Na. It was real. They showed what people see. That photo not being a clue would break the 4th wall which the movie didn't before. Everything was from the view of any person. Also the biggest hint for me was the girl. Why would a father let his daughter stay at the car when he's hiking with food for a few days and being the "evil" within the kid showing him the girl as a delusion would mean the kid that doesn't know what a photograph is would fantasize about a modern dressed child tells him about a car? Nah mate. They left it ambiguous but haven't made it a masterpiece so the storytelling lacks a bit while telling to much. Everything you see is also a McGuffin. From the rope, to the dog, to that cellar door. And if a movie gives you the impression that the protagonist might be a lil delulu right at the beginning, it will most definitly not be the big twist at the end. You'd have to explain all the paranormal stuff away with "she was crazy" / "he was in a fever delirium" / "the other kid imagined things because he was scared and inhaled too much smoke" ... all that together while they all have a shared hallucinations? The only thing i really give that movie is that it makes you want to argue about it.
I appreciate your thoughtfulness and explaining through both possible endings. At first, I thought the ending was fairly clear, but after your explanation, I see how vague it really is. That being said, I think the entity was real. When the Mom showed her son the camera, she told him that the camera sometimes shows what you don't see. The picture at the end was only shown to us, the audience. If we were looking at it over his shoulder as he also looked at, then I'd say maybe it was in his head. The child that played the oldest son was also in The Deliverance on Netflix. He's similarly a bit scary in that one too. Apparently he's a busy kid because I think I've seen him in three movies this summer alone. He's a little taller or shorter in each one. 🙂
I think this movie had plenty of messages. Everyone can interpret it differently. Personally I think this movie was the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. The evil can either be real, or not real. If the evil was not real we can easily assume that the mom was schizophrenic. Schizophrenia is genetic and unfortunately Sam carried those genes but Nolan did not so that is how Nolan broke out of the family curse at the end. If the evil is in fact real (which in my opinion it is) the evil can be explained as a demon that has them trapped in the house. In order for the demon to enter the house it has to possess one of the 3 people living in there. (Just like in our real life world, the only way for a demon to enter this dimension is thru possessing the flesh). The only way for them to break out of their situation was for the boys to figure it out for themselves. That is why the mom never explained to them how. The evil has them trapped but also keeps them protected which is like a whole inception. At the end Nolan managed to trap the evil in the basement and filled the evil up with love and “exorcised” the evil and that’s how they finally got set free. Idk if yall have ever heard of demons in the deep state but look it up and research it yourselves. The whole messages of this movie was for us to wake up and realize that evil is real and to “never let go” of good (God).
I was going to say glad to you enjoyed it but sounds like you have some pretty crazy movies for liking this film and definitely took the wrong message from it. You're the type who's susceptible to believe in invisible boogey men, which is worrying.
