Peter, who is a good kid (and a virgin). Moments later in the car however, he breaks down ashamed of his actions and goes back to her, begging her forgiveness and not to tell anyone what happened. Confused and outraged, Emma punches him, bloodying his nose and dropping him to the pavement, before asking him why he would call her a whore. Caleb sits on the ground crying and apologizing.

That night, Emma sneaks out for a cigarette, and meets Caleb trying to sneak around the yard with a camera. Emma wants an explanation about what happened earlier at the grocery store. Caleb goes into his belief on what he heard about her at school, his girlfriend Hannah who cheated on him, and his lack of sleep, which has further muddled his actions and behavior. Caleb eventually leaves, feeling better after these confessions.

The next morning, Donald and Emma go jogging together. Emma asks about Peter’s mother, and Donald reveals that she died when Caleb and Peter were young, leaving them to be raised by Donald. Donald also says that his wife cheated on him prior to being diagnosed with cancer and that no one came to visit her in the hospital the last four months of her life. At work, Caleb reveals he managed to fall asleep for a few brief minutes the night before. Later, Donald, Peter and Emma are outside when Donald almost accidentally shoots Caleb, as he was sneaking around him with a camera, mistaking him for a raccoon. Donald talks to him as if he is a long lost relative and then switches course, demanding he leave at once.

At a cheap restaurant, Caleb, Peter and Emma are together. Caleb and Emma get a few moments alone, and Caleb assures her that he doesn’t have feelings for her. Emma is just confused by his bizarre actions, and Caleb ends up forcibly kissing her. Emma says nothing about it to Peter, as Caleb drops them off. He does however, get a few minutes alone with Peter, warning him to watch Emma carefully, because she claims she's been eyeing him. Peter says he’s in love with her and wants to give her his virginity, and Caleb laughs and scoffs at the idea, but nevertheless praises his brother. Caleb apologizes for his ideas that she was a whore and says that he wants to look after him.

While Peter and Emma prepare to have intercourse, Peter reveals that what Donald told her is true, except that Caleb was the only one to actually see his mother before she died, and Caleb and Donald haven’t spoken to each other since. Caleb goes to see Samantha, and asks her if it’s normal to be in love with a perceived image of someone, even if that’s not who they really are (likening Emma to Hannah). Caleb asks Samantha if she was abused as a child, and Samantha is offended. Caleb loses his temper, then comes back and gives her a better tip.

Caleb waits outside the house and Emma goes outside for a smoke. Caleb tries apologizing for kissing her and says he’ll try not to bother her anymore. Emma reveals she has accidentally locked herself out of the house, and Caleb manages to get them both inside through a window. Emma falls on top of Caleb, and they seem like they might be about to kiss. But she rebukes him and asks him never to see her again. Caleb returns to his car, and Emma returns to the place they embraced under the window to masturbate.

At work, Caleb throws his hammer and leaves, not caring if he gets fired. At a bar, JT asks Caleb if he’s had sex with Emma yet, and he says no, but he wants to. He spots some men sexually harassing a woman and ends up fighting them, marking a change in him and a new outlook on women. JT rescues Caleb from the fight. Caleb knows he’s running out of time to say or do anything to Emma. However, he confesses to JT that he feels torn out of his need to try to protect Peter. Peter tries to have sex with Emma but ejaculates prematurely. Caleb drives over to see Emma, and this time, she doesn’t rebuke him when he kisses her, and eventually, they end up having passionate sex in Caleb's old room.

Emma asks why Caleb was the only one to see his mother before she died: He reveals he was just as hurt by her actions as anyone, and shut her out of his life. However, he eventually discovered that Donald had actually been the one cheating on his mother until she finally had enough and left, never thinking that he would refuse to let her see her sons. Caleb never told Peter because he was only 12. Caleb remarks that it seemed like it was Emma's first sexual experience, Emma looks at the floor. Caleb gets up to leave, reminding her that Peter is in love with her. On his way out, he runs into his father who deduces what happened and says he’ll tell Peter. Caleb asks why he would hurt him like that, and Donald says, "Because he's my son." Caleb says that he won’t because Caleb is also his son as well, and calls him a coward for erasing him out of his life for finding out what he did; in the last 8 years, he’s only lived two miles away from his house, yet Donald never attempted to re-enter his life. They both hide quickly as Peter goes to Emma’s room, and Caleb says that he won’t tell Peter what he did, otherwise he’ll tell him Donald’s secrets and he’ll lose both his sons. Peter and Emma sleep together, and he at last, loses his virginity to her.

The next morning, Donald drives them to the train station back to school. Donald confesses that he’s made mistakes to Peter, and that sometimes, people know what they are doing is wrong but they do it anyway, because the right thing is painful. On the train, Peter tells Emma he loves her, but it causes Emma to cry. The two of them alone again, Caleb rings Donald’s doorbell and Donald invites him in, their relationship beginning to mend at last.