Infinity Pool is a 2023 sci-fi psychological thriller written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg, who also gave us Prossessor. If you haven’t seen that one, do check it out. In case you are wondering, Brandon is David Cronenberg’s son who’s clearly following his father’s footsteps when it comes to making bizarre films like Crimes Of The Future. Infinity Pool stars Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård in the leading roles. The film follows a man and his wife on vacation, and an accident causes them to go down a rabbit hole that isn’t easy to exit. Here’s the plot and ending of the movie Infinity Pool explained; spoilers ahead.
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Contents
Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:
Infinity Pool: Plot Explained
Infinity Pool: What country are they in? What’s the execution law?
James and his wife, Em, are on vacation in the fictional country of Li Tolqa. The law here is that if you commit a crime causing a local’s death, the capital punishment is execution. However, the country has a poor economy and has provided a loophole for the rich – a clone will be created, and that clone will be executed.
How does it work?
The process is hazy. The person is made to enter a pool of red goo, and after that, a clone is miraculously assembled. The film doesn’t really go into the process of the cloning. And the year is 2018, so it’s not even set in the far future. So we’re just going to have to show some suspension of disbelief here.
Who is Gabi and the group?
Gabi and her husband, Alban, are part of a holiday group that has been coming to Li Tolqa for a long time. They are wealthy and indulge in violent activities on their holiday, as the only consequence is having to watch themselves die. And this group gets a sadistic kick out of that too.
Infinity Pool: What happens to James?
James gets played. Gabi lies that she’s a big fan of the one book James has written to get his attention. She and Alban want to have fun with James and Em and plan to get them to commit a crime, causing them to be on death row. Gabi and Alban take James and Em for a picnic, where Gabi gives James a handjob.
On the way back, James runs over a local, and Gabi suggests they leave. After that, Gabi and Alban inform the police, who arrest James and Em. Em confesses, and James is offered the cloning option. So what really happens to James? Well, either he or the clone is killed off. Honestly, it doesn’t matter because there is no biological difference between the clone and the original.
Gabi and the group secretly pay off the authorities to have James cloned twice.
- One James is executed wondering, “But I paid, and yet I’m getting killed”.
- The other James watches the execution with Em.
- The third one is kept drugged and in hiding by the gang.
Infinity Pool: Was James a clone? Did the real James die?
Well, suppose a clone is an exact biological copy with the same thoughts, memories and cells in the body. Technically, in that case, they are the same person and who survives doesn’t matter because a person who believed they were the original died and another who thinks they are the original survived. Annoyed with the rich folks, the officials could totally be switching the doubles.
James gets a kick out of watching himself die. This is not because he’s a clone; no one said they’re making an evil clone. No matter which James got to sit down and watch the execution, he would grin because that’s who he is, and he discovers this side of him in Li Tolqa.
What happened to the passport?
James doesn’t want to leave as he’s enamoured by Gabi. So he hides his passport under the bathroom sink. However, he suggests that Em should leave, and “he’ll understand”. Initially, Em doesn’t, but once James starts participating in the gory activities of the group and causes another version of himself to die, she leaves him.
The death of the entire group (by a slit throat) is purposefully shown from the dying group’s perspective, as this group believes they are the ones who will be taken to watch their doubles die. To reiterate, there is really no difference between the original and the double.
Who’s Captain James?
With Em gone, James gets high on local drugs and participates in an orgy with the group, after which they decide to show their true colours. They bring out the secret copy of James they had made initially, dressed as a cop with his face covered. James beats up the cop, thinking it’s the guy who arrested him, only to realize it’s another double of his.
No way out!
Disgusted, James pulls out his passport and tries to make a run for it. But the group is not done playing yet, so they stop the shuttle at gunpoint and make James walk back. Gabi discloses that she hated his book and lied about being a fan only to gain James’ attention. She even reads out a terrible review to add insult to injury. James runs into the woods, and Gabi shoots him in the leg. A bunch of locals tend to his wounds. James has nightmares, but when he wakes up, no one is home, and in the field outside, the group is waiting for him with his final test. Makes you wonder if Gabi and friends killed off the locals.
Infinity Pool: Who is the Dog?
The clone, previously dressed as Captain James, has been heavily drugged and walked around like a dog. Observe the scar on the dog’s nose, it’s the same as the one Captain James got. Gabi gives James a gun and asks him to shoot the dog. James refuses, only to be attacked by his double. Wrath takes over, and James bludgeons the dog to death with his bear fists. Gabi takes him in her arms and applies dog-James’ blood on her breast, and James sucks on it like a newborn (representing an evil being born from his own blood, nurtured by Gabi). The episode leaves James broken, and the gang has won as they got what they wanted.
Vacation Ends
Everyone plans to return home to resume their everyday lives. James sends a voice message for Em apologizing for his behaviour, and he takes the shuttle with the rest of the group, who are discussing mundane things as if none of the grotesque events happened. James is appaled by how the rest of them can simply flip a switch in their head, which he’s unable to. Gabi and Alban bid farewell to James at the airport and hope to see him again. James looks around to see other travellers and can’t find any difference between them and Gabi or Alban. He wonders how many of those people have indulged in this kind of gore.
Infinity Pool: Ending Explained: Why did James stay?
The ending of Infinity Pool shows that James stays back because he can’t face himself in the outside world. Unlike Gabi and Alan, James is unable to normalize what he experienced and can’t go back to his life, acting like everything was okay. While initially, he was inquisitive, the group took it to a whole other level leaving James scared for life. James misses his flight and goes back to the resort.
The resort is shut for the monsoon, and James is the only resident. He is numb and hopes to feel something as he sits in the pouring rain. His new identity is tied to Li Tolqa and the resort, and he has nowhere else to go; this is his purgatory. Is this the original James? We don’t know, James doesn’t know, it doesn’t matter because he’s the one who survived while his doubles died because of him.
In Summary: Infinity Pool: What does it mean?
Have you come across holiday hooligans who go crazy when they are in another country and enjoy breaking the local rules simply because they are wealthy enough? This film takes that concept 10 notches higher and tosses in clones and deaths. For the survivor, it’s merely a matter of a fine that they are more than happy to pay as long as they can get away. The country allows this because it’s a source of income for them. Win – Win?
What were your thoughts on the plot and ending of Infinity Pool? Drop your comments below!
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