Well, I saw this movie ages ago, I was a young boy then.
But my understanding of the whole thing is that the skeleton got fully regenerated, and, in the end, it is the skeleton who is telling the story, after stealing Emmanuel's personality.
It is some sort of metaphor. We all hav evil inside us. So, the skeleton becomes one of us. And Emmanuel, against his own will opens the door, when the skeleton was at his door. It is a proof that we all hav a little evil inside us, so the evil part of Emmanuel took control of him, and made him open the door.
Thats what I thought at the time.
I can see no reason to think that the missing finger scene at the end shows that his story is true. This scene shows that it is not him, it is the skeleton with his stolen persona.
Waddia all think?????
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gottfrid
19 years ago
There's another sort of interpretation, that came to me later in life.
Maybe the regenerated skeleton killed Chris Lee's character cos he was real bad to his brother. And in the end it didnt kill Emmanuel, after he opened the door... but it cut Emmanuel's finger, as a payback, cos he had cut the skeleton's finger. Then it let Emmanuel live. This implies that the skeleton is something like an avenging angel... it gives evil to the evil ones, etc...
Those are the only two explanations I can give about the ending of this very intriguing film.
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doctorstorm1
18 years ago
When we see the cell at the beginning of the film, it is from Emmanuel's p.o.v. We see the creature searching for his missing finger before taking Emmanuel's as revenge. This may seem a petty punishment but with it goes his sanity, reputation, and leaves him with the terrible knowledge of what he has unleashed on the world.
To suggest that the Evil One is inhabiting Emmanuel's body is absurd - would such a being be content to languish, whimpering, in a tiny cell?
This is the case if we take his story to be true. Of course, he could just be a fruitcake who lost his finger in a bread cutting accident, lost his mind and conjured up this bizarre yarn. In this case, James Hildern is blameless, his Richter prize well deserved and his sentiments at the end of the film correct.
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chet19
16 years ago
I think it's all definitely in Peter's head. He THINKS he chopped off the skeleton's finger, but he really chopped off his own. When Chris explains things at the end to the doctor, he does NOT have an evil or sinister grin on his face. This shows me that he is being honest...and that Peter and daughter went nuts on their own and that Chris is not his brother.
The bottom line is that Peter says the word evil (e-vie-uhl) in 3 syllables and cooler than any other actor ever !!
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spotlightne
14 years ago
It's all true!
In the film, it's true anyway. That's the whole point. Lee deceives everyone into think Cushing is mad!
You will really have to watch films properly.
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