I went to watch this moving knowing that the best was kept for last. The final 30 minutes were promised to be filled with violence and gore. Maybe that is why it didn't bother me to "wait", taking the time to get to know the characters and build some anticipation for the final moments. That is also why I wasn't disappointed, as many viewers seem to have been.
While I "waited", I was hinted by the dialogue on how to understand the horrifying last scenes, and what the Hell was going on, no pun intended. The movie leads us to several interpretations of the ending, I'll list mine below:
**** SPOILERS **** **** SPOILERS **** . .. ...
1st theory: Arda was traumatized by his friend's death and dreamed the whole thing.
2nd theory: They were all a bunch of sinners (the prostitutes, the pork eating, the violence), died in a car crash and experienced eternal damnation to hell in a loop.
3rd theory: Ardra was the son of the Devil. The dream in which he hears his mother having sex refers to the night he was conceived - there is a hand pulling him from darkness, the same hand that reaches for him in the water (amniotic fluid) - his Father's hand. The master of ceremonies is "The Father" in the credits. Maybe Ardra's mother was impregnated by the devil (or her possessed husband), which is why they asked their friend (the Boss) to protect Ardra and keep him safe, as if they already knew he was in danger of something terrible happening to him. In the bar, the Boss asks Ardra to look further in the room, to check for a supernatural presence (The Father), which he can and does. Meaning the Boss knew there was something "special" about Ardra. The Boss says he's the key to the whole thing and ends up offering a key to Ardra that eventually kills The Father. This could be a metaphor to the fact that the boss knew the truth about Ardra's destiny - after using the key, he returns to his usual dream, but this time the boy in the dream is completely pulled into darkness. Also, after The Father kills the Boss, he bathes in his blood and Ardra does the exact same thing after killing Him. There are a lot of references to sex and breeding, there is even a "woman" giving birth to some sort of monster. So birth is a frequent reference in the movie. Frogs in dreams mean spiritual/mind transformation, so maybe that night was the transformation of Ardra into what he was supposed to be - killing the Father and becoming Him, which is why he can't leave in the end and ultimately gets hit by the van - maybe he's finally sent to Hell in the crash, while his friends survive and get on with their lives... but we can't be sure of this. ... .. .
**** END SPOILERS **** **** END SPOILERS ****
Baskin is an amazing movie if you want to take the time to interpret it. If not, it's just a slow burner with a gory ending. For me, it was an intelligent film that left me wondering and wanting to find out the origin of all that violence.
The dialogues were smart and funny, the musical score was intense and well picked, the actors were superb, the effects were very good and the villain was unforgettable.
Watch the movie while trying to create your own explanation for the gory climax, and you will absolutely love it, like I did.
While I "waited", I was hinted by the dialogue on how to understand the horrifying last scenes, and what the Hell was going on, no pun intended. The movie leads us to several interpretations of the ending, I'll list mine below:
**** SPOILERS **** **** SPOILERS **** . .. ...
1st theory: Arda was traumatized by his friend's death and dreamed the whole thing.
2nd theory: They were all a bunch of sinners (the prostitutes, the pork eating, the violence), died in a car crash and experienced eternal damnation to hell in a loop.
3rd theory: Ardra was the son of the Devil. The dream in which he hears his mother having sex refers to the night he was conceived - there is a hand pulling him from darkness, the same hand that reaches for him in the water (amniotic fluid) - his Father's hand. The master of ceremonies is "The Father" in the credits. Maybe Ardra's mother was impregnated by the devil (or her possessed husband), which is why they asked their friend (the Boss) to protect Ardra and keep him safe, as if they already knew he was in danger of something terrible happening to him. In the bar, the Boss asks Ardra to look further in the room, to check for a supernatural presence (The Father), which he can and does. Meaning the Boss knew there was something "special" about Ardra. The Boss says he's the key to the whole thing and ends up offering a key to Ardra that eventually kills The Father. This could be a metaphor to the fact that the boss knew the truth about Ardra's destiny - after using the key, he returns to his usual dream, but this time the boy in the dream is completely pulled into darkness. Also, after The Father kills the Boss, he bathes in his blood and Ardra does the exact same thing after killing Him. There are a lot of references to sex and breeding, there is even a "woman" giving birth to some sort of monster. So birth is a frequent reference in the movie. Frogs in dreams mean spiritual/mind transformation, so maybe that night was the transformation of Ardra into what he was supposed to be - killing the Father and becoming Him, which is why he can't leave in the end and ultimately gets hit by the van - maybe he's finally sent to Hell in the crash, while his friends survive and get on with their lives... but we can't be sure of this. ... .. .
**** END SPOILERS **** **** END SPOILERS ****
Baskin is an amazing movie if you want to take the time to interpret it. If not, it's just a slow burner with a gory ending. For me, it was an intelligent film that left me wondering and wanting to find out the origin of all that violence.
The dialogues were smart and funny, the musical score was intense and well picked, the actors were superb, the effects were very good and the villain was unforgettable.
Watch the movie while trying to create your own explanation for the gory climax, and you will absolutely love it, like I did.