I feel sorry for Howard

I KIND OF agree. But even though it's not crystal clear in the movie, I think it's fairly obvious that Howard is dangerous. I also think there's more than enough evidence to conclude he likely killed the girl.

What his character does have going for it that garners some sympathy is that his obsessive derangement has no sort of sexual nature. He clearly sees Michelle as a replacement daughter and not a partner. Same is def. true of the other girl. This shines through the most when during the game, it's revealed he can't even think of her as a woman.

I dissagree; he was psychotic, and he was looking at Michelle as a woman all the time. During the first time they ate together, she touches the hand of Emett, and Howard reacted violently because he was jelous. Also when he killed Emett, he shave his beard and changed his clothes, invited her to eat ice cream like he was on a date. I'm sure he was looking to kidnap a woman to kept her prisoner in the bunker and then the alien attack happended.

How do you explain the word, "Help" scratched into the skylight...with some drops of blood on it?

The fact that Howard's need to control Michelle didn't come from a place of sexual desire doesn't make him any less of a creep.

Any person who uses intimidation, violence, and manipulation to control someone else's life is a jerk. Howard doesn't save Michelle out of the goodness of his heart. He says to her "It will be just you and me, the way it was always meant to be." He saves her because he wants her. She's there to serve a purpose, and he'll get nasty if she doesn't toe the line.

Can I feel bad for someone who is lonely and a bit of an oddball? Yes. But who knows what happened to drive away his wife and child?

Plus I'd say that the evidence of previous violence against a woman who didn't "behave" is a pretty good indication that he isn't a good guy.

Yes, you can say that wanting to be a "father" to someone is less repulsive than being a rapist. But being less of a bad guy does not make you a good guy. He kills Emmett because he wants Michelle all to himself. He probably killed Brittany (or at least put her in a position where she was killed). I understood Howard's emotions and his twisted logic. I was glad that the character was given such depth (and played by an actor like Goodman who can convey that depth). But I never once felt sorry for him.

Desperately saying "stay with me", shortly after randomly stabbing a knife into the duct. The guy was a maniac. No wonder his wife took their child and left.

This is due to the Goodman's outstanding performance, because really, his character is a total sociopath...

Good points here from both perspectives!

Just to be clear: I can feel sorry for people with mental health issues (which Howard obviously has), but only up to the point where they are hurting other people.

And even people who lash out and hurt others can still earn my sympathy IF they show remorse. I think that it's very telling that Howard shows no remorse for killing Emmett. He's clearly relieved by the fact that he "had to" kill him, because it lets him be alone with Michelle. There's also the fact that the earlier victim (Brittany) clearly had something horrible happen to her. Even if we're really, really out there and say that her death was an accident, it didn't stop Howard from trying again. First his wife and daughter, then Brittany, and now Michelle. I think we can safely say that the women aren't the problem.

Goodman does an amazing job of portraying a man who is in pain, but to me his pain can never be more important than the pain of the people he chooses to victimize.