In Antler’s ending, Julia kills the wendigo to save Lucas but discovers Paul is infected, hinting at a looming threat. Despite seemingly ending the terror, the infection spreads, indicating the wendigo’s curse endures. The twist suggests Julia may face her brother’s transformation in a potential sequel.
Highlights
- Julia battles a wendigo to save her student Lucas in Antlers.
- Wendigo mythology symbolizes insatiable greed and destruction in the film.
- The movie hints at a potential sequel with Paul’s infection.
- The creature mirrors themes of trauma and the cycle of abuse.
In Antlers, the horror movie directed by Scott Cooper, the wendigo mythology and a dark, twist-filled ending leave room for a potential sequel.
The film, produced by Guillermo del Toro, revolves around Julia Meadows, a teacher who returns to her hometown in Oregon.
She becomes worried about Lucas, a young student hiding a dark secret. Julia and her brother, Sheriff Paul, face a supernatural creature—the wendigo—that’s tearing apart the town.
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Julia’s Sacrifice and Lucas’ Trauma
Julia discovers Lucas is feeding the wendigo, believing it’s his transformed father and that doing so would keep it happy.
However, Lucas’ actions stem from trauma and the abuse he suffered at his father’s hands. Like Julia and Paul, Lucas dealt with an abusive father, and the creature became a coping mechanism for him.
In the climax, Julia understands that to end the terror, she must kill the wendigo by stabbing and ripping out its heart.
When she finds Aiden, Lucas’ younger brother, turning into another wendigo, Julia makes the heartbreaking choice to kill him, stopping his transformation.
The movie ends with Julia, Paul, and Lucas, now three orphans, forming a fragile family.
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Why did Julia return to Oregon?
Julia’s reason for returning home after many years is tied to her own childhood trauma. She experienced abuse at the hands of her father, and the film shows this subtly through flashbacks without delving into explicit scenes.
She couldn’t return earlier due to her unresolved feelings and only came back after her father’s death, wanting to reconnect with her brother Paul.
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Wendigo Mythology and Themes in Antlers
The wendigo is a central figure in Antlers, stemming from Algonquian Indigenous folklore. According to the lore, the wendigo embodies excess and insatiable hunger, becoming a metaphor for destruction and imbalance caused by colonial greed.
In the film, Frank, Lucas’ father, awakens the wendigo by disturbing sacred grounds, ignoring ancient sigils that warned against trespassing.
The movie uses the wendigo to represent deep-seated human darkness, feeding on negative energy and highlighting themes of greed, destruction, and disregard for the environment and people.
Antlers plays on the creature’s symbolism to reflect Indigenous communities’ historical struggles.
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Sequel Hints and Paul’s Transformation
Antlers ends with a twist that hints at a possible sequel. After Julia and Paul appear to have defeated the wendigo, the audience sees Paul start to bleed from his eye, with black soil-like stains on his hands, hinting at his infection.
This leaves the story open, suggesting that Julia may have to face her brother’s transformation into the creature in the future.
The possibility of a sequel focuses on Julia’s emotional struggle, having already faced Aiden’s transformation and now potentially having to confront Paul.
The cycle of violence and trauma remains central, showing how the wendigo’s infection can linger, even after it seems defeated.
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The Deeper Message of Antlers’ Ending
While Antlers can be seen as a monster horror movie, it offers a deeper message about trauma and the cyclical nature of abuse.
Julia’s past experiences allow her to identify and address Lucas’ suffering. Her battle against the wendigo is symbolic of breaking the cycle of abuse, but Paul’s hinted transformation shows how difficult it is to escape its shadow.
In essence, the wendigo reflects not only those who harm the land but also those who harm people, feeding on pain and negative emotions.
Julia and Paul’s shared trauma connects them, but the ongoing threat of the wendigo hints that healing is a continual battle.
