Coraline’s embalming theory is something that only a true fan of Coraline (2009) film has been talking about. Its details, to a certain extent grotesque but at the same time so aesthetically beautiful, make it one of the best stop motion films in the world so far. That being said, we think it’s time for you to learn about the most disturbing Coraline theory.
Although the story is normally seen as for a children’s audience, the truth is that it is a somewhat gloomy horror film more for a young adult audience.
With the excuse that this coming August, the story of Neil Gaiman hits the screens again for its 15th anniversary but now remastered and in 3D, we have for you a theory of the film that will blow your mind. And sorry if you haven’t seen it, but we recommend watching it and then reading this article if you don’t mind spoilers.
The grotesque Coraline’s embalming theory
One of the most delicate, well thought out and at the same time grotesque scenes in the Coraline film directed by Henry Selick, occurs right at the beginning of the movie and what makes it so good is that just when we think something is going on, the reality is that something totally different is happening.
The Coraline theory starts at the beginning of the movie, just when we are watching the credits as we would in any other horror movie, what we see, or think we see, is the scene of the other mother making the Coraline doll and at first, we take a look to her tools, which is funny because you might think that these tools are similar to surgery, and although it doesn’t make much sense at first, the truth is that from the very beginning Henry Selick gives us a dark storytelling.
These tools that we see while we are made to believe that we are seeing the process of creating a doll, in reality correspond to the tools that were formerly used to embalm bodies. In the movie scene we also see a bone saw, why would you use that to make a doll?
The Coraline theory about embalming
In case this information wasn’t enough for you, let’s remember that in this first scene we also see some processes that have to do with body embalming techniques, such as the part in which the other mother cuts the doll’s clothes with scissors, which It is one of the first steps in the embalming process.
We also see when the other mother opens the doll’s mouth that was filled with cotton, a technique also used in the processes that follow when a person dies. Cotton has been used for hundreds of years in funeral directing to prevent the entry or exit of fluids. The mouth is also sutured to prevent possible contamination, something we also see in the film. Are you now understanding?
This entire time we watched this scene thinking that this woman was simply making a doll, when in reality the other mother was fully preparing for Coraline to not survive her trap and die.
All this from the beginning of the film.
