Interpretation of the film/ending [spoilers]

I have just seen the film for the first time .... and this is my exact interpretation of it :)

I agree with your theory, F is a very interesting film which has generated many constructive & intelligent responses on this board, more so than some of the other IMDB boards.

Really glad I decided to visit this board after seeing F as I was a little disappointed by the ending & lack of explanation after swatching F for the first time. I now see the ending & lack of explanation as strengths of the film & not weaknesses having viewed the comments on the F boards.

I really love the ideas that everyone has come up with about this movie, but honestly, in my opinion I feel like there is a much more simple theory that we're missing.

To me, this movie works solely on fear.

These 'hoodies' are faceless beings that all move in the same supernatural fashion, yet they are always addressed as vandals, more importantly, youths.

Our main character is afraid of the very students he teaches and therefore what better fuel for fear can there be for him than children? Not just children but the very stereotype for the youths of today: hoodies!

Now, let's think about this. In modern society, 'hoodies' are a very real fear to adults everywhere, but not just adults, (as a teen myself, I can vouch for this.) A stereotype for a 'hoodie' is that they are sadistic and violent. They'll attack for no given reason. Well, that's how we as a society see it anyway.

This is a horror movie after all, the main point is to scare us, which this movie accomplishes easily.

The fear is easily relatable for a wide audience and we can see that with the victims that are chosen. No one is safe, the Head Mistress is killed just as easily as a student in the same age range as the very hoodies that are attacking.

With this base fear put into mind, the ending is really quite perfect to sum up the story. Our main character is given a decision: try to save his ex, or drive his daughter to the hospital before she bleeds out. The obvious decision is the one he takes. It's smart. He was unable to overpower the hoodies, even the police were unable to. If he went back in, he might as well be killing himself, his ex and his daughter all in one. He saves two out of three lives by doing what he does.

We aren't given a clear indication whether or not these hoodies are 'real.' They could - as many have put out - very well be manifestations of the main character's blatant fear for youths, his feelings of inadequacy and so on. The movie isn't exactly basing itself on real-life events, simply exploring the exploitation of a person's fears. It scared us and by giving an inadequate ending to many, it also carries that fear onto us well past the ending of the movie. We wish for answers so we can go to bed knowing how the movie ends, but being unable to know gives us that uneasiness that many horror movies strive to instill in their viewers.

I for one loved how the movie ended. We weren't given any answers and, to be honest, I'm glad. The movie scared me more than it would have if I was given the answers to begin with. The gore was good and also (bloody love the song that plays whenever the hoodies appear.)
So, yeah. That's what I think.

I see that as a viable interpretation, and there's more evidence for that than Mr. Anderson himself doing the killings.

I also agree with the interpretation that they may be intended as a representation of common fears: antisocial youths, or something even more general: bad people, bad times or bad things.

Couldn't agree more with the OP's theory.

The hooded hoodlums are a manifestation of Anderson's greatest fear: senseless violence at the hands of wayward youth. By focusing so keenly on violence - scouring newspapers for stories involving violent youth, forwarding mail that dealt with violence in the workplace to his colleagues, and exhibiting a paranoia about violence in general - Anderson creates situations where violence is given life.

The first act of violence he experienced at the hands of one of his students left a very deep impression on him. If he had had a neutral stance on the issue before the first act of violence, AFTER suffering abuse at the hands of his student he is impressed with a deep fear of youth and the belief that they are ALL prone to acts of senseless violence.

By focusing on violence, he generates the same in his personal reality. His BELIEF in his own unworthiness and the waywardness of youth distorts his perception of the world. His beliefs lock his nightmarish reality into place; they the mechanisms that create his version of reality.

It didn't have to be this way. Had he forgiven the violence done to him, perhaps he would not have created more of it. He could have regarded the first assault as an isolated incident and just forgotten about it. (Granted, this is a hard thing to do, BUT it can be done if one really tries.)

Ultimately, though, I think that the whole fiasco with the hoodlums forced him to deal with his fear. I was personally glad to see him come out of it alive. You live and you learn. That's just how it works.

Well, that was my unasked-for two cents.

Cheers.

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There's only one instant, and it's right now. And it's eternity.

- Waking Life

I had a similar take on the ending, I thought it would be revealed he had schizophrenia and the hoodies were another part of him that he didn't realize.

lol. no