The Twin

Rachel’s mental state is the true focus of the ending, revealing that her entire experience of the boy Elliot has been a product of her grief and psychological breakdown. After the tragic loss of her son Nathan, Rachel’s mind created a new, imaginary twin to cope with her overwhelming grief. Throughout the film, she imagines Elliot as a real boy who shares a special bond with her. Her delusions intensify, leading her to believe that Elliot is possessed by a demonic force and that villagers are sacrificing him as part of a satanic cult. These hallucinations cause her to see horrors—like the village rituals, the demonic possession, and her own supposed efforts to save Elliot. In reality, however, no actual supernatural events occur. The villagers and the other characters serve to illustrate her descending mental stability, as she becomes increasingly convinced of these false beliefs.

The climax of the story occurs when Rachel’s husband Anthony confronts her with the truth: Elliot has never existed outside her mind. She had been hallucinating her entire experience, including the boy, the villagers’ rituals, and even her husband’s claims. Her psychosis involved her imagining a whole new identity—one that allowed her to carry her grief and guilt. The scene where Anthony reveals that there was no Elliot, and that her supposed visions were just manifestations of her mental illness, is a pivotal moment. It shatters her constructed reality.

In the final scenes, Rachel’s mind appears to retreat further into her delusions. She finds herself in a symbolic setting—lying among grain, with her husband and children appearing in her imagination. These hallucinations suggest that her psyche is slipping away entirely, blurring the line between what is real and what is fabricated. Ultimately, the story suggests that the horror she experienced was not supernatural, but a tragic reflection of her own fractured mind and unprocessed grief over the loss of Nathan. The film ends with her driving away alone, her perception of reality completely broken, leaving viewers with the haunting realization that what they’ve seen is a portrait of a woman lost in her own mind.

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 at 09:00