Debra Quotes in Empire Records (1995)

[Debra has just shaved her head]

Gina: Well "Sinead O'Rebellion." Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior.

Debra: God, that is so clever. I swear you get smarter the shorter your skirt gets.

Gina: And you get smarter the shorter your hair gets, so it's probably a good thing you went with that. It's a wonderful look for you darling.

Joe: Deb, what are you doing?

Debra: I just wanted to have a little chat with Warren.

Warren: Oh yeah? Well have a little chat with my gun.

Debra: [into the barrel of Warren's gun] What do you want Warren?

Warren: STOP CALLING ME WARREN. MY NAME ISN'T FUCKING WARREN.

Debra: Well you can't kill me 'cause I'm already dead. And I talked to God, and she says, "Yo, wassup?" and she wants you to lose the gun.

Warren: What? You are psycho. You're a psycho.

Gina: Isn't it customary to leave the scene after committing the crime?

Debra: Definitely an amateur.

Debra: No visible tattoos.

Gina: No revealing clothing.

Debra: We're both screwed. At least you're used to it.

Debra: I tried to kill myself with a Lady Bic. A pink plastic razor with daisies on it and a moisturizing strip.

A.J.: You did have hair when you went in there, right?

Debra: Yeah. It's still in the sink, if you want to glue it.

Debra: I guess nobody really has it all together, huh?

Corey: No.

Debra: I feel like I should welcome you to the neighborhood or something. Anyway, did you really want to do Rex Manning in the count-out room? Is that how you always imagined your first time would be? Your back up against the daily totals and your feet pounding against the safe? 'Oh Rexy stop that. You're so sexy.'

Corey: Why are you being so nice to me?

Debra: Let's save our Hallmark moment.

Debra: I went to rock and roll heaven, and I wasn't on the guest list.

Debra: Hey Lucas, is it true you committed the perfect crime?

Lucas: Not entirely perfect.

[Debra comes out to take over from Corey with her newly shaved head]

Corey: Why'd you do that?

Debra: Just your typical nutty teenager in America...

[Debra lifts her arm to reveal her bandaged wrist]

Debra: Oh! Before you guys hear all about it.

Corey: That's supposed to be a joke, right?

Debra: No. You're the joke.

Debra: Jason always wanted to be a documentary filmmaker. But for his senior class project, he decided to try to make a horror film. That's what he was shooting on that first night, the night when... everything changed.

Debra: [voiceover] It's funny. You spend so much time resenting your parents, separating yourself, building your own life. But as soon as the shit hits the fan, the only place you want to go is home.

Jason: Say your name.

Debra: Jason, if you don't know my name by now, then get your clothes out of my closet, okay?

Debra: I'm just trying to get home too, okay? Like Mary. And I'm wondering why my boyfriend has a camera plastered to his face.

Jason: [after running over three zombies] Mary, how do you feel about what just happened?

Mary Dexter: [sobbing] How do you think I feel?

Debra: [to Mary] They were already dead, okay? You didn't do anything wrong.

Tony Ravello: Listen to me, unless you're Jesus fucking Christ, you don't stand up and walk around after you're dead!

[last lines]

Debra: Jason once said he thought he could help, maybe even save some lives. This is the last thing he downloaded before he died: a couple of hometown Joes who went out to shoot at targets. But that day, they used people. Dead people. You know, just for fun? There was one target that was different from the rest. A woman... tied by her hair to the branch of a tree. The boys had this one set up just for kicks. They got out their favorite 12 gauge and...

[zombie's head is blown in half]

Debra: Are we worth saving? You tell me.

Debra: [voiceover] We made a film - the one I'm going to show you now. Actually, Jason was the one who wanted to make it. Like that cameraman from Channel 10, he wanted to upload it so that people, you, could be told the truth. The film was shot with a Panasonic HDX-900 and an HBX-200. I did the final cut on Jason's laptop. I've added music occasionally for effect, hoping to scare you. You see, in addition to trying to tell you the truth, I am hoping to scare you so that maybe you'll wake up. Maybe you won't make any of the same mistakes that we made. Anyway, here it is, Jason Creed's The Death of Death.

Debra: What is this about, Jason?

Jason: I don't know. I just... If this turns out to be a big thing, I just want to record it, okay?

Debra: [recording Jason] Tell us your name.

Jason: Uh...

Debra: Say it.

Jason: Deb, come on.

Debra: Say it.

Jason: Give me a break. Jay... Jason. Jason Creed.

Debra: You see how it feels to have a camera shoved in your face? To have to answer stupid questions when people are dying all around you? You see how it feels?

Debra: [to Jason] If it didn't happen on camera, it's like it didn't happen, right?

Debra: [voice-over] It's interesting how quickly we find out what we're capable of becoming. Up until that night, we had lived predictable lives. Now... we would never be able to predict what might happen next. God had changed the rules on us. And surprisingly, we were playing along.

Debra: [handing camera away] Take this. It's too easy to use.

Debra: [voiceover] Jason was compelled. I had never seen him like that before. What is it? What gets into our heads when we see something horrible? A horrible accident on the highway. Something keeps us from just driving on. Something holds us. But we don't stop to help. We stop to look.

Stranger: Anything worth anything under one roof.

Debra: It's called looting.

Stranger: No, ma'am. It's called doing what you gotta do.

Debra: [voiceover] The media were lying to us, or the government was lying to them. They were trying to make it seem like everything was gonna be all right.

Debra: Technology is terrific, Eliot, except when it doesn't work.

Debra: [voiceover] The more voices there are, the more spin there is. The truth becomes that much harder to find. In the end it's all just noise.

Debra: Everyone who dies, unless they get a bullet in the head, is gonna come back and try to kill someone else.

Tracy Thurman: I can't do this anymore. Every time we walk in somewhere, somebody dies.

Debra: Or somebody's already dead. It's gonna be the same everywhere we go.

Andrew Maxwell: Morning approaches.

Debra: Things always look better in the morning.

Andrew Maxwell: Not to me. Mornings bring light. I prefer the darkness. It's easier to hide in the dark.

Tony Ravello: You know, Professor? I actually get the... the mornings. They show you for what you are, instead of what you think you are.

Andrew Maxwell: Inelegantly phrased, Mr. Ravello, but accurately put. Mornings... and mirrors. I despise them. Mornings and mirrors only serve to terrify old men.