Want the story and ending explained for Ánimas on Netflix? Well, you’re not alone. The movie is a fascinating nightmare but definitely requires your full attention. Here’s our take on it. *SPOILERS*

I ultimately enjoyed the ending of Ánimas. Or rather, I liked the way the story progressed for this new Netflix horror thriller from Spain. At first, I thought it was much too slow and a bit too full of itself.

Recommended reading: Here’s our spoiler-free review of Ánimas >

This post will be all about the elements in Ánimas that leave some people confused or just baffled. Both the story and the ending of Ánimas is bound to irritate some people. It really does call for your full attention

Let’s get to our take on the ending of the new Netflix movie, shall we? The following will be full of spoilers.

The ending of Ánimas explained

We’ve collected some of the questions we’ve already noticed on social media and answer them below to explain the ending of Ánimas.

Was the girl, Alex, a ghost? 

No, Alex was the imaginary friend of Bram. His dad was always very abusive towards the family, so when he was 5 years old, Alex became his imaginary friend who helped him deal with his life at home.

Did Bram suffer from a split personality? 

According to the story in Ánimas, Alex is an imaginary friend that becomes real. We would usually label this as a personality disorder, but in the context of this story, the two are interchangeable.

Why is the light always different colors? 

Honestly, it does seem like mostly it’s just a heavy influence from Dario Argento’s Suspiria (which was remade in 2018). Another part of the explanation could be the colors of traffic lights to describe the situation. The obvious would be that red means stop and danger, yellow is wait and see, while green means go ahead and signals safety. 

But it’s a bit more complex due to the nature of the two characters in one:

Green means danger for Álex, but not for Abraham, who actually is getting well as his mental illness (his imaginary friend) begins to disappear. Yellow means it’s safe for Alex. Finally, Red means there’s danger for both Alex and Bram (Abraham).

What’s with the Psycho poster in Bram’s bedroom? 

In the movie Psycho, Norman Bates takes on the personality of his mother to deal with problems. Or, more specifically, his version of her personality. In Ánimas, Bram allows his imaginary friend (a girl named Alex) to take over and deal with bad people and situations. 

Who killed Bram’s dad? 

At first, we’re supposed to think it was Bram himself, but while Alex was in charge. However, the last thing Alex does for Bram is show him her memories (his own suppressed memories) of the event.

This shows him that it was his mother, who drove the car and killed his dad. He had been abusive towards her for years and also hurt Bram. When his mother dropped the car keys after she saw that Bram has seen her, Alex was the one who picked up the car keys.

This explains why the car keys were in Bram’s own pocket later. Only, he didn’t know, because Alex was suppressing these memories from Bram to protect him from knowing that his mother had killed his father.

However, Bram’s mother tried to kill herself probably because she did see Bram watching her. It was all a mess for everyone.

Does Ánimas make sense?

To me it absolutely makes sense. The bottom line of this story could be explained in this simple sentence:

Ánimas is the world seen from the point of view of an imaginary friend who doesn’t know that they only exist in the imagination of a real person.

To Alex, she is as much alive and a real person as Bram is. But in reality, she only exists in his head. That’s why she only sees and experiences what he creates with his mind. 

With the hormones raging through Bram’s body, Alex also feels a greater need to feel something. Anything! This is why she begins cutting, which is probably something Bram is imagining to keep his imaginary friend alive and with him.

This particular element is pretty sick and messed up. But there you have it.

It does remind me of both The Sixth Sense and The Others, which are both (spoiler alert) stories about people, who don’t know they’re dead. 

Check out our full review of the new Spanish Netflix movie Ánimas here >

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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