the ending - what the heck happened? **Spoilers**

I always took like in Star Wars when Obi-wan lets himself be struck down and disappears, becoming a guiding force for Luke which ultimately leads to the defeat of the dark side. For me Buddy was too rough and worn-out (all the references of him being a washed-up drunk) so his rein as a good king wouldn't have lasted long. The whole time it was really the Kid's destiny to be king and Buddy was the person to teach him what he needed to know (like how to stand up for himself, the importance of those you care about). By the end of the movie Buddy's job was finished, and as the Kid's walking and "turns into Buddy," we see how he eventually grows up and becomes King thanks to Buddy.

Also, you can see it as Buddy representing good and Death as evil. You can't have one without the other, so when the Kid wasted Death, Buddy has to leave as well, body and all. Guess that means at that moment someone elsewhere picked up Death's role (so then did Elvis has an archenemy as well? Hmm...)

I do like your "spirit of Rock n' Roll" idea, especially how "it will never die." Never thought of that, probably the closest to what the makers intended (while leaving it open enough for all kinds of interpretations).

Buddy = Buddy Holly, one of the greatest classic rock guitarists and one of the three who died in the famous plane crash on "the day that music died". It was Elvis who inherited the spirit of rock'n'roll from Buddy, not vice versa. :)

As to the movie's ending... metal "killed" classic rock, and was in turn "killed" by the heir of rock'n'roll. It's an analogue to the history of rock music, AND a parallel to a common theme in samurai drama, children avenging the deaths of their parents (and being cut down in their turn by the children of their own victims, in a never-ending spiral of bloody vengeance). Take a look at "Lady Snowblood", for instance.

The message is... well, rock'n'roll is here to stay. The bearers all go down in their turn, the fire is sometimes put out, but there will always come someone to pick up the torch and light the flame a-new. And it's not just rock that goes on - it's rebellion, resistance, hope: put short, LIFE.

And on a deeper level, it's also a dig at Heavy Metal. :)

Buddy was more of a meme than a person, so he didn't really die, since he was a self-perpetuating idea in human form. He sort of "infected" the kid and the kid picked up where Buddy left off. It's kind of a moral, like this: death tires to kill Buddy, who represents what is ultimately cool about old school rock and roll- you can't kill that off, because it's the essense of cool, so it lives on. Or something.

The movie was meant to be part of a trilogy, but the other two movies were put on hold due to bad box office figures.

I loved the ending. Didn't think or analyse it as much as you people do. It was nicely melancholic. Maybe my subconsciousness did find enough meaning in it. I can't tell what it means exactly.

When I think about it, I guess it's more like the kid has probably found a *father*: Buddy. The world is devastated, not many good souls around, not a nice place for kids. Buddy dies, but there the kid's got something like a fatherly idol, somebody to look up to. In the end, as if withing his heart, Buddy is still alive, they go to LasVegas "together". Like wishful thinking or something. I'm sure the makers found some meaning in the "death-Metal vs. Rock'n'Roll"-Department, maybe as a side-effect. "Hey now listen to this, doesn't this follow suit when you think about death-metal-rock'n'roll-stuff?" - Jeffrey: "Yeah man, what a coinscidence, let's do it that way."
So maybe the movie is at least a BIT multi-layered.

I for my part am a big fan of this little freaky flick.




"D-E-S-T-R-O-Y : E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G"

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