“The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” (2023)
Truth is stranger than fiction. Again.
Truth is stranger than fiction. Again.
Netflix has come up trumps once more with yet another documentary that can only possibly be filed in the drawer marked “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction” and once again, I was blissfully unaware of the madness that unravelled in a three month period a decade ago, and which continues to this very day.
I am forever keenly aware of keeping spoilers to a bare minimum but a lot of context is required here for a real life story that has a tragic life all of its own. On 1st February 2013, a “home free” hitchhiker by the name of “Kai” shot to national prominence in the American consciousness as a somewhat macabre knight in shining armour, wielding a hatchet in defence of a middle aged lady under attack from a crazed, racist thug in Fresno, California. Within days, national notoriety became worldwide fame as the eccentric youthful stoner surfer became the subject of a joyful “manhunt” for the drifter who had an internet army of fans creating memes and songs in honour of a young man “straight out of dog town” who had come to the rescue of a lady in fear of her life from a crazed madman. As Kai would so infamously state, he had no alternative but to “smash, smash, smash” the repugnant attacker at the centre of an unhinged attack with the hatchet he was carrying, and although he would hitchhike his way back into obscurity totally unaware of the legion of social media admirers who praised his, albeit, violent defence of an innocent lady, just mere days later he was signing contracts with reality television producers, the subject of a comedy skit on the Stephen Colbert Show as well as a live appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Truth was stranger than fiction once more. Only it wasn’t.
The maelstrom of madness had only just begun.
“No matter what you’ve done, you deserve respect, even if you’ve made mistakes, you’re loveable. And it doesn’t matter your looks, your skills, size, age, anything, you’re worthwhile”.
Kai (real name Caleb Lawrence McGillvary)
“He went from a beautiful, kind person in three months, to being wanted for murder by the Authorities”.
Jessob Reisbeck, Fox News Affiliate
The handful of February days that changed Caleb Lawrence McGillvary’s life was ostensibly and initially responsibly handled by just one man, Jessob Reisbeck, before events for this “loose cannon” who is originally seen as off kilter, unhinged yet charming and endearing, quickly and ugly went off the rails amid stories of childhood abuse, neglect, rape, paedophilia and ultimately murder. Although many other TV producers and Reality TV executives are named, Reisbeck, alongside his cameraman Terry Woods are initially at the centre of the burgeoning story of a hero that everyone wanted a piece of. Within days, the avenging angel and social media sensation was offered a sizeable deal for a reality TV show and a contract he would sign, in his inimitable way, and only after originally turning it down as he’d rather skateboard and smoke weed or demonstrate his immense talent as a guitar player and singer.
I couldn’t help but feel sorrow for the young man who, even in the glare of a spotlight he didn’t crave or want, took the opportunity to deflect the story away from himself immediately to reinforce to a watching public that we were all “worthwhile”. As the story unravels, there are ample glimpses into a tortured soul at odds with a world he just wanted to hitchhike on the edges of, and of very dark mental health troubles from childhood abuse and, perhaps, an even darker look into an avenging angel who was wreaking revenge on the ghosts of his past if not the present.
You may be as torn as I was watching such a dramatic and murderous fall from grace but the light this truth is stranger than fiction tale tells is of, yet again, a rapacious, money hungry industry of reality television that only saw dollar signs and the conveyor belt of fatuous, vacuous fame, rather than the damaged and dangerously out of control human being they should have had a duty of care to protect, rather than the cash cow they were brutally exploiting.
There is much more to this truth is stranger than fiction tale than meets the eye. Based on the evidence demonstrated in this documentary, Caleb Lawrence McGillvary is where he should be, and will be, for the majority of his natural life.
But there are many others with blood on their hands too.
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary - Wikipedia
Toggle the table of contents From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Caleb Lawrence McGillvary (born September 3, 1988)…en.wikipedia.org
Thanks for reading. There are now over 300 articles with a combined 600+ film reviews contained within my “Film” library here. Alternatively, please see the links below to three of my most recently published spoiler free articles:
“Tetris” (2023)
Final Countdown to the Gamer Wars.medium.com
“Inside” (2023)
Willem Dafoe and a Pyramid Song to Hell.medium.com
“John Wick” — Chapter 4 (2023)
The hitman legend continues.medium.com