After Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain's Take Shelter was added to Netflix, it became a hot topic of discussion amongst fans due to its mysterious ending.
Originally released in 2011, Take Shelter centers on a loving couple and their hearing-impaired daughter living the best life they can in a small Ohio town.
However, the husband begins having scary dreams about a world-threatening apocalypse, which leads him to build a storm shelter in the backyard and causes problems with his family.
Take Shelter features Michael Shannon (known for his role as General Zod in the DCEU) alongside Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, and Katy Mixon. The horror/thriller film hit Netflix on November 1.
What Happens in Take Shelter?
In Take Shelter, Michael Shannon's Curtis LaForche is happily married to his wife, Jessica Chastain's Samantha, as they raise their deaf daughter, Tova Stewart's Hannah. However, Curtis begins to see hallucinations of horrible events, which include him being harmed by people close to him.
Rather than telling his family, he channels his energy into an obsession to improve a storm shelter in his backyard. His behavior heavily strains his relationship with his family, friends, and those close to him; he even jeopardizes his job as he borrows equipment from his company to build the shelter.
Curtis sees a counselor at a clinic to help get a handle on his insomnia and vision. This is mainly due to his worry that he may have paranoid schizophrenia, which surfaced in his mother when she was his age.
After indulging his mania even further, Samantha finds out about his work on the shelter and becomes angry with him. Curtis also has a seizure that leads him to be taken to the hospital, only telling Samantha about his visions after that happens.
Due to his absences from work, Curtis is fired from his job, leading up to a surgery meant to help fix his daughter's hearing.
Curtis goes through multiple other traumatizing events as his relationship with his family and friends deteriorates further. After rumors spread about him being crazy, he even assaults an old friend as he prophetically screams about a storm coming.
A tornado warning sends him and his family into the shelter, but after some time, Samantha urges Curtis to open the door as they discover the storm has passed.
The film concludes with the family going on their annual beach vacation, although Curtis is advised to spend time in a psychiatric facility after they get back. However, while they are in Myrtle Beach building sandcastles, Hannah signs the word "storm" as the storm Curtis described begins coming to life.
Take Shelter Ending Explained
The biggest question arising in fans' minds by the film's end is whether this storm in Curtis' visions truly comes to life in the final scenes. While the scene intentionally leaves that question open-ended, signs point to it being real.
Throughout most of the film, Curtis is the only person who sees visions and signs of the storm coming. This causes issues with everybody close to him, as they cannot see these signs the way he can and do not believe him.
Take Shelter's last scene shows his daughter noticing the signs of the storm first, as a drop of oil falls on her hand after she signs the word "storm." Samantha also acknowledges Curtis' visions, marking the first time a different person has taken them as something close to fact.
While mental illness and health are central issues of the film, the story helps give viewers a glimpse into how to navigate relationships with people who are struggling with them. The support Curtis gets from his family in that last scene appears to be part of the mission the film hopes to accomplish.
Countless movies in cinema history have finished with open-ended final moments. However, this one appears to have a clear meaning behind that decision, giving viewers a reason to sympathize with the central characters.
Take Shelter is streaming on Netflix.
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