In the 1988 Dutch cult classic *Amsterdamned*, audience rooting interest is sharply divided between the "hard-boiled" protagonist and the "faceless" aquatic killer. The film’s director, Dick Maas, uses classic slasher and police procedural tropes to manipulate these perceptions through specific character actions.
### **The Character the Audience Roots For: Detective Eric Visser**
The audience roots for **Eric Visser** (played by Huub Stapel) because he is portrayed as a charismatic, relatable "everyman" hero who balances a gritty job with domestic vulnerability.
* **Relatability through Fatherhood:** Visser is a single father raising a teenage daughter, Anneke. His interactions with her—dealing with her teenage rebellion and witty banter—humanize him. By showing him as a father first and a cop second, the audience develops a protective investment in his safety.
* **The "Cool" Factor and Competence:** Visser’s actions during the film's famous set-pieces, particularly the **high-speed speedboat chase** through Amsterdam’s narrow canals, showcase his bravery and skill. Audiences tend to root for a protagonist who is competent yet physically vulnerable (he takes several beatings and barely survives the climax).
* **Cynical Wit:** Visser is known for his "wise-cracks" and cynical humor. In a city gripped by fear, his ability to stay level-headed and deliver deadpan one-liners makes him an appealing "anchor" for the viewer.
* **The Pursuit of Justice for Friends:** When his friend and colleague **John van Meegeren** is brutally murdered by the killer, Visser’s mission becomes personal. This "revenge" motivation is a powerful driver for audience sympathy.
### **The Character the Audience Roots Against: "The Maniac" (The Scuba Killer)**
The audience roots against the antagonist, known simply as **The Maniac**, because his actions are portrayed as senseless, cruel, and invasive.
* **Violating Public Safety:** The killer uses Amsterdam’s beautiful, historic canals—a source of national pride—as a hunting ground. By turning a tourist destination into a graveyard, the character becomes a direct threat to the "soul" of the city.
* **Cruelty and Showmanship:** The killer doesn’t just murder; he stages his victims. The most famous example is **hanging the body of a prostitute from a bridge**, where it is dragged across the glass roof of a passing tour boat full of horrified passengers. This specific act of "public terror" makes the killer particularly loathsome.
* **Targeting the Vulnerable and the Innocent:** The Maniac kills a wide range of victims, including a **Salvation Army worker** and a young woman on an inflatable sunbed. These targets are perceived as "innocent," which prevents the audience from feeling any vigilante-style sympathy for the killer’s motives.
* **Dehumanization:** For most of the film, the killer is a faceless, silent entity in a black scuba suit. This lack of humanity makes him easier to root against as a "monster" rather than a person. Even when his tragic backstory (a diving accident involving toxic chemicals) is revealed at the end, it is presented too late to override the audience’s desire to see him stopped.
### **Supporting Perceptions**
* **Laura (The Love Interest):** The audience roots for her safety because she represents Visser’s chance at a normal life. Her "final girl" moment near the end, where she is trapped in a house with a man she suspects is the killer, creates intense suspense where the audience is fully aligned with her survival.
* **The Red Herrings:** The film introduces characters like **Martin Ruysdael**, a former diver with a mysterious past. The audience is led to root *against* him through suspicious actions (evasive behavior, knowledge of diving), only to feel a sense of relief or guilt when he is proven innocent, a classic manipulation of audience perception used in "whodunnit" thrillers.