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In Season 4, Episode 6 of Only Murders in the Building, the show takes a bold stylistic shift, embracing a documentary-style approach. The characters, including Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin), and Oliver (Martin Short), find themselves not only embroiled in a new mystery but also being filmed on handheld cameras, cleverly interwoven into the episode’s storytelling. The episode’s core is driven by a chilling plot about the Brothers sisters, Tawny (Siena Werber) and Trina (Catherine Cohen), and an eerie student film, The Desecration of Alice.
The decision to embrace the documentary format is a clever nod to the meta nature of the show. It serves as a reflection of the episode’s focus on the Brothers sisters, who are heavily involved in filmmaking. Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton) also plays a key role as the movie’s on-set documentarian, further reinforcing the “film within a film” concept.
The Student Film: A Creepy Lead
The main mystery this week takes a detour when Mabel, Charles, and Oliver stumble upon The Desecration of Alice, a bizarre student film made by the Brothers sisters during their school years. The film is about an artist who creates twin sisters from clay, who then mysteriously come to life. This strange narrative feels like a sinister allegory, adding an eerie dimension to the overall storyline. Even more unsettling, Vince (Richard Kind) appears in the film, which immediately catches the trio’s attention.
Vince becomes a prime suspect, and the group heads to his apartment, where they encounter Rudy (Kumail Nanjiani). Vince and Rudy were classmates with the Brothers sisters under the mentorship of Professor Dudenoff, a mysterious figure whose sudden return to New York becomes a focal point in the episode. Dudenoff’s connection to the student film and his relationship with the sisters adds layers of intrigue, especially as his reappearance shocks Vince and Rudy.
A Second Victim and Shocking Discoveries
One of the episode’s major twists revolves around the ashes of Charles’ stunt double, Sazz (Jane Lynch). Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) arrives at Oliver’s apartment to inform them that Dudenoff is back in the city, setting off alarm bells for the group. She also delivers Sazz’s ashes, but in a comically dark moment, Howard’s cadaver dog knocks the urn over, leading to a significant discovery.
Among Sazz’s ashes, Charles and the team find two left shoulder joints, leading them to believe that more than one body went into the incinerator. This clue provides a chilling new lead, with Mabel texting the serial number on the new joint to Detective Williams in hopes of uncovering who it belonged to. This grisly revelation further complicates the murder investigation, shifting suspicion to Dudenoff, whose influence over the Brothers sisters seems more sinister by the minute.
The Brothers Sisters and Hidden Surveillance
Throughout the episode, Charles fixates on a mysterious case that the Brothers sisters have been carrying around, convinced that it contains a rifle. In a surprising twist, the case instead holds a camera, and it’s revealed that the sisters have been filming the trio’s every move through hidden cameras placed in their apartments. This surveillance detail is not just an invasion of privacy, but a reflection of how deep the sisters’ obsession with filmmaking runs.
The trio is understandably upset, especially when they realize they unwittingly signed off on this surveillance when they agreed to work with the sisters. However, when combing through their apartments, Charles finds an additional camera that the sisters claim isn’t theirs. This moment ramps up the tension as they realize that someone else has been watching them — and it might be the same person responsible for Sazz’s murder.
The Chilling Final Moments
As if the hidden cameras weren’t unsettling enough, the episode reaches its peak when Charles receives a live feed from one of the cameras, with a haunting text from “Sazz” reading, “I’m watching you.” Mabel and Oliver soon receive similar texts, alluding to a disturbing fact — someone has been monitoring them closely. The text messages feature mundane moments from their lives with crosshairs pointed at their heads, signaling that the killer is not only spying on them but potentially planning their next move.
This haunting revelation leaves the trio rattled and sets the stage for an even more intense showdown in the episodes to come. The episode’s ending emphasizes the growing danger as they realize that the threat is not only lurking in the Arconia but actively stalking them.
Final Thoughts
Episode 6 of Only Murders in the Building Season 4 stands out for its creative documentary approach, which adds a fresh narrative layer to the ongoing mystery. The blend of humor, suspense, and surreal student film lore keeps the audience engaged while steadily increasing the tension. The introduction of Dudenoff as a shadowy figure tied to the Brothers sisters, along with the disturbing discovery of hidden cameras, creates an eerie atmosphere that heightens the stakes for our trio of amateur sleuths. With each new revelation, the question of “who’s watching who” becomes more unsettling, and the episode leaves us anxiously awaiting the next clue in this ever-twisting mystery.
