Andrew Detmer

Andrew Detmer is the main protagonist, later antagonist of the 2012 film, Chronicle. He is a high school teenager who begins to videotape his daily life and is portrayed by Dane DeHaan.

At home, he is emotionally and physically abused by his alcoholic father, Richard Detmer who is a bitter firefighter that was forced into retirement because of his injury and it couldn't get any worse with the fact that his mother, Karen Detmer was dying of cancer. At school Andrew is unpopular, friendless and constantly bullied, but has two friends in the form of his cousin, Matt Garetty and Steve Montgomery. All three discover a strange crystalline structure in a cave during a party in the wilderness, which imbues them all with telekinesis. As they refine their powers through training, Andrew himself slowly becomes corrupted as his homelife and personal life decline.

The Discovery
His only real friend prior to the events of the film was his cousin, Matt Garetty. The story begins when Andrew purchases his first camera and begins documentary his daily life which includes his loneliness at school and the bullying he experiences there, as well as the verbal and physical abuse his father, Richard Detmer inflicts on him. One day, Matt convinced him to go to a barn party where he is further bullied by an older man name Austin who sees Andrew filming the party and particularly a girl dancing on a table who happens to be the man's girlfriend. After being threatened and spit on the face by the older man, Andrew resigns outside and begins to cry when he's approached by Steve Montgomery, the school's popular quarterback who is also running for class president. Steve tells him he's been hanging out with Matt during the party and the two of them had discovered something interesting in the woods nearby. The three explore a mysterious hole in the ground that emits a strange noise. The three boys enter the hole with Andrew doubting that they'll make it and telling them that they probably shouldn't go in, but Steve jumps in without listening to Andrew and Matt soon follows after, with Andrew reluctantly going after them. When he catches up they then encounter a large glowing, crystalline object. Andrew's camera starts to act erratically, presumably from magnetic interference in the proximity of the object. The trio observe odd behavior of the object including what appears to be its own gravitational pull with beads of sweat floating from Steve towards the object and subtle movement of the roots or tendrils attached to the object towards anybody that touches it. Andrew's camera breaks and based on the footage, the three of them are ejected from the cavern. It also appears that Andrew's first camera was lost in the event, as the trio later return to the hole in the ground only to find it has caved in and Steve comments that Andrew's camera was still in there. Weeks later, the boys discover they have developed telekinetic powers from the events in the cavern and begin to exercise their abilities with progressively greater strength and agility. However, they experience nosebleeds whenever they over-exert themselves, with Matt hypothesizing that their abilities function similar to any muscular development, that it's possible to injure themselves if they take on more than they can handle before they're ready.

The Fun Begins
While the trio explores the extent of their abilities, they bond closely with each other. After a series of committing a series of practical jokes on some store patrons and moving a woman's car in a parking lot while she's shopping, Andrew later goes too far when he runs a hostile driver off the road because he was tailgating the boys. This compels Matt to establish a set of rules that they agree to follow including no using it on living things, no using it when they're angry and no longer using their abilities in public. Some time later, Andrew and Matt get a text from Steve inviting them to a junkyard. When they arrive, Matt receives another text telling them to "look up". Where they see that Steve has gained the ability to fly and he teaches them how to do the same. Andrew learns it with ease while on the other hand, Matt can't get off the ground, eventually picking up the ability after several tries. They set off high into the sky, playing football and trying different tricks. However, a passing passenger jet knocks Steve unconscious and he begins falling, but Andrew was able to save both Steve and his camera and land them safely on the ground. After the amazing new discovery, they all make a promise to go traveling around the world after graduation, with Andrew suggesting they go to Tibet first, since it's so peaceful and has a tranquil nature. Something that's juxtaposed to his chaotic and hostile life at home. Steve, wanting to help his socially isolated friend, encourages Andrew to enter The Talent Show. Andrew amazes his peers by disguising his powers as a magic routine for which he receives a lot of praise. That night, Andrew, Matt and Steve go to an afterparty, where the now-popular Andrew is the center of attention. Later that evening, Andrew is approached by a classmate name Monica, who takes him upstairs to "get to know him". While the two are in an upstairs room Steve comes up to congratulate him, only to see a disgusted Monica rushing out of the bedroom with vomit on her clothing. Steve tries to console an angry and embarrassed Andrew but is rejected and told to leave the room.

Rise Of The Apex Predator
Following the events of the party, Andrew feels neglected and grows increasingly hostile. Eventually, his father finds out about the party and discovers the camera Andrew has been using. He accuses Andrew of being selfish and spending what little money they have which his dad claims is for school and medical bills. Andrew angrily retorts that he goes to public school and his father doesn't pay for that. Angered by Andrew's response, his dad turns over the table between them and punches Andrew in the face, enraging Andrew and pushing him to fight back using his telekinetic powers to augment his physical strength. Andrew easily overpowers his dad, telling him that he could crush him and then throws him across the room. Shocked with the loss of control, Andrew runs off. Able to sense that he was in trouble, Steve sets out to find him, where he finds Andrew flying in the middle of a thunder storm. Steve tries to calm him down, but Andrew warns him to stay away, Steve doesn't leave out of concern for him. Andrew's temper increases and suddenly Steve gets struck by lightning and is instantly killed. At Steve's funeral, Matt confronts Andrew about Steve's death and how suspicious the circumstances were, which Andrew denies. He later goes to Steve's grave, blaming himself for his death and asking for forgiveness. With the death of the only friend who cared about him other than Matt and the humiliation he endured at the party becoming public knowledge at school, the once-again unpopular Andrew becomes deeply embittered and begins to abuse his powers, dismembering a spider and later ripping the teeth out from a bully. When his mother's condition deteriorates and his father's mood worsens, Andrew uses his powers to mug some local thugs while wearing his father's firefighting suit and gas mask, later robbing a gas station, where he is caught in an explosion which puts him in a hospital. Later at the hospital, on his bedside, his upset father informs an unconscious Andrew that his mother has died, blaming him for it entirely. When his dad is about to strike him, Andrew suddenly awakens and blows out the outer wall of the hospital room. Meanwhile, at a birthday party with Matt’s girlfriend, Matt suffers an intense nosebleed and goes after Andrew, realizing that he is in trouble. When he arrives and sees Andrew floating outside the hospital building, holding his dad by the neck, dropping him a few moments later, Matt comes to the rescue and saves him. Andrew proceeds to wreak havoc as he heads towards The Space Needle. Matt goes after him and tries to stop him, but Andrew now considering himself as "The Apex Predator", won't listen and causes more mayhem, dragging Matt into an intense battle throughout the city.

The Final Battle
The final battle ensues, with Andrew and Matt crashing through buildings, the police soon get involved, however Andrew is able to shake them off easily using his powers. Matt tries to stop Andrew, but the policemen fire at them, wounding Matt, which only makes Andrew more enraged. Matt pleads Andrew to stop, but Andrew is unreachable, screaming in pain and rage as he blindly destroys everything around him. Left with no other choice, Matt notices a statue behind Andrew wielding a spear, and reluctantly launches the spear from the statue, right into Andrew's chest, killing him instantly. Matt falls to the ground, tired, relieved, but also in tears. The police surround him but he flies away. Matt than goes to Tibet with Andrew's camera and talks to his dead cousin through the camera and vows to use his powers for good and find out what happened to the three of them that night in the hole. Matt positions the camera so it can have a good view of the temples from the mountain he was on, apologizing to Andrew as well as telling him how much he loved him before flying away, leaving Andrew's camera behind so it can keep recording the view Andrew would have loved.