I won't go over the ending here. Most have bemoaned it, several have figured it out. But it's called a mystery for a reason and unless you're blind the clues are sprinkled throughout. You just need to look for them.
Work back from the point where Kate opens the envelope from her mother. In the scene where Kate is packing she picks up a stack of papers topped by an envelope suspiciously like the one she opens later. Why is her friend, Rose, asking her if she's taking them? Why is she worried about her even though Kate is going from a classroom of children to only one? Every time Kate calls her the first words out of Rose's mouth are "Are you OK?". The signs are already there. It's a mystery remember?
Then she visits her mother who is concerned about the responsibility Kate is taking on. Darla gives her a portrait, a colorful painting of her daughter quite unlike the featureless, black sheets in the envelope Kate opens at the estate and which send her into a tailspin. Isn't this the same envelope Kate packs? Listen to the song playing in Kate's headphones as she's walking through the asylum. It's called "I Don't Know". Its chorus is "Is it all in my head, Is it all in your mind, I don't know".
Enough said. There's more clues sprinkled throughout, too many to list but if you watch it again the ending becomes obvious. I think most people concentrated on the "horror" part and ignored the "mystery" part. I think the emphasis is on the latter and that's where this film is brilliant.
Work back from the point where Kate opens the envelope from her mother. In the scene where Kate is packing she picks up a stack of papers topped by an envelope suspiciously like the one she opens later. Why is her friend, Rose, asking her if she's taking them? Why is she worried about her even though Kate is going from a classroom of children to only one? Every time Kate calls her the first words out of Rose's mouth are "Are you OK?". The signs are already there. It's a mystery remember?
Then she visits her mother who is concerned about the responsibility Kate is taking on. Darla gives her a portrait, a colorful painting of her daughter quite unlike the featureless, black sheets in the envelope Kate opens at the estate and which send her into a tailspin. Isn't this the same envelope Kate packs? Listen to the song playing in Kate's headphones as she's walking through the asylum. It's called "I Don't Know". Its chorus is "Is it all in my head, Is it all in your mind, I don't know".
Enough said. There's more clues sprinkled throughout, too many to list but if you watch it again the ending becomes obvious. I think most people concentrated on the "horror" part and ignored the "mystery" part. I think the emphasis is on the latter and that's where this film is brilliant.