Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Luther: Fallen Sun.The man in the digital mask with a creepy face who figured prominently in the trailer for Luther: The Fallen Sun is a figure of considerable interest. The Netflix film picks up where Luther season 5 ended, with DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) jailed for the many crimes he committed while trying to save lives over the course of the original series. Luther goes back into action, however, after receiving a taunting message from the serial killer he was investigating before his imprisonment. When the evidence he offers of more deaths to come is ignored by the authorities, Luther breaks out of prison to catch the killer.
The trailer for Luther: The Fallen Sun revealed the serial killer was played by Andor's Andy Serkis, who was shown to be a man of means with considerable resources and nerve. This contrasted with the image of the creepy-masked man in the Luther: The Fallen Sun trailer, who clearly had a reason to hide his identity. This raised the questions of whether the masked man was Serkis' character and if there was a deeper meaning to the stylistic disguise.
Luther: The Fallen Sun's Creepy Face Mask Is A Red Bunker Logo
The action of Luther: The Fallen Sun reveals the serial killer to be a city trader named David Robey, who secretly oversees a criminal syndicate involved in blackmail and human trafficking. One of Robey's concerns is a red room on the dark web, dubbed the Red Bunker, where interested parties can pay to access live streams of horrible acts being committed. The creepy face Robey's mask projects is a mascot for the Red Bunker, reminiscent of the Troll Face character used as a symbol by real world online trolls.
Luther: The Fallen Sun's Creepy Face Mask Supports A Killer Theory
Beyond allowing David Robey and his followers to hide their identities when operating in public, the masks also serve multiple psychological purposes. Idris Elba's Luther theorizes early on in Luther: The Fallen Sun that Robey's motivation is simply to scare people and that he's building on the urban legends of red rooms existing to accomplish that. The unsettling mask used in the Red Bunker's advertising alongside photos of multiple kidnapping victims teases "a nightmare that's come true" and the horrifying idea that Robey can "can touch anyone he wants anywhere he likes."
The creepy mask also serves as a psychological boon to Robey in Luther: The Fallen Sun, helping him to justify his many crimes and his dark view of humanity. Much like The Joker in The Dark Knight, Robey believes that everyone is just as monstrous as he is, and that the only thing stopping everyone from doing whatever they want is the fear of public shaming and punishment. This inspires Robey to go beyond his original crimes, arranging for other people to satisfy their darker urges before blackmailing them into committing further evil deeds for his own amusement and profit.
Luther: Fallen Sun is now streaming on Netflix.