I think it’s about a man struggling with his self identity, I think Thomas Howard is struggling with his sexuality and murderous past. As his alcoholism gets worse Thomas Wake becomes a manifestation of the guilt and disgust he has for himself. As Howard begins to drink again Wake becomes increasingly more unhinged and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think Howard is projecting his true self onto Wake, he views Wake as a disgusting man because he is disgusted with himself, he pretty much admits this when he confesses he changed his name to Winslow to give himself a clean slate.

Like I alluded to before I don’t think that Winslow actually died in an accident. I think that Howard had sexual relations with him and couldn’t take the guilt of this anymore so he murdered Winslow and covered it up with some bs story about a logging accident. Winslow’s ghost haunts Howard throughout the movie (his face appears on the face of the mermaid he is fucking and I don’t think that’s a coincidence at all) if Howard was so unbothered by seeing his death like he said he was why would Winslow be haunting him? It doesn’t make sense. To go back to the point of Howard’s guilt of his sexuality, this was made clear to me when he almost kisses Wake but then fights him instead. He rejects his homosexual urges and “re establishes his masculinity” by fighting him which is typically seen as a very masculine act.

By the end of the movie he gives in to these homosexual urges like he did with Winslow and he rapes Wake in that scene where he tells him to roll over (this is a little bit out there but you can see him fiddling with his crotch and he’s stood over him as he tells him to roll over). I think the ending is supposed to represent Howard attempting to come to terms with the truth (finally seeing the light) but he can’t handle it so he rejects it and dies.