When we first see that red chair in the middle of the room, I thought they'd found Satan. It wasn't much of a throne but that's what I thought, lol
Who was the hooded figure who was sitting on it? Does anyone have a screen cape of him and his face?
It was Hermes Trismegistus. The film alludes heavily to Hermeticism.
shareI believe it's Death aka the Grim Reaper. It would've made a lot more sense (and would've been cooler, as well) if it were Cerberus, knowing they were at the Gates of Hell.
It's always after I lose things that I realize how very significant the things I've lost are.
I rewinded the part that the hooded figure looks at the screen a couple of times and I was able to see that he indeed has a doll type face. It looked like it had been cracked though being made of porcelyn. I immediately thought it was the reaper. but now I'm thinking it was just one of their fears. all of the characters were being exposed to their own inner demons or what scares them most. The hooded figure could've been leading them deeper and deeper down towards hell, similar to what "the mole" seemed to be doing. I was waaaay more freaked out by the girl in the white dress who we kept seeing through out the film until she eventually killed Benji. she was terrifying and that's the stuff that scares me bad
shareWhy would you admit publicly that you watched the movie illegally; Especially with a picture of yourself online? People these days are way too open with giving out their personal information that could end up costing them thousands of dollars.
shareMaybe it's just my perspective, but I think people are pushing the Dante's Inferno angle way too hard. To me, they are using the idea of descending presented in Inferno, but to illustrate the 7 stages of alchemy (which makes sense, given the context). To this I add that many historians now believe that the search for the Philosopher's Stone has always been a metaphor for developing one's own spiritual awareness/psychological understanding, and that the stages in alchemy were intended to transform the chemist as much as the chemicals he worked with. Let's say there's a reason it's called the Philosopher's Stone and not the Ruby of Immortality.
If I'm correct, most of what you see is meant to be representational.
The pointy black hoods of the figures may refer to crows, which were indicative in alchemy of the process of calcination - the burning/breaking down of matter to it's basest parts. Once broken down, the matter was considered purified and ready for further development.
In short, I think these guys were meant to break down the cast (psychologically). They always just threatened, never caused real damage. Plus, when we meet them, they are in a room with chalky-white reliefs on the wall (which come to life); possibly people who went through the process unsuccessfully. Chalky powder is a common residue left behind from calcination. Lastly, they have white faces under their black hoods and symbolically speaking, the crow - after calcination is complete - pulls back it's black feathers to reveal a white bird.
It's just a theory and there's certainly parts of the movie I cannot explain.
I just went with 'demon' or 'death' to some extent. Who doesn't love a good creepy hooded figure in a movie...
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The writers of the movie said that character was inspired by Capuchin monks.
shareI just assumed that it was the alchemist mentioned at the beginning of the story.
shareThe hooded figure is the shadow self.
If Scarlett pulled off its hood, she would see herself. The same with anyone else who was with her. Anyone would see the part of the self they deny.