MovieChat Forums > Salvage (2006) Discussion > Did anybody else figure out the twist ea...

Did anybody else figure out the twist early on? (Spoilers, obviously)


I just finished watching this film. I thought it was pretty good and original (I at first thought it was going to be a purely Groundhog Day/Camp Slaughter rip-off, but it went in a different direction). I also really liked the twist.

But, I saw it coming from about 20 minutes in, if not earlier. I knew it wasn't going to be a purely Jacob's Ladder type ending that you see in just about every other horror film that comes out these days.
Almost the whole time watching the movie, I just kept saying "She's going to turn out to be Duke in Hell" and that his punishment was reliving her last day and her death over and over again for eternity.
Clues included the obvious "Gates of Hell" thing that was getting written on the chalkboard and, of course, Duke's reflection in the mirror. But there was a lot more.
Now, I found it incredibly obvious, but I wasn't sure if everyone else did. Mainly because I normally figure out twist endings about 2-10 minutes into a film. Obviously, it took me a small bit longer on this one because I had to wait until she was dead the first time before I could even start to think about it.

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Woow, you really know how to figure out the twists
It wasn't obvious to me and sometimes I also figure out the endings before they even happen.Maybe that's because this movie was very unpredictable which I found surprising :-)

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I am really good at figuring out twists, which often is a burden. You wouldn't believe how many movies that, within the first 2-5 minutes, I've figured out the ending/twists (such as The Sixth Sense, Twisted, Black Belly of the Tarantula, etc...)
It kind of sucks because there wind up being no surprises.

Either way, I really dug this movie.

And I hope I didn't sound like I was trying to make anybody sound stupid! That wasn't my intention!

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awww, poor baby!

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Huh?

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Well thank you!
Me and the wife didn't even work out the ending even when it happened. I'm glad I've logged on and read your comments. I realised she was dead, but thought the story was hers, and then got totally confused by there being two Dukes in the final scenes.
Thanks for your insight.

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[deleted]

so through the entire movie she was a girl who was really a guy who killed people???

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[deleted]

Thanks for giving me the ending. I was interupted at the very end but I figured it out when he cut her face off. I needed to verify that she was him in Hell. Those couple phat bootied babes didn't hurt either.

Peace

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I just saw this the other day, and really loved it! The whole idea of the killer reliving the last days of his victims' life gave me chills...and then, the last scene, where it starts over again--wow! Reminded me of the movie Jacob's Ladder a bit, in that the plot was constantly showing all these different scenarios to the character, causing them mental anguish. I'll have to see it from the beginning, as I managed to only see it about a half hour or so in, but I was extremely creeped out.

Oh, and no, I didn't see that plot twist coming up AT ALL. In fact, quite the opposite: I thought she was the one in Hell, given all the surreal things happening to her. It would've been an interesting twist, also, if the "Duke" stalking the real Duke was HER. lol Or maybe not.

Deeeeeeep hurting!!!!!!!

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Funny that you mentioned "Jacob's Ladder' (which is, by the way, one of my all-time favorite movies). I felt "Salvage" was influenced by JL, which helped me a little bit with figuring out the end.

But, the reason I said it's funny is that, like many of the people here saying they didn't understand what was happening in "Salvage" until I pointed it out, I've found that a lot of people say they didn't understand "Jacob's Ladder."
I've read at least one or two reviews by people who swore they watched the film 3 times and still couldn't figure it out. Which baffles me, as it is even EXPLAINED to you in that film.

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I just saw it on paytv. I can't say that it's a complete success because the bulk of the movie is confusing and repetitive. But the ending was very much a success and made the tedium that proceeded it worthwhile. During the movie I was wondering if I was just wasting my time but the ending redeemed everything and made me appreciate the whole experience a lot.

So I'm intrigued by the mention of "Jacob's Ladder". I watched "Ladder" a long, long time ago and my reaction to that movie was diametrically opposed to my reaction to "Salvage". I watched "Ladder" and enjoyed it [somewhat], but found the ending to be a complete betrayal of everything that had gone before in the movie and something that made me [and still does] consider this to be one of the worst movies ever made. At the end of the movie, I was absolutely furious that I had wasted even one second of my life watching that complete pile of crap.

Two movies, two completely opposite reactions.

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Really? What did you hate so much about the ending of "Jacob's Ladder"?
I mean, if your problem had to do with the fact that it sort of ripped off "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Carnival of Souls," well, okay.

And, I have seen about 20 more films that used the same ending, though it isn't usually done so well.

Just to make sure, pm me and let me know what kind of problems you had with "Jacob's Ladder." I'm interested in discussing this with you.

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Hmmmm, why did I hate it so much? Now that I'm trying to think of a rational explanation, it's not easy.

"Salvage" was mystifying but it let you KNOW that it was mystifying. So the final explanation got a "Oh, so THAT'S what it was all about!" reaction from me. The same thing goes for "Carnival of Souls". But "Jacob's Ladder" purported to be one thing and then suddenly did a "gotcha" and turned out to be about something else. But the movie had done too good a job of getting us invested in the main character and caring about this life he was leading. Then, the end hit us with a cream pie in the face with that "Oh, he was just imagining all of this in the few minutes before he died" thing. Huh? After being mortally wounded, the last few minutes of this guy was spent living a dreary and disturbing SEVERAL YEARS of absolutely pointless existence?

First of all, it makes no sense. In "Salvage", the killer is being purposefully punished, so the never-ending day of being a victim is logical and horrific. But what was the purpose of this dying man on a battle field living that aimless life before realizing that it was all some sort of fantasy and now he's dead? And who or what was doing it? What was the purpose of this guy's unreal fantasy life? And why did it mean anything? Again, "Salvage" was about punishing an evil man and "Carnival of Souls" is about a woman who doesn't know that she's dead finally having that reality get to her. What was "Jacob's Ladder" about? Except a smart-ass writer/director playing tricks with the audience.

I didn't get it and I still feel punked. If there was something else there, please let me know. But I prefer practical jokes to be short and funny, not interminably long and ultimately insulting to the viewer.

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See, everybody seems to miss the part of the movie where this is explained directly to Jacob (and, basically, to the audience). It's the last time Jacob is with his chiropractor, Louis (played by Danny Aiello), Louis tells Jacob "If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth." So, there it is. The whole film is about the internal struggle man faces when dying, trying to get over his fear of his own death and gaining acceptance, finally releasing himself and letting go of this world so he can move onto the next one.

This makes sense to me, but everyone else seems to have an opinion similar to yours, and I just don't get it. The whole thing seems rather obvious to me. I mean, as I said, it is even EXPLAINED to you, just in case you didn't get it.

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nice idea :)

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well i guess i didnt figure it because i wasnt paying that much attention see im not a huge fan of gore it give me shivers down my spines so i didnt spend the whole time watching the movie becuase i thought it was gorey i just watched it because my friend said to watch but i could have probably figured it out. i had a clue from the whole "he's in hell now" but i didnt really understand the movie from the random fragments that i watched but im also like you i can usually guess the cough cough *twist* of a movie ive gotten to the point that sometimes i can guess what they are going to say.

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Oh my god. You're a smart person. Hahaha. I just watched the movie all the way through tonight (I caught the last 30 minutes a few months ago), and I could NOT figure out what the hell was going on!! I never even THOUGH of that! Haha I've been looking for an explanation for an hour, and here it is. Thanks a ton!! :D

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PS - Have you by any chance seen the movie Memento Mori? I just saw it last night, and I don't get it either. I can't find a decent explanation, either, so crap.

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Oh and how about Mulholland Drive?

Haha okay I'm done.

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Oh, Mulholland Drive, my arch-nemesis. I keep wondering if I should give it another chance, as it seems everyone but me loves it.
When I finished that film, I was rather angry. It just....it actually felt like it tried to not make sense.
I did some research on it and found that, indeed, David Lynch intentionally made it not make sense.
But I keep finding people trying to make sense of it.

It has been a while since I've seen it though. But, I just don't think I'm ready to sit down with that one again.

One film that is also frustrating is the 1979 film "The Demon." For some reason, I always remember it being good and can't figure out why I didn't like it. Then I watch it and am baffled the entire time and finish off very angry.
Give it a shot.

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The first time I saw Mullholland Drive I was baffled and angry too, but the film actually *does* make sense once you figure out that the first 2/3 of it, up until the two return from the theater, is a dream and the last part is the reality. Now it's one of my favorite films.

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http://blankingdelicious.tumblr.com/ Replace "blank" to get the real URL.

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I noticed this movie a few months back, saw bits and pieces, and looked it up here online. I was intrigued, thought it was cool, but didn't get to watch the whole thing. I did, however, see the ending, so when I got the second chance to watch it on the 4th, I knew what was coming.

Despite this, I really enjoyed it. The clues were fun to spot; the "Gate of H" on the chalkboard, the reflection in the mirror, Duke putting Claire's cut-off face over his own (which, by the way, was probably one of the greatest gore/creep-out scenes I've watched), and then Duke's little speech to her in the truck about how everything was "bullsh*t".

Having seen the whole movie now, I'd like to point out that, other than the main idea of the film, the "killer in Hell suffering the victim's fate" thing, I loved the little moments of comedy. Most of the stuff between Claire and Jimmy were hilarious. That and Duke outright calling Claire an "uptight c" within the first five minutes had me very amused.

Also enjoyed the fact that it was filmed in Ohio, of all places. I never thought anyone would be able to make it interesting on film. Nice to see it can be done.

One thing that I thought was going on in the film that turned out differently was in the very last moment of the movie, where Duke/Claire is suddenly back in the gas station and someone off-camera asks, "Busy night?", I thought that it was the "demon" Duke asking her that. I didn't see the beginning, so I assumed that he had stopped in at the gas station and was the first person she talked to in the movie. Turns out it was just some random guy, so oh well. I kind of think that what I thought was going on would've been a little cooler, though.

Jesus, look at all this drivel I've written. Sorry and thank you to any who read it. Also, someone should really put up some quotes. This movie's got some great lines.

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this was a great movie...I hate horror movies and i can't watch them, but when this came on today i could not stop watching. I wanted to know what was going to happen, and the fact that it was day time helped. Wonderful movie, great story line.

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I didn't give this one enough credit, I thought I had it figured out early; that Claire was already dead and was one of his victims. It lulled me into thinking it didn't have any more secrets to reveal so the twist was a very pleasant surprise.

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That got me too... I thought that it was one of those "she's dead and has to find her own missing body" movies and didn't pick up any more clues than that.

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Actually, I own Memento Mori. PM me and let me know what you didn't understand about it and I will see if I can help you out.

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I figured out that she was in hell, but not the fact she was Duke. This was a rarity, horror/triller that had me hooked. I like horror, but rarly do they grab me by the *exploitative deleted* and make me watch them.

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