Switching back and forth between color and black-and-white, between vicious satire and shocking horror, Stone constantly plays with our expectations: cartoonish themes and kooky sound effects accompany savage murders; Mickey and Mallory's car seems to roar through fields of giant dandelions, skies full of fireworks, even through the flames of Hell; bullets hang in mid-air and airborne meat cleavers travel in slow-motion as they find their targets, etc.