The 1990 sci-fi classic Total Recall remains a highly acclaimed movie. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone in an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story. With a screenplay written by Dan O’Bannon and Gary Oldman, Total Recall is a mind-bending movie produced by significant talent. And yet, over 30 years later, many are still confused by the ending of Total Recall.
The film centres around Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a construction worker that becomes entrapped in a complex conspiracy involving powerful corporations, political rebellion and his own amnesiac past. Using a new technology known as Rekall, Quaid agrees to have false memories of a vacation to Mars implanted into his brain. However, something goes wrong during the procedure.
Is Quaid Recalling or Rekalling?
Part of Rekall’s appeal is that you can have these fake memories implanted with a theme. Quaid opts not only for a vacation, but that he’s also successful spy. As he awakes, he discovers he’s being hunted by shadow agents. But as a viewer, we are left to wonder whether or not this is actually happening, or all part of Quaid’s implanted memories.
Throughout the film there are various clues that this in fact could all be a dream. For example, Quaid describes his perfect woman, giving the precise attributes of a character who later shows up in the film, Melina. This suggests that Rekall had designed her to his specification. Furthermore, Rekall’s Dr. Edgemar talks about the journey Quaid will go on, predicting his ‘future’ movements with remarkable accuracy. And then, or course, we come to the film’s ending…
Total Recall Ending Explained
The biggest clue that the majority of Total Recall is a dream bookends the film. As the team at Rekall are preparing Quaid for the memory implant at the beginning of the film, one notices something odd in Quaid’s dreams. He tells another lab worker, “Blue sky on Mars. That’s interesting.”
Then, at the very end of the film we see a blue sky on Mars. This suggests that the Rekall team implanted that memory as there is no blue sky on Mars.
The most straightforward explanation is that Quaid’s memory implant was botched due to him having repressed memories of actually being a secret agent earlier in his life, and everything he experiences after that is real. But then, with all the above clues we may think there’s something a bit deeper going on.
As such, the ending of Total Recall can be interpreted in different ways. And was always intended to be that way.
“Total Recall doesn’t say whether it’s reality or it is a dream, you know?” Verhoeven stated. “There is never a preference, let’s say, taken by me or the scriptwriter, to say this is really what he dreams about, and this is the truth.”
“I wanted it to be that way,” the director added. “We worked very hard to make both consistent and that both [could be] true. And I think we succeeded very well. So I think, of course, there is no solution.”
How Many Total Recall Movies are there?
In addition to the 1990 classic based on the Philip K. Dick short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, there’s a second Total Recall movie.
Over two decades later, in 2012, Colin Farrell starred in a remake the original movie. Directed by Len Wiseman, there were many changes to the plot and characters. There are no mutants or aliens in this version, and the core plot revolves around a separation of Earth’s society, opposed to a colony on Mars.
Hopefully that explained the ending of Total Recall for you! If you’re into ’90s movies, be sure to check out our explanation of the Reservoir Dogs ending also!
What do you think is the better ending? Did Quaid dream everything, or is he a badass known to everyone except himself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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