I don't really understand the ending. They are at the gas station. The mother goes inside. The black car pulls up next to them. The mother comes back, and the daughter is still in the car. The razor thing is hanging from the mirror. I don't understand it? Does that ending mean that they will always be followed? or Does it mean the girl joined them, and is going to use that to kill her mother?
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it simply means even after the explosion the guy is still alive. the rest is for you to decide. it could be setting up for a sequal (although i doubt it cause it is considered a peice of crap) or i beleive it was left for you to imagine. it was meant to be suspenseful so you can make up you own mind as to whether it means he will try to run them off the road, he will stalk them and kill them or make them join the cult, or he merely left the sign to show that maybe he'll leave them alone but they will always be looking over their shoulder knowing that he is out there and they cant stop him. Hes just messing with their heads, hes a freak and the point is to leave you as confused and scared as nat and her mother were, cause they dont know either.
hope that explains it.
I didn't get it at first but remember when Nat her mother were driving in the car with the Backpacker and she said something like in India people have religious icons in their car. At the end hanging from the rear view mirror is the rarzorblade The Father used to cut himself.
shareoh i forgot about that part, now the razor hanging there makes more sense.
shareI believe the meaning is that "Nat" will always be one of "The Children" after all, she was initiated BEFORE she was presented to "The Father." (in the tanker)
I also presume we are supposed to believe that either "The Father" survived, or that there are other cells of the same group and that they want their "sister" to know they still want her to be with them - that she is the only one who can free herself from the prison she inhabits with Senga as her jailer.
I do believe the razor blade is perhaps a subtle suggestion to Nat to free herself from Senga. The entire plot is reminiscent of the Manson Family. Bijou Phillips' characeter appeasr to be patterned after that of Susan Atkins (AKA Sadie Me Glutz) and the guy inside the Tanker after Tex Watson or Bobby Beausoleil.
Numerous statments throughout the film echo almost exact phrases used by the Manson girls or Manson himself and "The Father" is clearly a Mansonian figure. Manson used to say he was taking in the children "society throws away" and indeed, many of his most active members were girls rebelling against their families who had gone through divorce. Nat is most like Leslie VanHouten.
Even the song that plays that talks about "getting the fear" is Mansonian in reference. Manson often spoke about the need to "Get the fear" and "Come into the Now".
The writer of this film has complained (as most writers do) that his original vision was greatly compromised. It might be interesting to see the draft of the script before the director got a hold of it to see it the parallels between Manson and "The Children" are any more evident.
I don't think Mr. Volk had a cult in his original draft. It was just a group of vampires who fed off of human roadkill on the British highway. It doesn't sound like there was a lot of structure in the group of vampires, more like they were all there for the same purpose. The Manson reference was probably a director's creation. Plus, the script was set in Britian, so the Manson reference probably wouldn't have had as much relevance. I've spent some time trying to search out the script, but so far no luck.
I know, its a repeat from one of my past posts, but....
"The original concept sounds interesting, and is partially described on one of the most interesting sites I found. It has comments by Stephen Volk himself, and can be found here:
http://www.ttapress.com/discus/messages/595/596.html?1114005623 "
I watched the DVD for the second time last night, to see if it made more sense this time round. It did (a bit) but I thought the ending was just a standard 'twist in the tail' plot device. A lot of creepy thrillers end like that - just when you think it is all resolved, there is a hint that there are more horrors to come. There is a similar twist in 'Paranoid' (which also features Mischa Barton, though the main star is Jessica Alba), which is based on a Stephen King story.
I doubt that we are meant to think that The Father has survived - the explosion looked pretty terminal to me!
Overall, I thought the film was not bad - good performances, slick direction, and sustained tension, but I just didn't like the creepy subject-matter.
If you pay attention though you'll see that the car driving away is the one the father and nat were in. Personally i think he survived, but that's just me.
-Irish-
[deleted]
i suppose there is nothing to understand
the director didn't know to end his film, and perhaps he's tried to make a final twist , perhaps to open the film to a sequel (bouuuuuhh aaaaah i cut my tongue and i'm still alive aaaah little girls!!)...really disapointed by this film
It is my theory that when Mom comes back, and sees the razor, that freaks her out a little bit, and then Nat grabs the razor and slashs Mommy's throat... I figure the razor was to show that the brainwashing that the father and his followers intended for Nat, did in fact stick, so she's now a killer on the lose like they were/are (if that was indeed him - or other followers of the father and his ways).
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Hm when I started watching this movie it seemed pretty cool, the mood was very dark and psyhodelic and I liked it. But starting form the middle of the film everything goes downhill. I mean the rest of the film is just filled with stupid scenes that have no point at all, and the end is a worst part. In some movies that kind of ending stimulates you of thinking about the movie but in this one the director didn't know how to finish it right because he made such a mess :( Nothing is explained in the movie every single thing is let for us viewers to imagine, why they were kidnaping girls, why they were drinking blood, where does the huge amount of money come from(they need a lot of money for those fake paramedics and police cars) etc. I am really disapointed, this movie could have been great but in this form its just a mess with scenes that were supposedly disturbing. Blah at least I watched it for free on TV :D
shareHey! I watched it On Demand too! Ian't it just awsome? I also saw Havoc, which was great. Totally opposite from Octane, but still great. Everyone should check it out.
shareI believe that both the razor hanging on the rearview mirror and the black car next to them means that the girl is cursed forever. How could The Father know that Senga tried to have an abortion? He even mentioned to her that when she tried to kill her daughter (abort her) that she let "him" in... This statement makes me think that he is a demon or the Devil. In that case, he would not die in the fire and could be able to always haunt Senga and her daughter.
shareI think The Father totally survived, and HE put the blade in Senga's car at the gas station. That left a lot of room for ambiguity (what didn't?) but it left it open to interpretation,...they're going to be followed, they're going to be hunted, or my personal feeling,...here is my parting gift so you remember your chains, your jail, your freedom, do as you will, I am here for you if you seek me. Or,....Nat could just straighten her act out and stop going all psycho on her Mom.
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'The Father' is immortal - he leaves mother & daughter with the razor blade to remind them of this. It could also remind them of the mother's failed attempt to abort the daughter.
It could also mean that all those involved in 'Octane' (particularly the scriptwriter and the director) attempted to commit suicide once they saw the completed film - and realised it was too late to prevent it being released upon the unsuspecting world of cinema-goers.
This is strictly for teenage boys who like that sort of thing - or for grown-ups who have a thing about Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Strictly for the Horror channel - I was surprised to see it on BBC2.
P.S. You can see from the very outset that this is not really the USA - the road markings and the scenery just look wrong. I thought England maybe - but it's revealed at the end to be Luxembourg. Poor old Luxembourg.
Poor Reedus for being in it! I really tried to like this film, but it was so ridiculous and badly executed. It was like two movies had been hashed together.
shareBesides the option of it being some random creepy ending that was cooked up, stringing oddball things together, I think Nat was paralyzed when whoever it was came up to the car. And they attached the thing as just like a "remember us" thing (narcissistic much?) or to scare her as a revenge for leaving, but still letting her go because they would never be able to get her again.
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