If you are like
me, after watching the movie 400 Days, you immediately went on line to google
the ending. You probably screamed at the screen and or just scratched your
head. After watching the movie for an hour and a half, I decided to go back and
watch it in pieces, breaking down the movie so I could rest easy about it.
Yes, I’m not
kidding, the movie will drive you nuts because you think there just aren’t
enough clues. But there are. It's well written and well acted.
If you haven’t
seen 400 Days … STOP. Watch it and come back. This entire review/explanation is full of spoilers. You
have been warned. SPOILERS AHEAD.
400 days deals
with a psychological experiment to test the effects of astronauts in space for
long periods of time. It's a solid movie that will keep you entertained and guessing.
Hint one –
Psychological experiment. That alone tells you it all. But they want you to
believe, is it? Is it all an experiment or did the apocalypse really happen
while they were tucked 100 feet underground in a simulated ship?
The film gave
plenty of clues to explain the ending of the film.
SPOILERS
In the beginning,
it is painfully obvious that the Doctor is a part of it. “Remember our deal,”
the director says. Although, she explains later that he was reminding her to
stay estranged from her boyfriend the captain.
Doctor chick,
Emily, gives injections to the men. Not herself, she takes pills. In every
experiment there has to be a constant. She is the constant. The pills help her
keep clarity, while the injections cause hallucinations in the men. Hence why
she keeps testing them.
Her supposed
death, was a fake, if you recall she took extra pills, got dizzy and went to
sleep. A set up.
Hallucinogenics
cause a projection of fear or something in your subconscious, hence why Botany
boy, Bug, kept seeing his dead son.— He wasn’t going crazy, seeing a ghost, he
was hallucinating. When he figures it
out, the experiment snatches him away. Actually …. Emily helps with that. That’s
why she disappeared briefly. Being part of the experiment, she had to step back
so Theo could discover the blood bath. She had to get Bug out of the way.
Now for some
things you may have missed or not thought of. When they have the explosions,
the ship rocks. Dane Cook's character (My favorite and most well rounded) asks, “Are we moving?”
I believe they
were moved to the stage. Where everything
was set up. The crew said the town wasn’t there before the experiment. So in
the apocalypse the town appears with power?
Moon dust? Okay,
serious, if the moon fell apart, there’d be a lot more damage than rocks falling from the sky. How about tsunami’s?
The computer read outs could have been duped by the experiment.
As a writer, we
place the truth in a character. A glossary guy. But sometimes you may miss that the character
is giving away the truth. We think he’s nuts or unbelievable. Dane Cook is that
character.
He continually
states it’s all part of the experiment, reminding the viewer that none of it is
real. He does so passionately. Like shouting. "Dudes, listen to me. It 's not real." But we don’t pay attention, we’re too busy hoping it is not.
He states that
all the towns’ people were familiar and were the reporters. He is correct. The
reporters are credited in the movie credits as reporter 1, 2, 3 etc. But none
of the townspeople get a credit. Because they would confirm they were also reporters.
The big one, and the reason Cook disappears is he
figured it out and recognized the town hottie as Miss February. She indeed was
one in the same. The mag with her picture was done on purpose to see if he
would remember, he did, he called them on it, he was taken out.
The final death
scene, well, to be honest, maybe they were real, maybe not. One thing is for
sure, it was nothing but an experiment, The surveillance camera view at the end
along with the hatch opening and the sunlight coming in were, in my opinion,
final confirmation.
I’m not saying I’m
right, and you can double check what I put here, but I’m pretty darn sure the filmmakers
left enough hints to let us turn off the movie with the certainty that it was
all a big experiment. I liked the movie, I liked it more once I figured it out
completely … at least to my satisfaction.
So just finished this movie myself and found myself also going straight to google to find out wtf I just watched. After reading your comments I went back to the ending with a the play speed much slower and I noticed a couple things.
ReplyDelete1. You are correct that sunlight (well at least not the typical blue haze that was outside) does in fact shine down as the hatch opens up.
2. The video playback of the mission control is not a stream, but an actual video playing. You can tell because it has a playback bar moving across the bottom of the screen; vs in the beginning when it was a live feed.
In addition, to all this another reason I feel it was only an experiment was because while they were in the own they kept being watched with night vision. I guess it's possible there was a sporting goods store there with some hunting night vision but it seemed more like they were being observed in the same fashion as in the ship (where the cameras kept moving, even after supposedly loosing contact with mission control).
Another thing I noticed, it seemed very much as if the towns folk only meant to make it seem as though they were dangerous; eating humans. But based on the expression when the old women stabs the lead character I would say they meant no actual harm.
DeleteIn addition, when Zell was stabbed from the back the expression on his face was disbelief that he was actually hurt because he never intended on actually killing him.
Another thing I noticed, it seemed very much as if the towns folk only meant to make it seem as though they were dangerous; eating humans. But based on the expression when the old women stabs the lead character I would say they meant no actual harm.
DeleteIn addition, when Zell was stabbed from the back the expression on his face was disbelief that he was actually hurt because he never intended on actually killing him.
I suppose that the director lead us to conclude it was all an experiment. Infact there are some additional clues I noticed:
Delete1) As soon as the experiment is over Emily bring Theo's hand. Infact she has been respected the deal and now can finally have a relationship with him;
2) The knifes in the last scenes seems "fake" while in the beginning seems more realistic (that's my impression). They was probably changed while they was in the town;
3) All the murder are not clearly shown thence it possible to suppose they were just pretending (also we can't see clearly Emily stabbing Zell);
4) When they left the ship they could easily breath that indicate the atmosphere was not changed as supposed in the middle of the film.
Its also really suspect that they were 100 feet under ground. I'll have to go back and check but the ladder seemed really short. You could see sun light from the floor of the simulator soon they opened the hatch. It had to be only like 25 feet max.
DeleteTBH I want a sequel, with the aftermath of such an experiment.
DeleteFact that Nobody else's noticed..
Delete35:39-day 373.
The doctors computer says connecting(with updates in the 3 males) while all other communications had been shut off long ago.
Pretty much proof she was the constant.
Also theo wakes up late at night and hears her trying to contact Walter and saying that she's all alone and she really needs to talk to him.
DeleteIf you scroll to the bottom of the page you'll find my interpretation. I don't want to spoil these comments for anyone reading this for the first time bit I think I'm on to something, I love your comment btw Mr unknown. Good stuff. If you haven't read all the comments read them in order, as I read every single one before I posted my own. But if you already know, check it out I think I know what's going on here..
DeleteThis post was awesome. It also reminded me of Theo calling out Emily out of the needle she conveniently had even though it wasn't really from their ship. Just enough time for the female cook that stabbed him to run for help.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlso the woman reporter at 6:13 is the woman in the diner at 57:59 when Dvorak is telling the rest of the crew that the people in the "town" look familiar. I noticed the sun light coming into the hatch the first time through and watched it a few times and came to the same conclusion as the other posts here.
ReplyDeleteif doctor chick is part of it then why does she kill the guy at the end?
ReplyDeleteI found it weird that her "stabbing" was silent. Maybe she didn't do it?
DeleteWe never actually see the knife go in.
DeleteWe only see it from Theo's point of view.
Blood pack.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDerek- you can hear it when she stabs him; the typical wet, slicing sound.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deleteone thing i still don't get : why go trough all that trouble ? what was that experiment for? : - for seeing wether they would figure it out or not?, or to see who would lose their mind. (which i personally think is stupid because at the end it has nothing to do anymore with space and the mission. Another thing i find strange is the guy at the end with the doctor he did kill 2 people???!!
DeleteThanks for writing this- just watched it and had to google the ending as you said ha ha
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this was part of the movie or just a blunder while making it, but when they leave the ship and are walking, there is a scene where it zooms in on Emily's face and then Davorak's face. In the reflection of their helmets you can see trees, even though it is obvious that there are no trees around.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend pointed this out as wekk
DeleteAlso during the final fight between Theo and Zell, the ceiling disappears and reappears repeatedly, showing support scaffolding.
DeleteWhen Bug picked up the menu from the floor, it showed the owners were black. Nobody in that "town" was black.
DeleteI can't see the trees in the reflection Damn it!! Lol
Deleteat 53:18 look closly at Emily's face and look right side there is a reflection of trees.
Deletesame with Davorak's face too.
It's actually 53:20. U can see the trees in the reflection on her viser. 2 trees.
DeleteIn response to Dean Bryant, the implication was that Zell was not actually the owner of the diner and had probably killed them and taken it as his own.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlso the comment about there used to be tree here, what happened to the trees. If the trees were destroyed that would be one thing but there was no damage from where they one were.
ReplyDeleteAlso the comment about there used to be tree here, what happened to the trees. If the trees were destroyed that would be one thing but there was no damage from where they one were.
ReplyDeleteJust got around to watching it. I'll add another clue here. Which I don't think is just coincidence. The town was called tranquility. Another town crossed off on the map was eagle pass. The Apollo 11 lunar module ("eagle has landed"), landed on the moon on what is known as the sea of tranquility.
ReplyDeleteWhen Emily pulls out a medical kit to tend to Theo's wound, Theo confronts her with a question of where she got the kit. She lies and says that it came from the ship. Theo then tells her that EVERYTHING on the ship had a bar code for tracking.
ReplyDeleteJust as many of the ones previously, I goggled to find out clues to this movie plot. Sigh, still no answers.
ReplyDelete1. As for the "space ship", this crew enters into the "hole", to look around at their new surroundings. If they had trained in a simulator, why would they be looking around as if it was all so unfamiliar? I mean, why would you send these astronauts into space without being familiar with their ship??
2. So if the Dr., Emily, is in on the tricks, why the injections? She states the injections are to help prevent possible illness from being in such tight quarters. A couple of things wrong with these injections ...inoculations would NOT be given DURING isolation or a space mission; any injections would be done preflight, because of the potential of adverse reactions. Also, if she WAS injecting them with hallucinogens, that doesn't make sense either...the whole point of this experiment/simulation is to monitor the psychological effects of long term isolation/space travel; so, if any abnormal symptoms are exhibited by the astronauts, it would be noted and monitored in their medical files. If Emily injected them with hallucinogens, it would not be a normal reaction to isolation of space. She would have contaminated the experiment with drugs. It would not be their real reaction, if any! Whose to say they would have hallucinations at all !!
3. The astronauts spacesuits looked more like we see in NASCAR.
4. If they opened the hatch prematurely, they loose!
But they did open it, yet the recording stated that they survived the 400 days, and they won?
Sorry, but I still have no explanations regarding the ending, except.....a sequel?
I noticed that about the injections to. Also noticed the computer told Dane cook she is poisoning you. I wonder if the injections were placebo?
DeleteI noticed that about the injections to. Also noticed the computer told Dane cook she is poisoning you. I wonder if the injections were placebo?
DeleteRegarding number 2 and 3 of your comment, that is what they tell everyone. It could be that there is a different experiment going on to see how well they handle a new strain of some chemical injection. The whole premise is to see their reaction to various problems that can occur, not just to see psychological long term exposure, so its possible that they fully expected the lead to call for them to go outside, even if it meant they would "lose". I would have at least gone outside to check for damage when the solar pannels were messed up. But thats just me. Of course this is just my interpretation. Also, the whole deal with emily might not have just been about her relationship with theo, only part of it. If she was instructed to inject them with a psychological serum she would have to be objective in her observation, and being in a relationship with him would compromise her objectivity.
DeleteThey never left the simulator Zell and the old butcher were actually Bug and Dvorak being killed.
DeleteI can't believe I had to read through so many peoples posts until I found you with the same conclusion I have..at the end the hatch unlocks and sunlight shines in,before that the hatch was already open and it was a dark desert waste land..all the characters in the town were hallucinations resembled from people and images seen throughout the movie ..the fact that they had killed two towns people coincides with the death of the two astronauts ..loved reading everyone's deep conspiracy theories but the movie really was a just a contained psychological experiment with a blood thirsty out come
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm from India and watched this movie and as you mentioned I immediately Googled for the end. Read all the spoilers and had to watch the movie again to find that wee bit of giveaway.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the movie Theo gives his packet of cigarettes to his jail mate. Now if you notice closely, it's the same person who carries a kitchen knife during the end when they enter the simulator. The guy with the apron and the knife.
I guess I just wanted to make this point.
It was an elaborate experiment... but...What about the crazy man that Theo helped escape, why was he locked up again?
ReplyDeleteThat would have been an additional test. Capacity for compassion in spite of the craziness.
DeleteWhat it allowed was for the accidental stabbing from the kitchen lady that had her reeling in shock. Like that was not supposed to happen.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOkay so..all these comments about it being a experiment! What about the recording at the end, it was pre recorded....okay anyways I do believe all the things you talked about. The sceen where she ask him about his mood and he told here why, she got very upset like it wasn't her choice to make. Also where they first get shots, the one guy states clearly that he remembers that they said no shots
ReplyDeleteAlso the crew left the ship through the air duct perhaps leading to the false door to their "spacecraft" maybe hinting at it maybe being in a studio.
ReplyDeleteNo one is saying the obvious this is all vault-tec
ReplyDeleteLol hell yeah my first thought!
DeleteThis has got to be the worst film i have ever seen since Dune.... Im goi g to go and find some wood and beat myself around the head so as to cause myself a brain trauma and hopefully erasing my memory of a totally crap film.
DeleteI don't think they ever left the ship. I think the hallucinations got so intense that they thought they left the ship. I believe the two people killed at the end were Dvorak and Bug. Early in, there are several knives on the kitchen wall. But in the end two knives are missing. The two that bug and Dvorak each had for protection. They never left the ship, and at the end of 400 days a prerecorded video shows as the awaiting execs and public are about to find only two remaining test subjects and a blood bath.
ReplyDeleteYours makes the most sense! Just finished watching it and now this makes me want to watch it again. Holy shiy!
DeleteYours makes the most sense! Just finished watching it and now this makes me want to watch it again. Holy shiy!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteLone Radar is absolutely correct.
DeleteWhere the "science" becomes fiction in this movie, is at that pivotal moment when Dvorak sees the creepy dude come down the hatch and points Theo in the direction of where he saw him. Theo then ALSO sees said man and thus, the concept of group hallucinations are born. (A theory which in reality has never occurred, nor been proven not in a million years.) So once you get past that, then you can see many other clues/hints that make sense. Liiiiike..
1)The cook lady in the kitchen stabbing him is actually his girlfriend. She was conveniently missing for this period of time, and of course in Theo's mind, he can't conceive of his girlfriend stabbing him, so his mind references one of the reporters in the beginning. Which also makes sense as why she would say "sorry" and back away from him. She then goes to get the meds to help him at this point.
2)The "diner" is actually their kitchen table on the ship. The clue here is that the order in which they are sitting is the exact same seating arrangement as earlier on the ship when they eat. Also, they are given "soup". Same soup they eat in the beginning. Dvorak even mentions it looking like sh*t, lol.
3) At the "bar," when Dvorak goes "missing" with miss February.. He is actually just going back to his room, with his magazine, to masturbate with Miss February, lol. When he comes out of his room, he is the "butcher" that Theo strangles at the end. (Theo's mind references this character from his jail mate in the beginning).
4) Bug, stays up when the other two go to sleep, but I think here, he is actually wandering the halls of the ship, and eventually goes cray cray in his room, full of mazes, walking in circles. Until he eventually comes out as "(creepy diner guy" in Theo's mind) just looking for everybody. Notice how Theo attacks him first.. Bug is able to overpower him though he is smaller, because Theo is wounded.
There are many other little nuggets you'll find too, once you realize they never left the ship😉
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlso their suits are covered in dust until the lights come up and the video starts playing then you can see the suits are clean of dirt and dust and there is nothing but blood on them...they never left the ship
DeleteBoth OPs ending and this ending is plausible to me. My only issue with what you've said here Jackie is that the guy Theo initially attacks outside isn't accounted for. If the butcher is Dvorak and Crazy Guy is Bug then who is the guy outside before Theo comes back in. Also to support the theory that it is an experiment and that all the people are reporters and such is that the old man at the very start that Theo gives the cigarettes is also the same person as the butcher. I think there are perfectly valid reasons to support both theories and I still have no idea which one is truth.
DeleteI agree with lone radar, that's the only theory I could come up with after just finishing watching it, maybe with more time I'll change my opinion, yet as I think more about it, when bug follows the captain out the air duct he looks up in the sky and sees the moon, so it clearly hasn't been destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThat is suppose to be the sun trying to break through
DeleteThat is suppose to be the sun trying to break through
DeleteThere are only two theories here that aren't completely ridiculous, and unfortunately even those aren't without fault. First, let me explain why it seems that the main two ideals presented in the movie aren't possible.
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, the towns people are people from the press conference. But they are also Miss February from a playboy magazine and Theo's cell mate from the beginning in prison.
Obviously, if this were a post apocalyptic world, that's unlikely at best. So, all that being reality - a destroyed world, etc, is impossible. No real world theory.
Second, most support the idea of it all being staged. It's full of holes. A million reasons aside, the most glaring issue is also represented in that literally everyone the main character sees in the day or two before, from jail to the press conference, are all in on it. Miss February is also an actress, his cell mate also. Amazing actors. Then there's the killing. One was allowed to be strangled. Anothers head bashed in. Another "stabbed." Etc etc. The worlds most insanely well planned, executed, financed, acted, and later (since people got murdered) covered up event. Seems silly.
It seemed to borrow quite a bit from Vanilla sky, and I believe it gave way an intended answer for a solution in the same way. Or at least threw a hint out there to make it a possibility.
Dream Theory - Vanilla sky ends and begins with a soundclip - his alarm going off saying "open your eyes." It's his alarm clock. And at the end, it goes off. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the quick and dirty.
In the beginning he hears pounding and eventually staggers up, drunk and sleeping off a hangover. The pounding is the exact same pounding sound played all throughout the movie on the pod door.
That's not an exciting option, I get that, but think about it. The faces are all ones the main character saw, some that only the main character saw, and the movie gets continually more dreamlike as it goes on. Characters disappear, reappear, continuity is broken several times and he even begins to notice it and think... wait - that can't be right (the back to the ship comment, the med kit, etc), he never is crazy or at fault in any way, only others. Etc. It's much more dreamland than anything else, imo. And I think that just like vanilla sky, that sound clip that wakes him up was meant to give that away when viewed retrospective.
Or, second theory - hallucination or death. Another very possible scenario is the one Radar mentioned. At the end what are we left with? A plot that went horribly awry after what may or may not have been real shots, and what may or may not have been real oxygen deprivation. 4 alive astronauts went in, in the end there are two alive people, and two dead. It is completely possible that they never left the pod, they never went anywhere - and they could be tripping, oxygen deprived, or even dead or dying. The recording at the end was a pre-recorded snip, and the hatch opening lights could have been just that... lights. Since they would have had to climb "100 feet" up.
No matter what, it's unfortunate that unlike vanilla sky - i don't think even the writers had an exact ending in mind, and just wanted to make a ton of possibilities. Good movie, either way, but I do wish they'd given a little more direction.
Its also really suspect that they were 100 feet under ground. I'll have to go back and check but the ladder seemed really short.
Deletethe ship is a Time machine
DeleteAfter posting my thoughts, and reading more posts, this movie still makes NO SENSE!
ReplyDeleteMy latest thoughts are...the WHOLE MOVIE IS just a one if the individuals DREAM - NIGHTMARE.
That thinks maybe just wanted to be an astronaut...🙄🙄🙄
P.s. I hate spell check
ReplyDeleteSo the towns folk didn't want to kill them cause the guy in the bar could have totally killed both of them... and the girl was apart of the whole thing I do agree, she's gone at all the right times and in the end she holds her husband's hand, she also doesn't help him till he's on the ground and about to die. The girl was the camera.
ReplyDeleteSo the towns folk didn't want to kill them cause the guy in the bar could have totally killed both of them... and the girl was apart of the whole thing I do agree, she's gone at all the right times and in the end she holds her husband's hand, she also doesn't help him till he's on the ground and about to die. The girl was the camera.
ReplyDeleteOr the entire movie is a hallucination\dream Theo has in jail in the beginning... The beginning of the movie is the end... He wakes up. Also in the beginning at the press conference he has a black eye and I'm still trying to figure out what he is looking at in the distance in front of the woods I see like 4 objects of some sort before he climbs in the whole
ReplyDeleteBottom line is Theo lost sight of what's real I'd say
ReplyDeleteNo one is saying the obvious, its rubbish!! Oh...yes they are, they are all the deleted comments.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is the reason I found this blog and I'm greatful for that. I enjoyed it from an entertainment standpoint the first time but I won't even disclose how many times I viewed it this past weekend. Twists and turns are one thing but this rad piece of art is beyond clever. I can't believe I didn't catch more. Some films have re-watchablity but 400-Days its of the chain. I was on the fence at Redbox Friday and had to talk myself into it but it was worth the $1.50 gamble.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else notice that it was counting up the days until it hit 35 days and it seemed to be counting down. Was the movie in chronological order?
ReplyDeleteIt was counting down the whole time.
DeleteHow is this so hard for people to understand.
ReplyDeleteIt was clearly an experiment. Was the miss February girl not clear enough? Or everyone in the town being from the press conference? Or how about the guy not killing them in the bar and just walking away? It's not as complicated as you are all making it out to be. It's pretty simple actually.
Hey Matt - I wrote the post above from "UnknownMay 8, 2016 at 5:23 PM" . Please read in whole - if you still don't agree please let me know why. I really believe it is more complicated than that, by far, but possibly by bad writing/directing... not an overly intensive plot.
DeleteI was temporarily persuaded by many of these, but I have come to the conclusion that it must have been the simulation through and through. If it were truly theo's dream we would not see the perspective of any other character and/or theo would have to be present in every scene. But we see other characters interacting without Theo knowing what's going on. Ie; Dane cooks character and Emily having an awkward moment during the med evals and Bug's episode in the bathroom and running into Zell. If we're following Theo's dream we wouldn't be able to see anything unless Theo was seeing it also.
ReplyDeleteJust finished and rushed off to trusty Google to find an answer...thanks all! Believe its one of those films that does what it did...has EVERYONE guessing and wondering. The directors wanted the viewer to walk away wondering. Good job!!
ReplyDeleteAnybody notice movie poster three facing toward you, one facing opposite. Maybe some other subliminals?
ReplyDeleteAny clue on Mr. Veggie's wall maze?
ReplyDeleteAny clue on Mr. Veggie's wall maze?
ReplyDeleteI think people are connecting dots to make sense where there is no sense to be made... I don't think the makers had a decided conclusion, rather they left holes for all theories on purpose. Many here interpret it as an experiment, but there are big unexplained points... why use a prerecorded message at end... why NASA would put their "actors" in danger by allowing threatening characters with knives in a mere simulation (under the experimental interpretation) ... what if they'd decided not to open the hatch?- that'd be a lot of NASA budget wasted for all that atmosphere they created for experiment! And yet for the reality version, there are the obvious raised points seen in other posts. My conclusion is that there was never meant to be a conclusion, only questions... although perhaps slanting more to the hopeful with the sunlight b/c viewers like that.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Where did the zombie like intruder go anyway?...ha.
The thing about the hatch is that, even though that does seem possible, they knew they would go through the air vent. Why would the zombie like character stay there just watching Dan cooks character. He was trying to show them a way out. He wanted them to see it and remember it. Why would someone in a state of mind like that obviously trying to survive at all cost just stay there. Also why did he pass out there was no reason for him to, no reason the doctor gave use, he just did. He did so that they main characters could just question what was going on, have some since of question. if he just left they probably would have just closed the hatch. But he disappeared, which i believe was of the doctor chick as she said he was "sedated" obviously he wasn't, then it caused curiosity which made them leave, then after he did his part scaring most of the crew he was done and was taken off set, that was because they would find the picture and everything else at the house and they didn't was them to run into him again and have to fight and possible be spooked. also the doctor chick seems less scared out of them all of the man so if she was in on it that is probably why
DeleteThe thing about the hatch is that, even though that does seem possible, they knew they would go through the air vent. Why would the zombie like character stay there just watching Dan cooks character. He was trying to show them a way out. He wanted them to see it and remember it. Why would someone in a state of mind like that obviously trying to survive at all cost just stay there. Also why did he pass out there was no reason for him to, no reason the doctor gave use, he just did. He did so that they main characters could just question what was going on, have some since of question. if he just left they probably would have just closed the hatch. But he disappeared, which i believe was of the doctor chick as she said he was "sedated" obviously he wasn't, then it caused curiosity which made them leave, then after he did his part scaring most of the crew he was done and was taken off set, that was because they would find the picture and everything else at the house and they didn't was them to run into him again and have to fight and possible be spooked. also the doctor chick seems less scared out of them all of the man so if she was in on it that is probably why
DeleteI think people are connecting dots to make sense where there is no sense to be made... I don't think the makers had a decided conclusion, rather they left holes for all theories on purpose. Many here interpret it as an experiment, but there are big unexplained points... why use a prerecorded message at end... why NASA would put their "actors" in danger by allowing threatening characters with knives in a mere simulation (under the experimental interpretation) ... what if they'd decided not to open the hatch?- that'd be a lot of NASA budget wasted for all that atmosphere they created for experiment! And yet for the reality version, there are the obvious raised points seen in other posts. My conclusion is that there was never meant to be a conclusion, only questions... although perhaps slanting more to the hopeful with the sunlight b/c viewers like that.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Where did the zombie like intruder go anyway?...ha.
Another obvious clue not easily noticed... All of the cruel experiments shown in the clips during the entro of the movie... Watch them again, notice the distress and even pain some of them are enduring... That's clue #1, opening of the movie says "cruel experiment".
ReplyDeleteForgot to mention, one of those clips seems to include some type of chemical being introduced via syringe... Others show men in control rooms or looking through peep holes and monitoring experiments... Some of the people in the experiments also appear to be experiencing mental issues...
DeleteAn experiment of who can resist temptation. The one dude gave into the model, so he gets taken out. The other keeps getting pulled by visions of his son and had verbalized he wanted out, so he disappears.
ReplyDeleteThe couple who resisted each other remains in the end, or perhaps just the main man if the girl was in on it b/c she didn't take shots and had a magical 1st aid kit and it could be her killing the bad guy was staged... although holes with that b/c how would anyone know it would come to the point of her coming up behind him to fake kill him?
Yet, if her killing him was not staged and she was not in on it, that's a pretty extreme experiment even if it was an experiment gone awry. 2 people got stabbed. Who allows for those violent simulation possibilites? Hitler.
And finally, that's a pretty expensive and extensive experiment to find out what common sense knows: Some can resist, some can't. Even if they resisted each other the 1st time doesn't mean they will again in space now that the girl isnt calling off the relationship. Play it safe and hire astronauts without baggage. Save the experiment money, don't risk lives, and give the American's whose taxes paid for that a tax break.
Your points make sense, especially about wasting money, something rich guys wouldn't do in order to do psychological testing which would be done far earlier in the selection process. People chosen to be astronauts are already centered, hard working, highly disciplined types. Why spend sooo much money to do a test underground when we already have a space station and the capability of orbiting in space? Wouldn't that be a better use of the money? If this Walter is some kind of Mengele who enjoys sadistic experimentation he wouldn't invite the media to witness it. If he's just trying to protect some people from the coming apocalypse as some people commented, wouldn't he join them in safety? If an asteroid is about to hit the moon, it would be too late to launch a mission to Mars--the original premise of this weak plot.
DeleteIt's a movie.. It doesn't need to be financially viable.
DeleteAn experiment of who can resist temptation. The one dude gave into the model, so he gets taken out. The other keeps getting pulled by visions of his son and had verbalized he wanted out, so he disappears.
ReplyDeleteThe couple who resisted each other remains in the end, or perhaps just the main man if the girl was in on it b/c she didn't take shots and had a magical 1st aid kit and it could be her killing the bad guy was staged... although holes with that b/c how would anyone know it would come to the point of her coming up behind him to fake kill him?
Yet, if her killing him was not staged and she was not in on it, that's a pretty extreme experiment even if it was an experiment gone awry. 2 people got stabbed. Who allows for those violent simulation possibilites? Hitler.
And finally, that's a pretty expensive and extensive experiment to find out what common sense knows: Some can resist, some can't. Even if they resisted each other the 1st time doesn't mean they will again in space now that the girl isnt calling off the relationship. Play it safe and hire astronauts without baggage. Save the experiment money, don't risk lives, and give the American's whose taxes paid for that a tax break.
I believe it waa all a experiment. As you guys above stated. The girl on the magazine is the same girl dane cook sees at the bar. Also theo goes out trought the air vent to close the hatch from the outside (only way to close it). But then in the end when the time is up they open it from the outside and the light/sun reflects... Hows this if only the people involve in experiment know the code. Also supposedly they only had power to run the critical functiona of the ship but when time runs off all systems light back up. Think about it... Whats your guys opinion.
ReplyDeleteI believe it waa all a experiment. As you guys above stated. The girl on the magazine is the same girl dane cook sees at the bar. Also theo goes out trought the air vent to close the hatch from the outside (only way to close it). But then in the end when the time is up they open it from the outside and the light/sun reflects... Hows this if only the people involve in experiment know the code. Also supposedly they only had power to run the critical functiona of the ship but when time runs off all systems light back up. Think about it... Whats your guys opinion.
ReplyDeleteExperiment, with the girl med' as the control hampster.
ReplyDeleteOnly Q' fake death at end?
Makes sense, except the doctor wasn't hallucinating/never took the shots. Would she really let it get that far?
ReplyDeleteMakes sense, except the doctor wasn't hallucinating/never took the shots. Would she really let it get that far?
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that Dr.Emily kinda had something to do with this and knew what was sorta going on. I also don't completely think this is an experiment because what would simulating a lost town have to do with being in space?
ReplyDeleteI could see it, as the "you made it to your goal, succeeded there, but came home to a distopian world" twist.
DeleteIt's hard to make sense out of this movie, because it doesn't make sense to test real astronauts underground. A scientist would want to test their flight capabilities by putting them into orbit. Weightlessness is one of the biggest hurdles they would face on a 400 day journey. The town full of zombie like people who are potentially looking at them as a new food source doesn't make any sense except that movie makers know zombies have been good box office draws. I think this film is a low budget attempt to make money that falsely advertises itself as having an actual space travel theme. It also wouldn't be necessary to make a lab 100 feet below the surface to do this kind of testing. It would be a waste of money something I'm sure rich people wouldn't do as it's not NASA but a private company that is owned by this Walter guy at "mission control."
DeleteHere's a thought... Maybe they were actually in space (the movie poster suggests this), but an Apollo 13 type malfunction occurred and they started losing oxygen, hence the spiral into into delirium.
ReplyDeleteThis was clearly not a simulation. The fact that they left the hatch prematurely and still "won" at the end shows that the video was clearly recorded before. For people who were talking the night vision googles, those were the town members looking through the house to see when they would come out.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Walter did whisper "Take care of my baby" before the launch. He most likely knew that this was about to happen and sent them down there. This way also lets us know what happened midway through the flight where it looked like something had hit.
Am I the only one who noticed the older man in the jail cell asking for a cigarette was the same butcher guy that came down the hatch with his knife? Kinda strange that he wasn't in the cast credits as either characters. And I didn't see a credit for the bartender, which coincidentally came out in another 1995 film by the name 'extraction' with that same old butcher dude. Weird
ReplyDeleteNope. Read UnknownMay 8, 2016 at 5:23 PM post above.
DeleteIf you also noticed the cameras in the ship were always following them. Even when they returned to the ship after running away from the town they shows the cameras in there and they move to focus to where the action is.
ReplyDeleteIf you also noticed the cameras in the ship were always following them. Even when they returned to the ship after running away from the town they shows the cameras in there and they move to focus to where the action is.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, I'm just confused. But I did notice a fun continuity error. In the scene where Theo and bug first climb out the exhaust shaft that came out literally fifty feet away from the main hatch Theo comments that they need the suits because it's too cold, camera cuts back to outside the shaft with them now wearing their suits. So am I to assume they cut a full scene of them crawling back through the ductwork, suiting up, and crawling again outside wearing bulky suits? Instead of walking fifty damned feet to open the hatch that took ten seconds and climb down the lader?
ReplyDeleteReading the previous comments was fun. Interesting discussion of the many inconsistencies in this film's plot. I agree with Jan. You don't waste highly trained people by making them into lab rats (I recall seeing a white lab rat early in the film, perhaps a clue for viewers.) Astronauts are very busy doing their work during flight. Anyone might go nuts living in that hospital like box for 400 days with nothing to do! This movie was disappointing, conflicted and pointless beyond making some money. The actors did great but either the screenplay and or the director let us down.
ReplyDeleteThis is like trying to figure out Blade Runner, lol.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty straight forward actually.
ReplyDelete1. they enter the simulation
2. the town is prepared and packed with actors
3. the moons gets devastated for real
4. the actors are left there dying and miserable
5. astronauts enter town and lose their friends who were probably killed.
6. They kill zell, and what is clearly a PRERECORDED video comes on saying the simulation is over.
Yes, it was INTENDED to be a simulation, it just went horribly wrong, and an actual global catastrophe happens.
When the lady stabs him by accident, that was the biggest giveaway. There is no way in hell they are gonna continue an experiment after that. Imagine stabbing someone by accident on a movie set...you would immediately call the fuckin director, or a doctor. lol.
Then when the female naut just happens to have the medical kit, we think it is all a setup again...then she kills the guy lol. Again...no way that shit is happening in a simulation.
I promise you all...there was no one there when that hatch opened. Just dust.
The hallucinations were always made very apparent, either by a change in clothing on the character, or slight discolorations in the picture.
You have to ask yourself...what would the point of many of the things that happen in this movie be? if it was just a simulation. There is no point in training astronauts to fight and kill humans.
Then why is the butcher the guy in jail with the main character in the beginning. Why is the sound of the pod door being beaten on - which you hear all throughout, the same sound that wakes me main character in the first scene where he's sleeping off a hangover. It wasn't real.
DeleteThere are a lot of good theories here, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that the subjects walked outside the "ship" for an hour or two. That would cause for a massive stage/set and unrealistic hopes that the subjects went the right direction from the hatch.
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time they had ever used the suits so the time equipment could easily be either accelerated or remotely updated when someone "hit" the show time button.
DeleteThere are a lot of good theories here, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that the subjects walked outside the "ship" for an hour or two. That would cause for a massive stage/set and unrealistic hopes that the subjects went the right direction from the hatch.
ReplyDeleteBeen waiting for this observation. I agree, it either supports the simulation gone wrong theory or is just poor writing.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI noticed the woman in the dinner was startled when she accidentally stabbed him. She even apologized and said she was sorry in shocked disbelief. If they were cooking people, why apologize for stabbing someone?
ReplyDeleteThe shots, the medical kit, and the disappearance of all the other crew was also clues. One thing that made no sense was that he was hitting people with a fire extinguisher without anyone stopping him. That would have cause serious injuries or death. That would have stopped a supposed experiment immediately.
i dont know if it was a simulation, or not, or was suppoesed to be and then the moon actually did get destroyed, but you realize that they weren't eating humans they were eating the zombie like things, in her eyes possibly they are just animals just more food, but then when she stabs a actual human healthy person she feels the guild of actually hurting a real person
DeleteMany of the comments here echo mine and I think that the director, Matt Osterman actually said:
ReplyDelete"The clues in 400 Days are all hidden within the frame (or sometimes standing in plain sight), but it is my hope that different viewers will all have different interpretations of what actually happened. The best films inspire conversation and invite the audience to keep thinking about the film long after it ends. If that occurs, I will have succeeded."
So I think the clues mentioned on these posts would INDICATE that it is indeed all simulation. There are however several issues brought up by other commenters that I agree with and this find hard to consolidate. (Maybe I'm just stupid lol)
1. Would a multi million dollar (or whatever the costs might be) experiment for long haul space travel have astronauts unfamiliar with their ship and equipment?
2. Would you not carry out extensive tests on candidates beforehand?
a) You have someone like Dvorak who seems aggressive to a degree that borderlines potential psychopathic (after only a short while he hits on Emily a couple of times; granted he apologised but in a real situation, could he turn rapist? He kills a mouse in a violent manner; he exhibits bullying and sadism in taunts to Bug and Theo; ultimately initiates a fight with Theo; goes ape and destroys computer equipment.
b) Bug, who seems ill suited to rigours of mental pressure (more so than the others even)
c) Theo, really cannot be considered a genuine captain material. His lack of professionalism in getting drunk and going to jail, admitting to a news conference (albeit a fake one) that he is in no condition to answer questions.. and being emotionally distraught etc
These are things so obvious that they would almost default fail as worthy candidates for simulation.
3) would hallucinating drugs or any drugs other than non essentials really make simulation valid? Too many non controllable variables here
4) it would appear that Emily is in on the simulation and that both Bug and Dvorak are either taken out of the simulation and or pass/fail (though I'm pretty sure they all fail unless staying in the shop for 400 days but you know what I mean). So you can account for everything being set up or faked. APART FROM Theo potentially killing some actors with hits with the extinguisher thing. Also strangling the man at the end. A close proximity knife situation with Zell that could have lead to anything happening in such a tussle (granted the knife may have been fake).
So yeah. Overall I would agree that the there is overwhelming evidence to comply WITH the theory it's all simulation, other than the above factors that may either be continuity or writing shortsights.
The reality is that the shortsight is probably my own (owing to the fact that I don't see the answer barring convolusion of the highest order lol)
So yeah.. That's why I'm writing this. Anyone that can give me viable solutions whilst staying within the 'it's ALL simulated' theory would be a massive help! Thanks for reading my post which he grown way too long lol apologies I've been awake too long!
I posted this above - read your post and understand - please respond if you dont agree:
DeleteThere are only two theories here that aren't completely ridiculous, and unfortunately even those aren't without fault. First, let me explain why it seems that the main two ideals presented in the movie aren't possible.
As we all know, the towns people are people from the press conference. But they are also Miss February from a playboy magazine and Theo's cell mate from the beginning in prison.
Obviously, if this were a post apocalyptic world, that's unlikely at best. So, all that being reality - a destroyed world, etc, is impossible. No real world theory.
Second, most support the idea of it all being staged. It's full of holes. A million reasons aside, the most glaring issue is also represented in that literally everyone the main character sees in the day or two before, from jail to the press conference, are all in on it. Miss February is also an actress, his cell mate also. Amazing actors. Then there's the killing. One was allowed to be strangled. Anothers head bashed in. Another "stabbed." Etc etc. The worlds most insanely well planned, executed, financed, acted, and later (since people got murdered) covered up event. Seems silly.
It seemed to borrow quite a bit from Vanilla sky, and I believe it gave way an intended answer for a solution in the same way. Or at least threw a hint out there to make it a possibility.
Dream Theory - Vanilla sky ends and begins with a soundclip - his alarm going off saying "open your eyes." It's his alarm clock. And at the end, it goes off. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the quick and dirty.
In the beginning he hears pounding and eventually staggers up, drunk and sleeping off a hangover. The pounding is the exact same pounding sound played all throughout the movie on the pod door.
That's not an exciting option, I get that, but think about it. The faces are all ones the main character saw, some that only the main character saw, and the movie gets continually more dreamlike as it goes on. Characters disappear, reappear, continuity is broken several times and he even begins to notice it and think... wait - that can't be right (the back to the ship comment, the med kit, etc), he never is crazy or at fault in any way, only others. Etc. It's much more dreamland than anything else, imo. And I think that just like vanilla sky, that sound clip that wakes him up was meant to give that away when viewed retrospective.
Or, second theory - hallucination or death. Another very possible scenario is the one Radar mentioned. At the end what are we left with? A plot that went horribly awry after what may or may not have been real shots, and what may or may not have been real oxygen deprivation. 4 alive astronauts went in, in the end there are two alive people, and two dead. It is completely possible that they never left the pod, they never went anywhere - and they could be tripping, oxygen deprived, or even dead or dying. The recording at the end was a pre-recorded snip, and the hatch opening lights could have been just that... lights. Since they would have had to climb "100 feet" up.
No matter what, it's unfortunate that unlike vanilla sky - i don't think even the writers had an exact ending in mind, and just wanted to make a ton of possibilities. Good movie, either way, but I do wish they'd given a little more direction.
No way an apocalypse happens and one little wee town with people looking fairly normal survive. Really? A map with a cluster of towns so close, within walking distance of each other, unlikely. Plus the town of Tranquility was just a strip of buildings. and the town is lit up. I agree it was a hallucination and they never left the ship. Example: Bug went through the vent system and came out into a room with his son in a swing, he also walked through a door at the diner and was in a bright room with lots of people. so them walking into a desolate environment was a hallucination.Its possible the apocalyptic hallucination was all in Theo's mind, hence why Bug and Dvorak quickly disappeared, he couldn't maintain their characters in his mind. The congratulations speech by Walter was a recording because of the play bar moving at the bottom of the screen and the applause sounded like recorded applause. When the hatch opened, the room got brighter, it looked like the lights in the room got brighter, not that sunlight was coming through. But question, why would Walter record a congratulations speech, did he know he wouldn't be around when 400 days was up?
DeleteIf they are simulating a flight, wouldn't they also simulate landing back on Earth after 400 days? Instead of, times up! 400 days over, hatch opens?Thats not realistic of a mission completed, then it was indeed all about the psychology of being trapped in a confined space. No expectation to drive the ship really...
I think Theo imagined killing both Zell and Butcher, he didn't really do it at all. In fact, quite possible the 400 days didn't really complete yet, and that was a hallucination that the time ran out because such traumatic things happened that they wanted to hope it would just be over and everything open up.
Theo deep in his mind probably knew the time wasn't really up and the hatch wasn't really going to open so he manifested and imagined Walter and made it a recording, because once the hatch didn't really open and he realized it was still locked, he could keep hallucinating about being trapped. Also imagined Emily getting back together with him because he'd been so distraught over their break up that that was in his imagination too, her holding his hand. He is now in a dream world of being trapped and isolated in a ship because of an apocalypse. But hoping he is trapped with Emily now being back with him.\
DeleteIt would seem to me by the clips that were shown before he wakes up in jail that this was indeed an expirement that they weren't in on. They think they're in training and the whole time it's just a test(with real life or death consequences). Doc may be in on it a little bit but I think they want to test her as well so they change a few things about the plan so she has to react on the fly and help make it seem real to the others.
ReplyDeleteFirst let me just say, I was completely pissed off when the credits started rolling. I did not want to believe that it was over. But even before the movie had finally ended, these were my thoughts:
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing was a hallucination... from the moment Dvorak spotted the sickly looking man in the ship. they were all on some kind of crazy trip and the whole time that they were "walking through the outside (house, town, ect.)", they were actually still sitting down in the ship. ironically, at the end when two men got down in the ship, Dvorak and Bug were missing. So was the butcher guy, and Zell actually Dvorak and Bug. The physical resemblance was sort of there too... Bug and Zell: both skinny and kind of short... Dvorak and the butcher man: kind of built and bigger... so did Theo kill Dvorak cause he was tripping so hard and thought it was the butcher guy that they had apparently seen earlier? and did Emily kill Bug thinking it was "Zell"? the only things that i still can not figure out is, who was the guy that Theo killed at the top of the hatch? was it Walter? was it no one? and also, since Emily wasn't taking the drugs that the other guys were taking... how was she also hallucinating? was she not hallucinating the whole time, and just faking it? if so, then did she kill Bug because he was trying to kill Theo, probably because Bug was also tripping and thought that Theo was someone else... Very confused...
I agree with most of what you've said. However I think that it was only Theo who was properly hallucinating at the end. I think Bug and Dvorak figure out that it's all in their heads and so are able to come to terms with what is happening. I think Emily was aware, or at the very least not hallucinating as well, and so was the control and able to stay lucid throughout. Theo attacked "Zell" first, so I think Zell is actually Bug, like you said, but Theo is intent on killing the "cannibal" who is a threat to him and his girlfriend, so the only logical way to sop him would be to kill him (or incapacitate him if you're sane!) Therefore Emily sees Bug trying to kill her ex-boyfriend who she appears to still have feelings for (she couldn't delete the photos she kept looking at of the two of them) and so kills Bug before he kills Theo. Then the pre-recorded message plays and the hatch opens, for the first time, because they haven't actually left the ship yet. So it's an experiment that went horribly wrong and only 2 of the subjects survived it, however the lack of external intervention implies that the cameras weren't live, so the people outside couldn't see what was happening real-time, or if they could, they were seriously messed up in letting it continue. I dunno, I'm struggling to come to terms with any of it
DeleteAlmost all theories are correct. Image writing the story 4 different times each with a different truth. Now, intertwine all 4 stories the best you can without destroying the basis of any 1 story.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading all the comments. Lots of tremendously good observations. Here is one that nobody has posted. Didn't they leave the ship on something like day 375. Were they only gone for 2 nights, 3 days? Then all of a sudden day 400. I may be wrong, I only watched it once. If I am correct, I wonder what the significance could be? I doubt it was an oversight.
The best observation is that the bartender and the cell mate are not in the credits at all. This means that they acted another role or that they were the writers. I vote writers since there was another movie where they were omitted from the credits. If I understood correctly the earlier post by Bryan Werner.
Butcher and Bartender = ominous?
Great writing, directing, and acting. Job well done.
this movie made me so mad, at first... part way through my girlfriend just gave up on it, turned over and went to sleep... i was in for the long haul and needed answers... after this movie was done i went straight to google to find out what the heck?!?!
ReplyDeletei found it interesting that so many other people did the exact same thing, which brought me to the thought that "maybe this was done intentionally by the producer" and if so what a genius thing to do... if not, what an amazing accident to be thought out by anyone else interested in writing or story telling... its creative and original and takes you beyond just entertainment... i can totally envision a movie being made that leaves you wondering enough to research it afterwards to find answers and when googled, finding a trail of bread crumbs, so to speak, that lead you to a page stating "if youre reading this, than you have made it, and blah blah blah, having something inventive and totally original pertaining to psychological experimentation and your unknowing participation in this one... as if you and anyone else who watched this movie were actually being experimented on, for entertainment of course... as if only to make you feel that deception and shock of having been part of an experiment, really delivering to you a realistic cinematic experience... this is why i say that this movie made me mad, but only at first, because now after reading most of these comments and having these ideas i really feel that this movie was a bit more than your usual flick and love the fact that i didnt appreciate the film until it was over and i had to google it for answers...
as for the movie itself in the beginning they show clips of people being experimented on in what looks like invasive manners... this, after over looking it leads me to think that it actually was some messed up experiment, but heres the kicker, and someone commented about these previously and i just want to add to the thought, but they pointed out that if the experiment was for the psychological effects of long term space travel than why would she be feeding them hallucinogens? which was also a theory to the injections administered by the good doctor... but lets take a look at even just one example of psychological experiments done in the past in real life../ the milgrams obedience to authority experiment done in 1962 where he leads his subjects to believe that the experiment is based on a theory that people learn things correctly when they get punished... in fact he was having that subject believe he was hurting another person by shocking them slightly when they answered a question, of a list of questions, incorrectly but also that the voltage of the shock was increased with ever question answered incorrectly, and when asked to stop by the person they're inflicting this pain on, is told by the experimenter to ignore their pleas and continue with the questions even when the person becomes unresponsive... the point being he lied to his subjects to get an authentic observation... and i think the same in the case of this movie, perhaps they were told they were being experimented on for the long term psychological effects of space travel when really they were not... who knows though? i read a Q n A with matt osterman the writer and director of 400 days lol and he said he couldnt wait to see all the theories about the film and its ending and not really giving us an answer to wtf we just watched...
all in all, i like the fact that this made me sit here and really think and research some things and gave me some really neat ideas...
thanx for all of your thoughts
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all of these comments, since I posted quite awhile ago, I agree with you totally "Who Cares"! There is no explaining why anyone would write a movie like this one!!! They didn't waste any $cash$ either on the set! ...a stark white interior of a space ship!
ReplyDeleteYou are DEFINITELY correct!!!
It sucked! And no explanations can make it any better!
A lazy writter, a bad set and a bunch of "B" actors. I knew it was going to be bad after seeing the press conference! Totally agree with "runwaylyghts"!
DeleteHaven't seen a comment stating maybe it was all in Theo's head. It'd be hard to disprove that he never left the jail cell.
DeleteMaybe there an explanation was never intended. If you like that sort of thing, try "Don't Blink" 2015. Or possibly even "Mulholland Drive" 2001.
Hey guys - Matt Osterman (writer/director of 400 Days) here. Not sure if it's "cool" for me to drop by and comment, but just wanted to say thank you for the amazing conversation happening here. I've been reading all the great reactions and theories and I'm honestly humbled by all the kind words and in-depth thoughts. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! And for those of you who didn't like the film, that's great too! Even in the script stage, we knew this film was going to be a "love or hate" kinda thing, so I'm frankly just happy that you're giving it a shot. Cheers everyone!
ReplyDeleteSorry for ruining your chill, but I like your style, Eddie Adams! ~Matt
DeleteHi Matt!
DeleteI just posted my thoughts on another thread here, so I won't repeat my actual theories on the movie plot, but I gotta hand it to you. Haven't had to search google after watching any movie in a long time, lol. Both me and my husband still had more to talk about this morning, after watching it last night (which is rare!!)
We both experienced the initial "hate" reaction at the end, but then could not settle with not figuring it out. Which forced about a good hour of dialogue out of us both last night and this morning. And as you can see, I'm still here on this website reading comments so..
Thank you. Lol, that was fun. Now I think I will move on with my interrupted life. 😆✌🏾️
Thanks, Jackie! Loved your comments/theories! ~Matt
DeletePlease could someone explain the strange mutated man that is found wondering the ship, and/or the man that the captain releases after witnessing all the blood?
ReplyDeletePlease could someone explain the strange mutated man that is found wondering the ship, and/or the man that the captain releases after witnessing all the blood?
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I seen it. I'll watch it again.
DeleteOK so the owner of the diner had an earpeice. Also when bug went back to the bathroom and ran into the owner of the diner, the diner said bug what are you doing back here. I dont recall anyone telling him their names. Also did you notice the ships doctor was always asking questions like why do you think this or that.
ReplyDeleteWent back and checked. Bug's name was never mentioned in front of zel the guy from the diner. So this would prove zel
ReplyDeleteIs just an actor because how else would he know bugs name.
Another thing was that at the end of the 400 days you could see the ship return to full operation. The ships lights got brighter. This meanscthe reduction in operation of the ship was simulation and not from being hit with moon debris.
ReplyDeleteI think that the experiment got out of control especially when dude got stabbed, and Emily got pulled aside and administration came out, gave her meds, says FIX THIS AND DO. NOT. FUCK. THIS. UP. we can't afford to blow this whole thing up in a lawsuit we have EVERYTHING on the line now GET THE FUCK BACK OUT THERE AND DO YOUR GODDAMN JOB YOU SHOULDNT HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN AND IF THERES BLOWBACK YOU ARE FIRST TO BE FUCKED I am not joking. (Walter, her father I imagine was here saying these things, damn what a parent.) The actors who died(or seriously injured) most definitely on a project of this scale signed waivers and that's the criteria for even landing this position of volatile, super high risk(aggravating intentionally aggravated and induced psychopathic states of delusion and grandeur) operations, I can't even imagine the paycheck these folks are waiting for (per completion of contracts) these folks are deeply committed, very well paid(never have to work again) and willing to risk anything to attain their goal(if not just for money) for some greater cause which is the only point I can't quite grip, WHAT GREATER CAUSE IS ALL OF THIS FOR???? besides the theory that they never left, answering that one. That in their delusional states.. they had mass delusions(Emily probably induced some other way unbeknownst to her at some point, maybe they started putting it in the air?? And the characters became aggressors and each one deluded their memories and projected those faces upon each other as they began to kill each other... Idk but my first thought seems more plausible. I always trust my first thought..but if that were the case may e she only injected dude with a tranquil and busted a blood pack to maintain consistency within the illusion that she was the administrator of. I think that when she holds his hand, either way you look at it she's being genuine. One, if she's the administrator she's sick, DISGUSTED but relieved. What she's done, so cruel, and she really loved this man, but almost got him killed, and holding his hand is reeling as she can only imagine his reaction and she fears he will never forgive her. (I'd love to hear that convo but is it enough to generate a sequel?? Plus a sequel will silence these here theories forever with hard answers so I know it will never be if y'all wonder)
ReplyDeleteBUT; if she is drugged and delusional as well and just killed bug.. shes now going to need him and as the experiment is overFUCK YOU DAD is the only logical conversation I can imagine( also would love to see) and either way. These too are about to get alone and get busy, that I know for sure. The passion they are about to express would also make a good movie, disagree with me I dare you! Lmao (maniacal laughter.) I would Love to see that too. So, Matt please, a sequel? Lol jk a sex scene is all I need at this point. Brilliant movie. Thanks again.
Just to close a hole in my own logic and clarify.. if she was actually killing zell..why did she wait so long to kill him... his back was turned and he was vulnerable to attack for almost thirty seconds as he pushed the knife down to Theo's chest private Ryan style.(he also knew she was behind him somewhere why not step back, evaluate, throw some heavy objects at already stabbed Theo to incapacitate him and kill her too?? I mean Theo "doesn't look good and he's weak. Why turn back on a strong opponent to death lock kill the weaker one? (Plus his puzzled "omg I'm dying" face seems a little contrived, but it could be the actors fault idk)
DeleteSO! what she was doing I believe was preparing a tranq shot and blood pack. So Theo won't know. And complete the final task, end the experiment and end her slavery to ("the cause")
If you really think about it, BTW, after being stabbed, beating a grown man down, strangling another, running five miles to bunker and fighting zell for five minutes, no way zell should have any problem pushing down that blade. He was not really trying to kill him. NO. FUCKING. WAY. especially with another threat behind him that stupid and zell doesn't seem stupid. And if he is then the writer played a copout boss battle, and a movie this smart is not written by a director who would do that, so I must be right. Peace.
DeleteRemember.. if you recall.. at 200 days.. bug brought the mouse, Dvorak killed it, and that's when the loyalty shifts.. from friends to secret enemies.. Dvorak lies about the bleeding he saw in the mirror.. and so psychosis is born. Paranoia, delusions, and ego. The most powerful force of human nature, ego.. blinds you from the truth you know. And you become committed to your point of view, your perspective. You Believe... it.. so it is real... like Jesus.. not saying Jesus isn't real don't freak out y'all. But we believe, right? Look at it that way. Noone can change what you believe. I believe that this is the core of the idea behimd this film. I believe that's all I have to say, thanks.
DeleteAlso something that no one has mebtioned..The stabbing is obviously an accident. Notice how she has a first aid kit all of a sudden that wasn't on any of the ships records.
ReplyDeleteIt continues to tick me off that movies don't have conclusions. It's poor storywriting, sloppy directing and disrespectful to the audience, we feel robbed because we were robbed. When S.King finished Dark Tower he explained why he ended it that way. But the garbage Hwood keeps making is just lazy. Give us an ending, an aftermath, even Truman Show revealed the truth with a real ending and that could have easily ended with him at "sea" leaving us forever wondering. And one other problem is that they failed. The rules were clear: leave and you're expelled. All 4 left, they failed. They failed, that video at end was clearly a recording, something f-d up in RL at the same time, just what that is is even more screwed, big thumbs down, $back since cant get life wasted on the trash. Seriously unless people protest then crap lazy stuff will continue to be made.
ReplyDeleteAlso, by introducing drugs to cause hysteria the experiment failed right away because they still won't know how people will handle 400 days due to manipulation
DeleteThey had to help induce mental issues to at least tome degree. Since they were all assuming it was only a test that logic is always gonna be in the back of your mind. Fear of dying is gone. I think that's why during the takeoff when they had the detachment issue they made it clear Theo didn't really worry or even pay attention to it, he knew it wasn't real.
DeleteGotta be experiment. I'm addition to all things mentioned, the clincher for me was the camera pan at 1:22:45 in the movie right before it cut to outside when Theo smacks the guy around with fire extinguisher outside the hatch.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I can't figure out is the progress bar at the end when guy congratulated them on finishing. Regardless if experiment was just space travel or whole thing was the experiment, why would ending congratulations be pre-recorded? (Assuming experiment was actually ending.) Guy should still be available to do live stream congrats. That makes it seem like it was all real, which contradicts all other hints in movie. All I can think is progress bar (indicating pre-recorded message) it was put in purpose to make Theo still think it was real. "Sunlight" when hatch opened could have been flashlight or just been dawn. My best guess is they were going to continue experiment as is to see if/how long it would take Theo to realize IT was experiment. If he still believed, why not carry on? I agree with other posters that Bug and Dane Cook were removed because they figured it out. And holding hands at end could mean, now we can be together again or they're scared. So, THOUGHTS ON THAT PROGRESS BAR of congrats message?
I would have say don't overthink this folks...
ReplyDeleteRemember Walter said it was an experiment on the mind and the doctor chimed in Reality can become anything the mind thinks...or some words to that effect. Bottom line is They never left the ship...end of story.
Did you not understand they were reacting to being isolated in a bad bad way. Theo lost all his marbles and killed Bug and Dvork. As someone else commented...this movie was spin on Vanilla Sky. Did anyone notice Theo seeing Bugs lucky charm in the blood bath kitchen before he let the depraved man out of the cage..(symbolism of them all being locked up) And who noticed the oragami figure on diner table...do you really think the doctor fashioned it while sitting in an apocalyptic world..yeah she liked to make them..but seriously? It was an experiment that went very bad...4 went in and 2 survived. A good movie about the human mind and the effects of isolation and alternate reality. Cheers!
Hey all, just watched the movie and I'm impressed and fascinated by all of your thoughts on this. Here's another one (I don't think anyone mentioned this): Why are we assuming the point of this was actually a space simulation? What if there was another purpose?
ReplyDeletePat M.,
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question! Let's forget all the spaceship "stuff".
It could possibly just to experiment the "meds", the injections, i.e.: hallucinations, side effects while controlling their surroundings!!!
bah just asted an hour explaining everything and it didn't post. time to half ass it.
ReplyDeleteConclusion. What started as an experiment ended in apocolypse.
Justification: Experiment has been conducted in real life and is likely what the premise is based on reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARS-500
Ignoring ethical and safety cocerns that were likely over looked such as panic/emergency button/procedures and the experiment not being terminated once violence escalated to murder, the fist fight andkilling of the mouse might have been ignored ordeemed not serious enough to intervene as these occurred before the huge shake of the ship and was allowed to continue as worst things have happened Reference: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
Drugs: This would of obviously skewed the test unfavorably and in fact would of nullified the results so it is unlikely they were being pumped with hallucinigens, if anything it was water or vitamins being injected into the crew. Drugs generally have a rather immediate effect when entered directly into the blood stream so I think we would of saw a far more immediate effect after the injection.
Cameras: Those video conference cameras can be set up to trackmovement, tied into a sensor, or a timer. UNlikely anyone was watching these people go nuts and start hurting eachother without interfering or terminating the experiment as no matter how many wavers you sign, i you get stabbed or severly injure and are not provided proper immediate medical care you could sue.
Woman Stabbing: her actions prior to this scene indicate that she's not all on board with whats going on, she doesn't seem to be a fan of the diner owner when he describes her as his wife, she also took the oppurtunity to watch over the survivors after bg dissapeared, not something you would do if you planned on killing them. It's almost as if she is making a half assd effort to protect them from what is going on.
Hospitality, no one would give away free food and for what apparently qualifies as alcohol without expecting something in return. Personally I think the crew walked into a trap set for anyone who showed up to the well lit town.
Missing crew: Likely dead and in the upright freezer, this is hinted at with the bear, bloody cutting board and knife, as well as the dual padlocks securing the door shut, maybe because one of them wasn't dead, or their meat was going to be stolen otherwise.
Light at the end of the movie, clearly artificial as it lacks the sunlight qualities of being yellow and appearing natural. Personally I think these lights were in the shaft to illuminate the ladder. Lack of sunshine in the movie particularly the end hints that the world has entered an apocolyptic state, as for the life of me I could't imagine why would have the experiment end in the middle of the night when fanfare/press coverage would be at it's highest.
Medkit: Inventory oversight, personal item, or was in her goody bag at the begining of the film.
Only Dane Cook saw the similarities between the people at the press conference and the people in the city. Perhaps he was the only one imagining or making those associations.The man did take a nasty whack to the back of the head in an earlier scene.
Most of the other issues can be explained with laziness of the director or writer as they do nothing other than detract from what we saw on screen.
EXACTLY Ryan!
ReplyDeleteI love scify movies and was excited to see this film...
But, yep, I fell into that trap, and eventually I realized it was manipulation!!!
I enjoy a good movie🍿;
This film, however, was NOT ONE of those!
I'm sure it had to had been a cheap $ ass budget since it was filmed in a white "cardboard box" and the crew were usually wearing white NASCAR jump suits! 🙄(A different color and they'd be prison uniforms)
I'm sorry I was wasted time too, on "searching" for the real meaning! 🙄🙄🙄🙄 oh brother!
I'm want to be entertained by a movie, not he "tortured" because it makes NO SENSE!!...NONSENSE!
Next!
I'll be looking out for the film executive producers and writers names, etc , of this "'venture", and will NOT be paying to view his films!
Me stupid, lesson learned!
But it was a success!
The writers manipulated and steered us into that mind game, AND we foolishly followed and complied!!
Hmmm, sounds like FEMA camps after martial law is declared.
Conspiracy theories?
You bet!
We USA citizens, are so naïve and gullible!
THIS movie is the experiment; and WE are the "crew", that are studied for our response in this blog!
I can't wait for the sequel!
NOT!
NO WAY!
Next......!
You mean people enjoy movies you don't, and enjoy discussions you don't? It's almost as if we are not you, and how dare other people not parrot you and act as your clone. Grow up or go away, you are not wanted when all you do is insult others.
DeleteHow wonderful of you to share your vaunted wisdom, which you use to insult those who do not act and think exactly like you do. There are, believe it or not, people in this world who actually enjoy thought exercises, and thinking of different possibilities for ambiguous endings. But, then again, you are so stuck in your own world that you firmly believe you have the right and ability to order others to think as you do, and if/when they don't, you resort to childish insults and name calling. Rest assured, my mental toddler commenter, I will ignore you from this day forward, save to report any further insulting and such to the site's moderators. Unlike in your world, I am not required to think like you, nor am I required to even consider allowing someone to insult me.
ReplyDeleteYou're too comical! Your reply is predictable...
ReplyDeleteHa ha ; I command you, now go away and block me!
😜😜😜 Rasberries! 😆😆😆
Is it just me or does it seem strange that NASA would build a test facility so far in the middle of nowhere. Why not build it coser to a NASA facility in case something went wrong, such as an adverse effect of the meds. I understand the girl (and possibly bug) has medical training, but their med bay is far from being able to treat something serious. What if bug or dvork decided to try and stab someone and it ended in an injusry Emily couldnt handle? Has nothing to really do with the ending. Just thought it was wierd.
ReplyDeleteThe guy that broke into "the ship" from the vent probably just a mice like the first one. They hallucinating it as a pale man..
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea of they never leave the ship and stab each other because of the coincidence of the characters..
what you all fail to realise is it was ended like this so we could all have our own opinion and make our own minds up....this was all a test for a mental state....and the creator has done his test and the test was on us! how we all think ect...there is no right or wrong answer to this question....and it opens up a possibility to a sequel it could be an experiment it could not be there isn't enough information to decifer that....but there is so much information that you all think in too much detail....some things lead to an experiment some things don't.....and that's how its supposed to be we may get the right answer if another film is made we may not but either way it would be interesting to see what ideas the creator has to continue this story on
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. There are too many clues supporting many different theories that all fit in each very well. Making me believe that the experiment is on us. It pissed me off at first, but the more I looked into it the more excited I became with figuring it out.
DeletePersonally I'm inclined to believe that the two survivors murdered Bug and Dvorak, and they were trapped within the "ship" the entire time.
ReplyDeleteBug and Dvorak were the least stable from the start, or being goaded intentionally by the organisers towards instability, making it very likely that the other two would perceive them as a threat; with all four pushed the limit by the end of the experiment hallucination was highly likely.
In other words I think the whole above ground sequence was just a delusion by the two survivors only. Of the townspeople who attack the "ship" only two actually make it inside, which suggests strongly to me that they are Bug and Dvorak, and that none of them left at all.
remember dvorak saying he dont remember having been told that they will all recieve injections, he clearly said "I DONT FORGET ANYTHING" meaning that nobody mentioned anyone having injections, so its obvious that the lady was involved from the start or at least knew most of what was happening.just like when theo was stabbed she came to him with meds to stop his bleeding. and dvorak even spotted the earpiece in zells ear hole.you never saw dvorak get killed, i think he was just behind the stage because he found out the truth. you never saw bug get killed either and zells knife was clean and never bloody proving that bug wasnt killed,prob just taken back stage with dvorak. 2 other things ive just thought of.. the guy from the beginning when theo was in the cell, was that the same guy who was with zell with the apron on and the specks who got choked by theo? and the 2nd thing thats just occoured to me is... the game of memory with the cards that emily gave to the 3 men was to test their memory skills .but i think it was to see who would memorise the people when they left the simulation chamber, because dvorak said he remembered the people in the diner?? so that game was set up to see if their memory would still be as good on the 399th day if you get my meaning .
ReplyDelete400 Days is a movie about a man who knows nothing about space dreaming about a space experiment vowed through the lens of a shaky relationship with his girlfriend. Theo is the stranger, Cole is suspicion and fear of loneliness, Bug is loss and confusion, Zell is the antagonist who threatens his relationship and Enily is the constant.
ReplyDelete400 days is 400 minutes reflecting the duration of normal sleep, with the flickering eye movement of the REM camera and the final 30 days of deep dreaming sleep.
Viewed in this context, the movie makes far more sense. He descends into sleep suspicious of something his gf has done, and the film ends in walking light, happy, but uncertain.
I think the people who don't like this movie are so used to being told what to think in general that they dont want to think for themselves at all even if it is just a movie
ReplyDeleteGod it just took a freekin hour and half to read all these comments and I feel exactly as I did after watching the movie - confused as hell
ReplyDeleteThe movie was a psychological experiment, but it was the viewers that were being tested and not the characters. It's like when a psychologist shows a picture of an ink blob and asks what it looks like. There is no correct answer for WTF happened during the movie.
ReplyDeleteThis movie reminded me of the movie " Phase Four " both movies confused the heck out of me. Unfortunately I had no Google at the time that " Phase Four " came out so I couldn't do a search like I just did for the " 400 Days " movie.
ReplyDeleteI an still confused about the " 400 Days " movie but did enjoy reading all the interesting theories about the movie and will now Google search the weird ant movie " Phase Four ".
I have a point...you are trying to find a logic in made up story, story about halucinating people...Good luck
ReplyDeleteOnly way how to find out what realy happend is...ask the author...
the matt osterman is writer and director, he has writen this officialy on his site ..."We knew from day 0 that it would be a polarizing film, and boy, we were not wrong. It has inspired some incredible responses on both ends of the spectrum and the chatter has been amazing to watch. My primary goal was to deliver a film that got people talking and wasn’t a boring, paint-by-number experience delivered on a silver platter. Whether the film lives beyond the release and inspires further conversation is ultimately up to the audience, but we’re over the moon with how well the film has performed so far. "
DeleteSo, I think he just made chaos story, with no logic.
This movie was an experiment on the viewer. Nothing makes sense. I think the alleged director's statements is just an excuse for a very poorly edited movie, one where they ran out of ideas or money. None of the main characters would ever have been chosen for a space mission or simulation. There would have been a battery of tests, etc. that would have weeded all of them out. There were no actual duties for anyone but the doctor. Other than the one problem at the beginning, there was no mission control and no more incidents after the ground shock. Nobody would have paid for the equipment to do that and then use it only once.
ReplyDeleteI think there was an asteroid collision or something like that. But who really knows. In the real world it could not have been a simulation to the end, as getting out and finding a world filled with dust, the town, etc. would never be part of a space mission simulation and if it was a simulation, the people in charge would be carted off to prison. Yes, it could have been all in their heads, but again, no actual simulation would allow things to get to the point of people killing each other. There would have been some sort of intervention. As an experiment much of it was crap. But I read all the comments and appreciate them too.
This movie was an experiment on the viewer. Nothing makes sense. I think the alleged director's statements is just an excuse for a very poorly edited movie, one where they ran out of ideas or money. None of the main characters would ever have been chosen for a space mission or simulation. There would have been a battery of tests, etc. that would have weeded all of them out. There were no actual duties for anyone but the doctor. Other than the one problem at the beginning, there was no mission control and no more incidents after the ground shock. Nobody would have paid for the equipment to do that and then use it only once.
ReplyDeleteI think there was an asteroid collision or something like that. But who really knows. In the real world it could not have been a simulation to the end, as getting out and finding a world filled with dust, the town, etc. would never be part of a space mission simulation and if it was a simulation, the people in charge would be carted off to prison. Yes, it could have been all in their heads, but again, no actual simulation would allow things to get to the point of people killing each other. There would have been some sort of intervention. As an experiment much of it was crap. But I read all the comments and appreciate them too.
I just realized something. There was oxygen deprivation and no real mission control would have allowed the simulation to continue. So, right before they went outside, remember the argument? I don't remember the character's name or the actors, but the trouble maker was hit in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher!
ReplyDeleteTHEN, it seems shortly later two are outside and say how cold it is. I was thinking nuclear winter at first. Next thing we know all 4 of them are getting into suits and then are outside. How could the guy be knocked out with a fire extinguisher, and then shortly later say nothing about it and be taking a long walk in the dust? Then the fire extinguishers become a handy weapon at the end. Bizarro world with no real explanation.
I just realized something. There was oxygen deprivation and no real mission control would have allowed the simulation to continue. So, right before they went outside, remember the argument? I don't remember the character's name or the actors, but the trouble maker was hit in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher!
ReplyDeleteTHEN, it seems shortly later two are outside and say how cold it is. I was thinking nuclear winter at first. Next thing we know all 4 of them are getting into suits and then are outside. How could the guy be knocked out with a fire extinguisher, and then shortly later say nothing about it and be taking a long walk in the dust? Then the fire extinguishers become a handy weapon at the end. Bizarro world with no real explanation.
The movie was the hallucinations of each person except the,doctor. You got to see them from each persons point of view. The town was a mass hallucination of all of them. Then you saw the individuals view and ending they never left the ship. They all lasted 400 days. No one was killed that was his hallucination and having his ex kill the guy was his too. At 400 days the lights came on the video played and she took his hand to say now we can be together again. At least that's how I took the movie plot.
ReplyDeleteI just watched and am now re-watching this movie. I must say I was a bit confused at the ending. I'm really not sure what to think. Murder is the only thing that made me think maybe the moon disaster was real but how did a town with power/plumbing etc pop up in just a year and without finding the hatch.
ReplyDeleteAnyway something that has puzzled me both times now is the very first big bang... it sounds like the "ship" hit a bird, or some sort of creature. After the first time watching it I thought maybe it's the creepy guy that breaks in 'cause he screeches at them but it's definitely inhuman. Then you hear glass breaking, which could be an added effect for the movie but usually you see whatever is breaking to get a sense of the caliber of the tremor.
Any thoughts?
Interesting movie.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought the movie was going to have them actually in space yet they wouldnt know it.
Then when they get outside I thought ok, this is just a lame excuse to draw the movie out.
The part that annoys me most is we are not given any clear answer as to what actually happened. There are lots of great theories on here, but each has flaws IMO.
1. If they actually did go outside, and it was an experiment, then why did it take so long for Emily to stab Zell? She was hiding in the room when Zell was looknig for her. Theo jumps Zell from behind, then they fight for what seems like 5 minutes. Emily FINALLY intervenes at the last possible second to save Theo. If this was not an experiment, she would have attacked him as soon as Theo intervened. yet she doesnt. So she is either in on it, or the theory of them not leaving the ship makes sense.
2. If this was all staged, how the hell did they expect these guys to walk for hours outside in the exact direction they need to go to find the house then town? I mean sure they could have been moved to some huge bunker but even then nothing lead them to the house other than luck.
3. The only logical solution in my mind is the whole thing didnt happen at all. Theo is just imagining the entire thing. A few things make me believe this.
a. There is NO way in hell any of these people would qualify to be locked up in a fake ship for 400 days. 2 people in a relationship hell no. 1 with anger issues? one that just lost his kid? seriously?
Anyways i liked the movie, i just wish there was a bit to explain what was "supposed to be happening"
Honestly it's like they couldn't write an ending to fit and all that suspense although good was just that...like your theory but any experiment like that is unethical...she's a counsellor would be against her code of conduct..but since ms February is a match that is as you say a good clue however they don't call off the experiment when the guy is killed with the extinguisher? Either possibility of a real apocalypse or an extremely unethical experiment Equals dystopia nightmare. ..thougtvright away they were injecting drugs with obvious effects and Dane Cook s character wasn't smart enough to say where is your shot bitch?
ReplyDeleteI believe the entire intent of the movie was to do exactly this, to promote different theories as to what actually happened. It was specifically written and shot to leave available a bunch of different ways of interpreting the movie. That way all theories have some evidence and reasoning and yet none work completely due to conflicting evidence from other theories... were they being injected? The doctor was obviously in on some kind of extra psychological testing but would they go to that extent? The extreme waste of money for building and creating the set needed to fake the moon incident seems outlandish and pointless, yet there is lots of evidence that seems to support the all a simulation theory, which is exactly the point, it is both and neither. It provides a plethora of evidence for all kinds of theories, and of course it could all be in theo's head or a group hallucination, as anything can happen and doesn't need to make sense if its a hallucination or dream. I like to think that it started as a giant simulation with a planned town etc, but that an actual event with the moon happened and left the townspeople to rot, this covers many of the clues left but not all. As I said there was specific clues shown to discount this theory and support others which opens up this type of dialogue as people argue over which it actually was, truth being there was no actual, just pieces woven together that could support multiple interpretations.
ReplyDeleteeveryone keeps saying the town people was putting on. also that the ship was moved just to put it somwhere staged.. well if it was all staged, why was they told if they left, the crew would fail and ruin there career. because if they would have listned and not left until it was over in 400 days, what was the point in the stageing. they wouldn't have known about the staging. and where did they get the moon crap from? the guy doesn't say the moon,he says the big black ball up there came down. and the moon hit i know for fact if the moon hit bacteria wouldn't even survive.so them trained to be astronauts would have known that was pure crap.i really believe the director of the movie didn't know what the hell he was doing,or how to make one. and slopped together. thats why it was so confusing to most and so shitty...
ReplyDeleteI have just read every one of these posts. And watched the film twice. There is a great ongoing discussion happening here, and I think that is great! But the one thing I believe everyone can agree on is that there is alot of contradictory information in this movie; Though, there was one constant, The sound.. I will come back to that at the end of my post. To those who hated this movie; I would say, research 'critical thinking techniques', and learn how to think critically. The fact that you can not figure it out does not mean it has no answer. You should not get angry because the director, writers', and/or producers' of this film are asking you to think for yourself (although a definitive answer some day would be nice.. Matt..). To those who say "this could not just be a heinous experiment", do to the legal or ethical issues. I suggest you research 'sadistic documented expariments', and you will realize there has been much worse expariments conducted in recent history, all over the world, including in the United States. That all being said; I present to you all a concept that is widly used in the scientific community;that is, the simplest explanation that does not contradict any relevant information is most likely the correct answer. This brings me back to the only true constant I could find in this movie, and that would be "the sound". The sound in the opening scene. That metallic bang that wakes up our main character; The metallic bang of the hatch mid movie, and the metallic bang on the hatch just before it opens at the end of the movie. All three of these sounds are very similar if not distinctly the same. So as I have personally had dreams that have been simultaneously 1st and 3rd person perspectives; i seen no information to suggest this movie was anymore than one mans disturbingly complex dream.
ReplyDeleteIf this were all an elaborate experiment, how could the people in charge count on the crew to go exactly to where the house/map was?
ReplyDeleteWhat if they had gone a different direction?
The crew walked for hours. That's about six miles. Did they build a dome at least miles in radius, fill it with dirt, come up with some lighting system that perfectly simulated the sun through dust, and come up with a way for the dust to keep blowing for 12 miles across?
And they didn't step in when the crew started to beat the hell out of the 'actors'?
Also, the graphic of the rocket during launch clearly depicts their ship as being shaped like an Apollo style capsule. No way was their environment going to fit inside a rocket. If it could, if that was their level of sophistication, they should have already settled on the moons of Jupiter by now. We have no rockets that would even come close to even getting just their mess/control room up there in one launch. The whole ship at once? We can't even dream of the technology that could do that.
Where were they meant to store all their food? It takes a lot of space to feed 4 people for 400 days. Think of how much food one person would eat in 1600 days. The weight of all that, plus the size of their ship, no way could that all be launched at once.
There's no way they could do a mission like this. The only thing that makes sense is that someone without a very good understanding of space exploration is dreaming or hallucinating the entire thing. Probably the captain.
I have seen this movie twice & I have to say "OK...". My head was filled up with (?) but, rather than all you guys, I wander how many of you run In forums like this one to see what you want to see... Checking the responses of the first months, my own Conclusion is, that the director has made a wonderful & great job!!! We live in an age without questions but with plenty of answers, without mystery & magic, everything is smart, smartphones, smart cars, smart devices, all this is "perfect" but I think this happens at a very big cost which makes humans more & more silly. The fact that like on this film traps & engages you in its mysteries makes me very happy. It is good to see that people keep having questions and looking for answers while they are glad to confront with "Big Misteries", once again. Indeed, all these opinions that you express in here make me say that it is something very interesting. Keep going.
ReplyDeleteIt was a psych experiment. Theo, Bug and Dvorak were not legitimate candidates for space travel. They were being used as guinea pigs for an experimental drug. Any plot inconsistencies are just the result of poor writing.
ReplyDeleteOh my god!! Thank you for all of you!!! I don't like film with this type of ending but After reading your comments, I'm sure it was an experiment!! the only thing i didn't understand is the man that the girl killed with the knife but as some of you said, we did'nt see her killing him. I feel better now because it was to hard to not understand.
ReplyDeletei want to watch this movie
ReplyDeletePart 1
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing - googled it after watching this film last night lol - I've read all of the comments (took ages) and there's a few observations I haven't seen mentioned here, but I might have missed them.
Overall I believe that they never leave the capsule but have delusions - I also think that maybe the female character isn't there in the end, she has been killed by the "captain" and he's imagining her being there. OR - vice versa.
I think all of the things that happen later on relate back to things seen throughout the film, like his delusion is pulling things that really happened and creating a hallucination around them - like all of the people in the town being the last people they saw, and/or from the magazines.
1) In the cell the guy he gives the cigarette to becomes the butcher later on - he is wearing a light blue t-shirt with a picture of a wolf howling at a full moon.
The moon obviously is explained as the "catastrophe" - and supposedly people go a little bit crazy when there is a full moon - so the howling at the moon is indicating they have all gone a little bit crazy because of the oxygen deprivation, and it also gives him the fantasy about the moon causing an apocalypse.
Also in his delusion the butcher (who look menacing and you imagine wants to ruthlessly butcher you) is actually the big guy astronaut - who ruthlessly "butchered" the mouse - remember all of the blood from the mouse, and then all of the blood in the butchers "shop".
The banging he hears in the cell also forms his delusion of the banging on the hatch.
2) The origami on the table in the diner is actually made from one of the napkins that "Zel" gives them - but you never see her make the napkin into something, and is that really what you'd be doing in that situation? I think this his mind making things that are really there fit his delusion.
3) In the bar the big dude asks the tender "what's the drink" and the bartender says "the less you know the better" - this is a reflection of when he is drinking the water early in the film and Bug tells him it's recycled urine (so Bug becomes the bar tender guy in the fantasy).
Similarly the soup in the earlier clips "tastes like sh1t" - and the soup in the diner reflects this too.
4) When they find the map - someone above pointed out the town they go to is tranquility, and tranquility bay is where the Eagle landed on the moon.
Also on the map is Eagle pass (another reference) and at the top is "Skin Bloff".
According to my daughter Skin Bloff is some character in Minecraft - which is a game where you create your own world and create your own reality - I think a big clue right there.
Also in that house the clock read 10 to 2 - if you look in any catalogue or shop or on a website all clocks are displayed showing 10 to 2 - it looks like a smiling face, so it's like he's seeing a clock that he's remembering from seeing an image of a clock - maybe.
part 2 below (or above)...
Part 2:
ReplyDelete5) Interestingly when Bug goes missing in the diner - he walks through a door and there are more and more corridors and doors - like a maze - like the one he drew all over the walls of his room - there's even an "exit" sign above one of the doors - I think this reflects him being in his delusion especially since he sees his son again.
Also when they are walking around outside when they first (think that they've) left the capsule they come across a swing and he hears laughing, which had been in his delusion earlier.
6) I think that Zel is the doctor (female) - at first I thought it was the captain when he says in the Diner "I'll just call my wife", the woman comes out and says "I'm not his wife" and he says "we just haven't found the time" - I thought that was a reflection of the captains situation with the female character.
But later on Zel says "you're suffering from oxygen deprivation - that's what's wrong with you" - sounds more like something the doctor would say, so either a) it's the captain hallucinating that the woman is Zel, or b) it's the doctor hallucinating that the captain is Zel.
I'm sure there'll be a clue there somewhere to work out which is which. My gut feeling is the captain is hallucinating that the female character is Zel.
Other odd bits - when the oxygen first drops she says "we'll suffer from delusions, memory loss, hallucinations - we need to watch each other" - I think this is where the paranoia sets in and things go really wrong.
I think you can see the captain is deluded when he tells them to "suit up" - the big guy says "you know these aren't real space suits don't you - they were never meant to be worn".
Also the guy who "breaks in" is superhuman fast when the captain sees him, suggesting that is him hallucinating, and the guy who breaksi n is running around outside in his underpants - but it's so cold they need to put on more clothing. I guess in delusions things don't quite add up overall, just from delusion to delusion.
They all at times have red eyes - oxygen deprivation?
The name ZEL - googling it ZEL is an abbreviation related to rocket and jet launches (zero length launch), and is also a kind of sheep (wolf on the t-shirt, then a sheep - wolf in sheeps clothing / wolves eat sheep?)?
Darla -Zel's "wife"? - Darla was a character in Buffy the Vampire slayer who was "in league with the master" - could this reference the female being in league with (was it) Walter? Making Zel the captain?
Also Zel has "7" written on his hand - 4 lines scored through then another 2 lines - are any of the astronauts referenced by numbers at any point?
The mouse - you get mice in laboratory experiments (e.g. they are "lab rats" or "lab mice") - and it gets squashed - killed - and then so do they?
Don't get why the video clip at the end is a recording unless it's just to add to the mystique of the film, but since all of the lights go brighter and sunlight shines in when the hatch is opened - it suggests it's all been a hallucination - but why the people in control wouldn't stop it when it started to go wrong - doesn't make sense (and the cameras are moving like someone is watching) - and who is really left at the end is questionable.
Haven't fathomed the relevance of the playing cards, although Zel does have 2 dice tatooed on his shoulder - maybe this is a reference that Zel is the captain?
That's it - on reflection of reading that - I'm still no clearer, LoL.
Quick additional thought - since it's the captain who is in the cell at the beginning, who sees the guy in the t-shirt with the moon, and who hears the banging in the cell - it suggests it's his delusion.
ReplyDeleteSo he must have killed the other 3 believing them to be "bad guys" and then he's imagining the female being there with him at the end - like he kept having dreams of holding her through the film.
maybe.
Perhaps the director could spell it out and save us all the misery of trying to fathom it ourselves LoL.
Something I haven't seen mentioned thus far.... Kepler. Anything in the show revealed through Kepler?!
ReplyDeleteI think the shows been an excellent thought inducing movie / project. Heh, dudes getting mad because of an hour and a half of wasted time, i spent more time reading this page and it's been an excellent exercise.
Please do not get angry with my response future commentors, lol, I can enjoy this show if I like.
Great analysis Fingers Crossed and most everyone else. The experiments by Stanford was an interesting addition to the discussion for those who missed it.
Thumbsup.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWatch 400 Days (Movie) on www.peliculasonline24.com
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the film wasn't meant to be an accurate display of space travel, so for those of you upset about it, I wouldn't put too much thought into the numerous inaccuracies and unrealistic ship (which looked very cheaply made; the director even stated the budget was small).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am still not sure what the hell is going on, even after watching it numerous times (I watch it to help sleep; not sure why, but it helps me fall asleep). That's a good thing, though, as I love mysteries that aren't clear cut.
Also, if any of you are expecting the director to explain what happened, I'd stop. Why explain it when clearly it was meant to be open to interpretation? Keeping the mystery alive will only encourage others to watch it.
Overall, I thought it was a good movie, and definitely better than a 4 out of 10 rating. Sure, there were issues (mainly with the set design and plot issues), but that's to be expected with a film of that budget. The acting was good, the writing and directing was decent, and I enjoyed the mystery aspects of it. Then again, I love twilight zone-type sci-fi, so this was right up my alley.
A lot of people are saying things like "if its a simulation to study the psychological effects of...why would they inject then with hallucinogens?" I believe the crew (at least some of them) were meant to believe all that...but it all felt like the plot of a bad reality tv show in the end. You had the smarmy suit you can hear applause....and of the like 3 reality shows Ive seen (big brother for example) they always say sonething like "come on out here there's a lot of people waiting to see you" followed by audience applause when a hous guest leaves...which you can hear during the last video transmission. My gut tells me reality tv.
ReplyDelete.. ok Nice article, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteطراحی سایت
طراحی وب سایت
سئو
طراحی سایت شرکتی
طراحی سایت ارزان
طراحی سایت فروشگاهی
طراحی سایت
طراحی وب سایت
سئو
طراحی سایت
All evidence presented in this comment section and the movie itself causes me to think that the writer was trying to copy the ending of 2001: A space odyssey and Prometheus as both have long standing debates about what the movie really means - as the writer did say in an earlier comment. As such I think he just added a bunch of random stuff (for lack of a better word) in the film to try and create the result we see here - a group of people asking WTF and creating theories. We are the goal of the movie here to see what people will think up if given random data - we are the experiment!
ReplyDeleteJust kidding, I think the movie was written into a plot hole and they needed a way to end it so they do a lot of re-shoots (which explains the changing sets (IE. the ceiling appearing and disappearing)) to try and make the movie as confusing as possible. They recreated the ending of Lost.
Had to watch movie a second time after reading all posts.
ReplyDeleteMy conclusion: Cole is spot on and basically is a narrator for what is going on. He has a perfect memory and did not recall being advised of vaccine boosters. After he gets the first shot he is unable to function perfect during a subsequent evaluation by the doctor. This is proof of members being injected with psychotropic message that give hallucinations.
Everything Cole says fits perfectly with the movie.
Well thought out movie.
It's so weird commenting on this movie since every weird thing I noticed might have just been a flaw in the movie, rather than a reveal.
ReplyDeleteSome things I haven't seen mentioned:
- How did the mouse survive out there if everything died?
- There are indentations in the air shaft when Bug crawls into it so someone must have gone through it before him.
- Although Dane Cook says that he's never seen the Diner owner, I'm pretty sure he's sitting at the very back at the press conference
- None of the reporters are taking notes. We see one write one line of text and that looks like gibberish. When they're taking pictures, one has his finger over the screen of the camera (which doesn't show a picture).
- There was a fence surrounding the area which is gone when they hike.
- The slender guy is a huge mystery. He managed to enter their ship and escape, had stayed in the house they went past (and left a treasured photo), wasn't wearing anything even though it was really cold, seemed to be a prisoner of the cannibals instead of food and woke up from heavy sedation on his own.
- The guy spotting their legs and letting them be makes sense if they were going to use them to find the ship, but they would already know where it is from the slender guy. Not to mention that he mentions the ship at one point and he also says they're oxygen deprived. Something that was supposed to be happening to them in the ship, not outside.
-There are no guns anywhere. In a small town in the US. They still have nightvision though.
-All the 'fatal' fights are pretty tame. The guy who gets 'killed' up above gets about as heavy a hit as Dane got to the back of his head. To strangle someone to death you are supposed to keep going after they pass out (otherwise MMA would be deadly) and you hear him very loudly exhale when going down which suggests his airway isn't blocked. Finally there is barely any blood on the girl's knife, and what is is at the very end of the knife so she didn't stab him very deep. Why would the guy die from a similar wound to the one Zel received?
- There are a ton of stuff that suggests this isn't a space test. A big one being how unsuited to space pretty much everything is. The crew is badly trained and conditioned, all the facilities are non-zero-g, they have a regular kitchen, they received personalized gifts.
-All three guys have a mental capacity they excel in. Dane remembers everything, Bug excels at puzzles and Zel is really good at reading people. As others have pointed out, the girl is a catalyst.
-The congratulations message being recorded makes sense since the guy would be up top to greet them.
-What's a menu doing tucked away in the bathroom?
-Dane specifically says he's had enough simulation before disappearing. Quitting early.