SPOILER DISCUSSION

1.So I’ve seen a lot of people that are upset that Kate went back to the mansion after escaping. At first I was, but by the end of the movie I kind of liked it. The movie does it in a ham fisted way at the end (and isn’t subtle about it at the start), but it’s fairly well established that Kate wishes she had parents growing up. Her dad left and her mom suffered from delusions so she had no one. It’s why she cares so much about the promise to Flora. Flora in a sense is a stand-still for her, a child without a figure that’s capable of reaching out helping. In going back for her, Kate also goes back for the self she always wanted to achieve. The desire for a stable family order and an adult figure capable of mentoring her might be the kernel that she’s formed her reality around, so when it’s constantly threatened she snaps. It’s why Miles’s provocations that threaten that stability are met with even more violent episodes of delusions.

2. I really would love to think of the movie as one big psychotic break over time, but certain shots in the early portion of the movie make it impossible to ignore the supernatural. When Kate puts the doll of the grandmother away and turns its face, the camera very distinctly shows the doll turning its head the other way by itself. This means that ghosts have to be in the house because Kate isn’t the one perceiving the doll. There are a few moments like this that ruin the possibility of ambiguity. If they were just directed to seem like they could be Kate’s perceptions, then the ending would feel way more well deserved.

3. My reconciled interpretation of the movie given the above two facts is that Kate both experiences a psychotic break and ghosts in the house have exacerbated the same. We know Quint killed Miss Jessel because the beginning of the movie happens outside of Kate’s perception, so their ghosts being present makes a lot of sense. Now why they want to go after Kate is something else entirely. Like I said , the movie is messy.