I'm not going to add much to whats already been said except that the ending (for me) wasn't that vague. Christopher Armstead (Film Critics United) said this;
"The final scene shows Bryan either dead or unconscious, once again a little boy, going to a sunny picnic with his mother. Either the mother's ghost is trying to atone for past sins or Bryan's subconscious is creating the mother he always wanted with choice two being the logical conclusion for me".
I tend to lean toward the first choice. Thru death his mother has taken him back to the time he should have been the happiest and released him from all the turmoil and inhibitions the horrible experiences of his childhood placed on his life; albeit, he had to (die?) to get there. It is a ghost story after all.
"The final scene shows Bryan either dead or unconscious, once again a little boy, going to a sunny picnic with his mother. Either the mother's ghost is trying to atone for past sins or Bryan's subconscious is creating the mother he always wanted with choice two being the logical conclusion for me".
I tend to lean toward the first choice. Thru death his mother has taken him back to the time he should have been the happiest and released him from all the turmoil and inhibitions the horrible experiences of his childhood placed on his life; albeit, he had to (die?) to get there. It is a ghost story after all.